2017 Explorer Wind Noise

[Jerm87]

Hello Members!
Coming to you all for your help with an issue. I just picked up my Explorer on 10/24. The car had about 200 miles on it when I purchased it. The day I test drove it on the highway it was windy, and noticed some noise from the A-pillar area where the driver's mirror meets the door. Did not think anything of it due to weather. After having the vehicle now for over a week the noise it there every time I get above 50mph. The sound is a consistent wind noise, no whistle. My first thought was a bad seal and allowing air in. I have tried folding in the driver's mirror, and the noise is still present. I have tried pressing on the A-pillar section where the noise is coming from an no difference. All of the weather seal's seem well, none that are flattened in that section. I have read about the cowl cover and am going to see if that might help. I wanted to reach out and see if anyone has any other suggestions that could be causing the noise. I came from a 2011 GC Overland and love the Explorer so far. I'm hoping this is a simple and quick fix. Thanks everyone!

 

[reserved50]

if no one has an idea and you want isolate it yourself you can try using wide masking tape and mask down the trim pieces and gaps one by one, or mask everything on that side and slowly remove the tape till the noise re-occurs. Some cross wind noise at highway speeds cant be avoided though since vehicles aren't usually wind tested that way, but having it happen every time over 50 is not normal.

Don't leave the tape on for long especially in hot weather, its not fun removing the residue, painters green tape is easier to remove.

 

[thefranchise713]

Mask down the cowl where the base of the windshield hits the rubber, see what happens.

It was common on the earlier ones, I don't think Chicago ever got the issue 100% cured.

 

[Jerm87]

I tried masking down the cowl last night before I went home. The spot that I tried delivered no result. I tried working my way up the windshield towards the mirror section and nothing. This morning I tried masking the tip of the black mirror cover that attaches to the door. There was a little gap there and still no result. I've been comparing the interior weather strip to the passenger side and everything looks the same. Tonight when I go home I'm going to try a section of the weather strip that is on the door, right in the mirror section. I was hoping this was going to be easy to isolate where the sound is coming from, but am now starting to worry. I want to try and find it myself so when it goes in for service I can tell them instead of wasting a trip and getting the "could not duplicate" excuse. If anyone has anymore suggestions, or area's that I should maybe focus on I would appreciate it. Thanks so much for the helpful tips so far.

 

[Magiaone]

I would check on the B pillar applique as well. Mine was loose (came unstuck at the top) and it was causing wind noise. It was replaced under warranty and now its quiet again.
Other things to check are at the base of the A pillar to see if there is tape missing on some holes, maybe pull off the A pillar foot well trim etc. or have a look into the engine bay. Could have been a missing patch over a hole (worse case it might be a short shot of insulation in the body cavities.....)
Good Luck!

 

[613GT500]

I tried masking down the cowl last night before I went home. The spot that I tried delivered no result. I tried working my way up the windshield towards the mirror section and nothing. This morning I tried masking the tip of the black mirror cover that attaches to the door. There was a little gap there and still no result. I've been comparing the interior weather strip to the passenger side and everything looks the same. Tonight when I go home I'm going to try a section of the weather strip that is on the door, right in the mirror section. I was hoping this was going to be easy to isolate where the sound is coming from, but am now starting to worry. I want to try and find it myself so when it goes in for service I can tell them instead of wasting a trip and getting the "could not duplicate" excuse. If anyone has anymore suggestions, or area's that I should maybe focus on I would appreciate it. Thanks so much for the helpful tips so far.

How about the mirror cap, where it meets the base of the mirror (there's a gap divider there)?

 

[Jerm87]

How about the mirror cap, where it meets the base of the mirror (there's a gap divider there)?

Thank you! That will be another test area on the drive home today

 

[Jerm87]

I would check on the B pillar applique as well. Mine was loose (came unstuck at the top) and it was causing wind noise. It was replaced under warranty and now its quiet again.
Other things to check are at the base of the A pillar to see if there is tape missing on some holes, maybe pull off the A pillar foot well trim etc. or have a look into the engine bay. Could have been a missing patch over a hole (worse case it might be a short shot of insulation in the body cavities.....)
Good Luck!

Thank you! I was going to check the very bottom of the A pillar today and tape that up again and see. My thought is air is going up the exterior A pillar trim, but I could be wrong.

 

[NRA Life Member]

We have a 2014 Limited that had a very similar noise to what you are describing. There is a tech service bulletin that tells Ford to change out the plastic molding around the windshield. Ours was the passenger side molding. Story goes, as the temperature warms up, this plastic was too soft and flapped in the breeze. Ours would vibrate something terrible over 70mph or slower if we had a pretty good crosswind. The tech service bulletin says the new plastic is much stiffer and ours has been perfectly quiet after they changed it out. We bought our used Explorer in February when the temps were pretty cold and the plastic was hard and didn't flap on our test drive or for a couple of months. Then on a 70 degree day it starts vibrating and sounding terrible and I started my research on here. Ford fixed ours for free. They weren't happy about it but I talked them into it.

 

[Jerm87]

We have a 2014 Limited that had a very similar noise to what you are describing. There is a tech service bulletin that tells Ford to change out the plastic molding around the windshield. Ours was the passenger side molding. Story goes, as the temperature warms up, this plastic was too soft and flapped in the breeze. Ours would vibrate something terrible over 70mph or slower if we had a pretty good crosswind. The tech service bulletin says the new plastic is much stiffer and ours has been perfectly quiet after they changed it out. We bought our used Explorer in February when the temps were pretty cold and the plastic was hard and didn't flap on our test drive or for a couple of months. Then on a 70 degree day it starts vibrating and sounding terrible and I started my research on here. Ford fixed ours for free. They weren't happy about it but I talked them into it.

Thank you for the suggestion. The vehicle was in on 11/11 to have the issue addressed. The tech's had it all day and say "yes there is a noise, but we taped all the seams on the mirror and it's still there." They told me to stop back in so we can verify it's the same sound. To me thats just an excuse to push it to the side, and hope I forget about it. Hard to forget when you get 50mph and sounds like a window is open all the time. I am going to suggest the TSB about the Mirror Whistle that exists, and I believe I know what TSB you are talking about. Either was Ford regional manager has been involved since I posted this issue so it will get fixed, hopefully sooner than later. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Jerm87]

Update:
My Ford dealer has had the vehicle since Wednesday 11/16. Rode with the service adviser to confirm the sound he heard was the issue, and we both heard it. My dealer was having a specialist that visits the dealerships coming in that day. They thought the mirror or cowl was causing the sound, but both have been ruled out. Last I heard Wednesday evening was that they are thinking the window itself is either not sealing correctly or something. Nice thing is my dealer was able to give me a loaner. I told them nicely I don't want the car back till it's fixed, which they smiled and said we agree and you won't have it back till it's fixed. Will let everyone know the outcome, hopefully sooner than later!

 

[Sgt1411]

I seem to have a wind noise issue at highway speeds with passenger front door around B pillar, moldings all look OK ......anyone having anything similar?

 

[Jerm87]

My issue was around the A pillar section. It ended up being that behind the mirror housing that mounts to the door, there wasn't enough insulation to seal it correctly to the door. I would get a constant wind noise once I hit 40-45mph. They ended up switching our my mirror housing with another one on the lot, solved the problem. It took a while to locate where the noise was actually coming from. They ended up having my vehicle for a little over a week.

 

[exmli03]

Hello, I need help. I have a new 2017 Explorer that is about a month old. When I am on an open road (no one is in front of me) or highway and I am driving above 70 miles per hour I have this VERY loud wind noise or whistle. I do not get it if someone is in front of me in the same lane. It is NOT the cross wind. Again it ONLY happens when there is no one in front of me in the same lane. I have talked with the dealer and they think I am crazy. So does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[peterk9]

Hello, I need help. I have a new 2017 Explorer that is about a month old. When I am on an open road (no one is in front of me) or highway and I am driving above 70 miles per hour I have this VERY loud wind noise or whistle. I do not get it if someone is in front of me in the same lane. It is NOT the cross wind. Again it ONLY happens when there is no one in front of me in the same lane. I have talked with the dealer and they think I am crazy. So does anyone have any suggestions?

Welcome to the Forum.
Your thread has been merged with this one found using the Forum's handy 'Search' feature (upper right).
My guesses are it's either the cowl that runs under the windshield or the side mirror. Here is the thread on the mirror;
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/drivers-mirror-wind-whistle.382554/

Peter

 

[613GT500]

Hello, I need help. I have a new 2017 Explorer that is about a month old. When I am on an open road (no one is in front of me) or highway and I am driving above 70 miles per hour I have this VERY loud wind noise or whistle. I do not get it if someone is in front of me in the same lane. It is NOT the cross wind. Again it ONLY happens when there is no one in front of me in the same lane. I have talked with the dealer and they think I am crazy. So does anyone have any suggestions?

To rule out the side mirrors, fold them in and drive around.
Mine whistles around 25 miles and stops at higher speeds.

 

[seville009]

Older thread, but adding to it for others because I came across it while searching for a wind noise issue on my week old 2019 Explorer.

At speeds above 40 mph, was getting a wind noise from the passenger side rear seat window. Sounded like either the window was cracked open a bit or the door wasn’t shut tight.

Found the culprit using the tape on the molding method, as shown in the attached. Molding is just slightly loose (compared it to the other side). What is interesting is that the molding is on the part of the window that doesn’t move. Will have the dealer fix it. If it’s a hassle, a little bead of silicone should do the trick