[minicore]

I'm getting a weird whistling noise from somewhere on top of the dash - sounds like it might be coming from one of the vents, not the windscreen. Happens regardless of whether the fan/aircon is on or off...

First time I noticed it, I was travelling at about 120mph (obviously not on the public highway) but I've noticed it happening during general motorway driving now, between 70-80mph (seems to be becoming apparent at lower and lower speeds).

Any ideas? I'll book it into the dealer this week but I'm curious if anyone else has ever noticed this?

[SamHarrison]

some air is coming in from the outside... that's for sure!

might be a faulty flap within the air intake for the cabin so that it does not close off properly.. or.. i could be the sound of the air as it goes across the wipers. i have heard of this before and i think you will find that depending on which direction the wind is blowing while you are driving you will hear it and not hear it..

[James]

Yea Sam's right it happens to me when the wind is blowing in a certain direction, but of course at 120 mph there is always a louder noise no matter which direction the winds blowing.

[:: Jon ::]

normally round the windows i find this.... sometimes they dont seal well..

[TimCrighton]

Had this exact problem on a car we worked on last week and it was caused by a break in the 'A' pillar trim seal. The 'A' pillar trim has a seal underneath it, but on occasion the trim comes loose and the seal can pop out and/or get damaged and this causes a very similar problem to that you've discribed.

[tx-jbird]

It does involve the AC and the ducting. It is a quck fix by the dealer. They put some sticky tape around one inlet to form a better seal. It is covered by warrantee.

[BRG/Blk Cooper S]

HI all,
I've been dealing with this same problem for a while now.
You can make it less or more by hitting the recycle air switch - thus showing it is definately something to do with the ducting and the recycle air flap.

I've seen a big reduction of the the amount of noise, but it is still there occasionally depending on the wind direction I guess as you can hear it come and go slightly.

As it is a whistle it's incredibly annoying - last visit the tech at the dealership adapted a BMW duct to get a better fit, still get a small amount of whistling though, it's almost a case of finding how to reduce the level of air flow slightly in order to resolve the problem completely.

Has anyone had this issue and managed to solve it 100%?

Cheers, Geoff.

[burns863]

I have the same problem. And if you do a quick search on here thre are a few other threads from a while back on this topic. Think I may have posted this before but here goes anyway!...

I have automatic air con/climate control. I have found that even if the recirculate button is pressed, air still comes in through the vents regardless if the air con/air blower are turned on. I have found, to stop the air coming through, you need to actually press the fan minus button untill all the lines (showing output power of blowers) have disappeared so just the temp you have set is showing on the little screen, you dont need to press the "off" button. Now you need the recirculate button activated too. And even though the blowers are off, you still need to have the middle settign activated (main blowers, not windscreen and not feet. The ones that blow right out from the dash at your body). Please note that even if the fans are set to nil and the recirculate button is on, unless the blowers are set to the body setting i have found air still comes through out of the windscreen & feet ducts.

I have found this is the only way to cut off the air from the outside travelling through the air con ducting. If i dont have one of these settings correct, air just comes through regardless.

One other things, now and again, maybe once a month, even these settings seem to fail in keeping the air out. I have no idea why sometimes they randomly dont work though! I find that if this does happen, turning on the air con, then turning the fan back down to zero and keeping the recirculate and body settings works.

Sorry if i havent explained this very well. It is early and i was struggling to word it properly hehe Hope this helps somebody!

[minicore]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

[hyperbluejames]

Actually I had this problem about a month ago. I was doing about 80mph, but the wind was coming at me head on at about 20mph, and it was almost s screaching, like air was forcing itself through the seals in my windscreen. Luckily I haven't heard it again, but I thought I'd let you know I had had a similar problem!

James

[tx-jbird]

If your car is under warranty, why play around with the recirulation swithch? If it is not, get an estimate. I do not imagine it is more than an hours worth of labor plus a few dollars for the tape. Very few cars are inexpensive anymore. Keep the thing in good repair.

[Ferroequine]

Quote: Originally Posted by tx-jbird (original)

It does involve the AC and the ducting. It is a quck fix by the dealer. They put some sticky tape around one inlet to form a better seal. It is covered by warrantee.

They tried that with mine, and the whistling is still there at around 70+ mph, depending on wind direction. Very annoying and constant. Going back in about 10 days time.

[xtremepsionic]

Quote: Originally Posted by MiniVee (original)

They tried that with mine, and the whistling is still there at around 70+ mph, depending on wind direction. Very annoying and constant. Going back in about 10 days time.

Strange, I've heard this whistling a couple of times at about 165-170km/h, but I don't usually drive that fast. I do have the manual a/c.

[Ferroequine]

Quote: Originally Posted by xtremepsionic (original)

Strange, I've heard this whistling a couple of times at about 165-170km/h, but I don't usually drive that fast. I do have the manual a/c.

I have manual A/C as well. 120 km/h usually does it for me.

[TimCrighton]

I'd still stand by the likely hood of it being one of the A Pillar trims/seals.

[jcwparklane55]

i also get that annoying whistling sound, and it is quite embarassing wen u are carrying passengers aswell. the whistling sound normally kicks in around 110mph, and then gets louder there on after, i went to my dealer today, and they said they cant do any thing about it, as they cant road test a car at 110 mph. so i have to wait for it to kick in at lower speeds.