Hard top wind noise

[Jeepsterfreak]

Here's a crazy idea. line the seals with bubble solution. Get up to speed and find the air leaks. I joke but maybe that would work.

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[fat_head]

Just got my Jeep back from the dealer for excessive wind noise. It only happens above 78 or 79 AND with a crosswind.

Dealer told me they can't drive it that fast legally anywhere around here (DFW) and that wind noise is to be expected going that fast.

Here is the noise I'm talking about. This is not normal wind noise. It sounds like a bearing burning up in a bathroom exhaust fan.

 

[Jeepsterfreak]

Just got my Jeep back from the dealer for excessive wind noise. It only happens above 78 or 79 AND with a crosswind.

Dealer told me they can't drive it that fast legally anywhere around here (DFW) and that wind noise is to be expected going that fast.

Here is the noise I'm talking about. This is not normal wind noise. It sounds like a bearing burning up in a bathroom exhaust fan.

Sure sounds like an air leak that is causing a whistling sound, maybe from the hard plastic liners on the A frame or header.

You can't pinpoint the location of the noise? I suppose the source of the noise may not necessarily be where the leak is. Air could be traveling along the windshield frame and exiting in a different location.

Have you tried pressing on different areas of the A frame and header to see if it stops or alters the noise?

What if air is entering the inner channels of the windshield frame and there's not actually a leak into the cabin? Maybe the sound is coming from the actual windshield frame itself outside the cabin?

 

[fat_head]

Sure sounds like an air leak that is causing a whistling sound, maybe from the hard plastic liners on the A frame or header.

You can't pinpoint the location of the noise? I suppose the source of the noise may not necessarily be where the leak is. Air could be traveling along the windshield frame and exiting in a different location.

Have you tried pressing on different areas of the A frame and header to see if it stops or alters the noise?

I did. I pushed up on the freedom top, out on my driver door and out on the windshield trying to see if the sound or pitch would change, and I was unsuccessful.

And from my position, it sounded like it was coming from around/near the A-pillar on the driver side.

 

[klhjeep2018]

My luck I would get a dyslexic tattoo artist :cwl:

That’s funny! My luck too

 

[Osna 780]

There are a few types of categories to wind noise concerns. The first is wind rush or air turbulence which can or cannot be corrected completely. Caused by such things like luggage racks/rails, light bars and LED cubes, side view mirrors, bug deflectors and the general shape of the vehicle effected. Now air leaks or high pitch whistles which are heard inside the cabin when driving are poor fitment issues or misaligned body panels or foreign material on the exterior surface of the body like leaves trapped between body panels etc. There are ways to locate and diagnose poor weatherstrip sealing quality meaning insufficient pressure between say the freedom panels and header seal or a door and it's body mounted weatherstrip which causes whistles and loud air leaks or drafts. First a simple drag test using a business card made from cardboard or a piece of paper of the same thickness between the door and weatherstrip. Any area encountered where the card is loose needs to be adjusted so there is resistance/pressure on your piece of paper or business card. Repairs usually consist of feeding shim stock in through the weatherstrip which on some vehicle weatherstrips there are small holes on the back side about 12 inches apart where you can use mechanics wire and pull rubber shim stock into the core of the weatherstrip or the problem area has to be built up by putting foam sealing tape under the seal or weatherstrip to move it outwards or by mechanically adjusting or physically moving the upper door frame inwards. Second way of finding the source of an air leak, close all doors and windows turn your heater fan on high speed and put the HVAC system in recirculation mode, mix a spray bottle of soapy water using few drops of baby shampoo or dish soap and shake it up and spray around the circumferences of all the doors and windshield etc and look for bubbles forming and they most surely will, air and wind that leaks in will also leak out. When the vehicles cabin is pressurized and when you see the bubbles forming that is a problem area. Now in the very corners say where a horizontal surface like your window reveal and the door frame meet where it turns 90 degrees and goes straight up vertically those corners will always exhibit bubbles, so ignore those areas. Third way to find air/wind leaks take a mechanics stethoscope and have someone drive you while you listen on the inside along all the gaps and seams, then on your road test stop on the side of the road and with some black mechanics duct tape or similar has to be at least 4 inches wide start taping off small areas on the body over the gaps in short length sections at a time so the joints are closed between say the roof freedom panels and windshield or over the gap between the door and body side "A" pillar etc. once you have covered the problem area your noise will disappear on your next road test. Then you can narrow down the leak area or find the source by visual inspection or with a business card drag/pressure test or bubble test or leak trace powder which can be sprayed on to the door or body painted surface and it will leave a witness mark on the mating weatherstrip letting you know if the surfaces are touching properly or not. Also not to mislead but a small piece of plastic film or rubber or even an oak key leaf from a tree that is protruding or stuck on your Jeeps body can also cause intermittent loud whistle noises. Body panels are suppose to be shingled slightly or flush with each other, another words meaning the front fender needs to be out slightly further then the front door and the rear door slightly less then the front door etc so the wind does not catch body edges when driving. Hope this helps and gives some insight in how to diagnose and work towards repairing wind noises/air leaks. While under warranty make the dealer try to fix the problem, if they tell you it's normal then they either don't know how to diagnose and repair it or they have been told to tell customers it's a normal condition. Good luck to everyone who is dealing with this issue on there new Wranglers.

 

[Chinobob]

First off, thanks to all that posted suggestions on handling noise issues. I tried everything in here and ended up using masking tape to locate the source of the noise. I had the whistling noise between 40 and 60 mph (sounded like blowing between two sheets of paper). For me, the issue was the passenger side of the windshield - I noticed it was not properly aligned and the seal was slightly pushed up. Apparently enough to get some wind in there and create the whistle. I do plan on taking it to the dealer to check out soon, but for now I taped the windshield seal down using black electrical tape - whistle is completely gone.

Before

After

Driver side - you can tell the gap from windshield to frame is wider (no problems here):

Good luck all!

 

[Kevman]

Are people having the same issue with soft tops or is this purely a hard top only issue?

 

[$uicide$hift]

Are people having the same issue with soft tops or is this purely a hard top only issue?

It can happen with either soft top or hard top. The issue @Chinobob is showing is a leak at the windshield. Top used in his case is not relevant.

There can be more than one place for an air leak causing excessive noise. There are a lot of places it can come from no matter what top is used. I would say most of them are most likely due to the windshield area.

 

[JL2018]

Just got my Jeep back from the dealer for excessive wind noise. It only happens above 78 or 79 AND with a crosswind.

Dealer told me they can't drive it that fast legally anywhere around here (DFW) and that wind noise is to be expected going that fast.

Here is the noise I'm talking about. This is not normal wind noise. It sounds like a bearing burning up in a bathroom exhaust fan.

wow, hope you can get that fixed. it would drive me insane

 

[vintage38]

That wind noice is brutal! I would have lost my $#!T. I hope this issue will be fixed ASAP. Is the problem the lighter composite the roof is made from?

As cool as I thought the fold down windshield was when I first saw it, I'm starting to think Jeep opened up a can of worms with this wind noise problem. Best part is 90% of the JL owners will never fold it down.

 

[ssiegler]

I did. I pushed up on the freedom top, out on my driver door and out on the windshield trying to see if the sound or pitch would change, and I was unsuccessful.

And from my position, it sounded like it was coming from around/near the A-pillar on the driver side.

That is the exact sound and the exact location that I was referring to on my original post on this thread. It must be a faulty design in these new Jeeps. You would think Jeep would have done extensive wind tunnel testing and have caught this.

 

[rallydefault]

That is the exact sound and the exact location that I was referring to on my original post on this thread. It must be a faulty design in these new Jeeps. You would think Jeep would have done extensive wind tunnel testing and have caught this.

That is annoying, but I'm not getting that in my JL. I have a 4dr Sport - could it be more common on certain trims or something?

 

[$uicide$hift]

That is annoying, but I'm not getting that in my JL. I have a 4dr Sport - could it be more common on certain trims or something?

I don't think so. I think this has to do more with the build. It is either an issue with the installation of the seals or the fitment / adjustment of the front windshield.

 

[3uPh0riK]

There are a few types of categories to wind noise concerns. The first is wind rush or air turbulence which can or cannot be corrected completely. Caused by such things like luggage racks/rails, light bars and LED cubes, side view mirrors, bug deflectors and the general shape of the vehicle effected. Now air leaks or high pitch whistles which are heard inside the cabin when driving are poor fitment issues or misaligned body panels or foreign material on the exterior surface of the body like leaves trapped between body panels etc. There are ways to locate and diagnose poor weatherstrip sealing quality meaning insufficient pressure between say the freedom panels and header seal or a door and it's body mounted weatherstrip which causes whistles and loud air leaks or drafts. First a simple drag test using a business card made from cardboard or a piece of paper of the same thickness between the door and weatherstrip. Any area encountered where the card is loose needs to be adjusted so there is resistance/pressure on your piece of paper or business card. Repairs usually consist of feeding shim stock in through the weatherstrip which on some vehicle weatherstrips there are small holes on the back side about 12 inches apart where you can use mechanics wire and pull rubber shim stock into the core of the weatherstrip or the problem area has to be built up by putting foam sealing tape under the seal or weatherstrip to move it outwards or by mechanically adjusting or physically moving the upper door frame inwards. Second way of finding the source of an air leak, close all doors and windows turn your heater fan on high speed and put the HVAC system in recirculation mode, mix a spray bottle of soapy water using few drops of baby shampoo or dish soap and shake it up and spray around the circumferences of all the doors and windshield etc and look for bubbles forming and they most surely will, air and wind that leaks in will also leak out. When the vehicles cabin is pressurized and when you see the bubbles forming that is a problem area. Now in the very corners say where a horizontal surface like your window reveal and the door frame meet where it turns 90 degrees and goes straight up vertically those corners will always exhibit bubbles, so ignore those areas. Third way to find air/wind leaks take a mechanics stethoscope and have someone drive you while you listen on the inside along all the gaps and seams, then on your road test stop on the side of the road and with some black mechanics duct tape or similar has to be at least 4 inches wide start taping off small areas on the body over the gaps in short length sections at a time so the joints are closed between say the roof freedom panels and windshield or over the gap between the door and body side "A" pillar etc. once you have covered the problem area your noise will disappear on your next road test. Then you can narrow down the leak area or find the source by visual inspection or with a business card drag/pressure test or bubble test or leak trace powder which can be sprayed on to the door or body painted surface and it will leave a witness mark on the mating weatherstrip letting you know if the surfaces are touching properly or not. Also not to mislead but a small piece of plastic film or rubber or even an oak key leaf from a tree that is protruding or stuck on your Jeeps body can also cause intermittent loud whistle noises. Body panels are suppose to be shingled slightly or flush with each other, another words meaning the front fender needs to be out slightly further then the front door and the rear door slightly less then the front door etc so the wind does not catch body edges when driving. Hope this helps and gives some insight in how to diagnose and work towards repairing wind noises/air leaks. While under warranty make the dealer try to fix the problem, if they tell you it's normal then they either don't know how to diagnose and repair it or they have been told to tell customers it's a normal condition. Good luck to everyone who is dealing with this issue on there new Wranglers.

Geez bro, paragraphs, use them!

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