# Driver's Door Wind Noise



## Stinky999 (Sep 14, 2006)

I've noticed some wind noise that seems to be coming from somewhere around my drivers door. It has probably been there for a while, but my previous tires were so damn noisy I couldn't hear it. Replaced tires a few weeks ago (much quieter tires!) and now I notice it again. The door doesn't leak water. Maybe it's normal. Thoughts anyone?


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## Tully Lee (Jan 3, 2011)

Roger:

I will get a "little" wind noise from time to time. Depends on direction, speed and such.
The door is seal on seal and mayble the seals are worn.

I noticed on a lot of CarFax Phaeton's that the door seal was replaced. Must of 
been an issued I suspect...

Tully Lee


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Tully Lee said:


> I noticed on a lot of CarFax Phaeton's that the door seal was replaced. Must of been an issued I suspect...


This is the first time I have ever heard discussion of a seal being replaced.

Michael


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## CLMims (Jul 13, 2007)

Just curious if your lower door moldings might be separating from the door? (I think there was a post regarding this, where the backing gets corroded and causes separation)

I too have noticed a "wind" noise at highway speeds in my 2004, and thought that my lower moldings - which have started to deform a bit - might be the culprit....


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## mlong1 (Dec 6, 2007)

I have been experiencing the same issue with wind noise from the driver door.

As soon as I reach 60mph I can begin to hear the wind noise. 

The dealer diagnosed it as the door seals needing replacement. They quoted something in the neighborhood of $300 bucks to take care of that noise for me.

I have decided to turn up the radio and just try to keep my Phaeton OCD at bay... not easy to do. I will likely have the seal replaced the next time it is due for service. :laugh:

Marcos


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

CLMims said:


> Just curious if your lower door moldings might be separating from the door? (I think there was a post regarding this, where the backing gets corroded and causes separation)...


Good point Chris - here is the link to the post about the lower door moldings: Corrosion on lower edge of doors (trim strip)

It is very likely that would cause wind noise, and I can also imagine that someone not aware of this problem could mis-diagnose the noise as being caused by a faulty door seal.

Michael


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## Auzivision (Apr 19, 2007)

Cleaning and 'lubing' the seals will help a little. I believe somewhere around here they mention the proper silicon weather-strip dressing to use on the seals. 

Also, I wonder if the door striker is adjustable. I had one in different car 'snugged up' on the driver’s side to alleviate a wind noise.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Auzivision said:


> Also, I wonder if the door sticker is adjustable...


Do you mean the striker plate on the B pillar, where the front door latch engages? Yes, it is adjustable, I have made such an adjustment in the past on another forum member's Phaeton.

Michael


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## Jxander (Aug 5, 2008)

*Mirror?*

Roger:

On Touaregs there has been complaints on wind noise that has been found to be related to the side mirrors. It seems that the culprit is the seam where the mirror moves or hinges from the door mount piece. To test and see if this is your source of wind noise, you can apply some tape(butyl) to this seam and test drive the car to see if the noise is gone. On Touaregs there is a TSB addressing this and a new gasket that can be installed to alleviate the problem. 

If it is truly the door gasket and not mirrors, I would try the previous suggestions of lubing the gaskets and checking door/striker adjustment. There's a great highly recommended product for gasket maintenance called Gummi Pflege(Spelling?) that I have used on a BMW before. I think I purchased it at the BMW dealership but it's not unique to BMWs.

Good luck.

Jim X


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## Tully Lee (Jan 3, 2011)

What type of product would you use on the seals?

Tully Lee


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## dave1215 (Oct 11, 2008)

I had wind noise at speeds above 60mph from the drivers door. The doors seals and window seals looked ok. I parked the car, turned the engine off but left the cabin fan on high speed and closed the doors. Air pressure leaked excessively at the top rear corner of the front doors. After adjusting the door striker on the B pillars the wind noise was gone and the car was quieter at all speeds. Hope this helps. 
Dave


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## mlong1 (Dec 6, 2007)

Guys,

Where can I find info on how to adjusts the door striker in the B pilar?

My door lower moldings have been replaced twice and my door seals look fine. However, I am experiencing wind noise and the dealer tells me the door seals need to be replaced.

My Phaeton may only need an adjustment on the driver door. I suspect opening and closing for the last 7 years could miss align the door and cause some wind noise. 

Marcos


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Hi Marcos:

It's not particularly difficult to adjust the door striker plate. The most difficult part of the whole procedure will be sourcing a tool that fits the rather unusual fastener that holds the striker plate in place.

Once you have found the correct tool (try asking at your local VW dealer, they may have one), put a piece of masking tape along the outside edge of the striker plate, so that you have a reference point that shows you where the plate originally was.

Then, loosen (but DO NOT REMOVE) the two fasteners. Move the plate inwards a little bit (I suggest no more than 1/8 of an inch), then tighten it up again. The torque spec for the striker plate is quite high. Remove the masking tape. Then, drive the car around for a few days, see if that solves the problem.

Don't make a gross adjustment (i.e. more than 1/4 of an inch), otherwise, the side of the car will look funny because the trailing edge of the front door will be further inset than the leading edge of the rear door.

Michael

*Door Striker Plate*


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## mlong1 (Dec 6, 2007)

Thank you Michael!


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## BltVWF (Oct 19, 2009)

Jim,

I see Amazon has Gummi Pflege for $8.01, thanks for the suggestion. I will order one and try it out.

Eugene


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## Jxander (Aug 5, 2008)

Eugene:

Thanks for the shopping tip. I also just ordered some from Amazon as I no longer had any.

Jim X


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## 357Sig (Oct 9, 2008)

I had two different 2005 Phaetons and they both produced a bit of wind noise at the top of the door near the rear edge at highway speeds.


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## mg.eggink (Apr 16, 2008)

*Service action 66c4*

The windnoise in my car, my2005, was due to a missing part after service action 66C4.

I hope the link works, it is part 23 


http://www.motor-talk.de/forum/aktion/Attachment.html?attachmentId=694930

I costed approx. 2$, but 1800$ to find out.

Not a probable cause, but just to let you know

MGE


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## PowerDubs (Jul 22, 2001)

My W12 has quite a bit of wind noise. Much more than my V8 did.

As I am about to go on another road trip, I figured I would see what I can do about it.

I am awaiting a bottle of Gummi Pflege I ordered and will apply that as well as maybe snug up the striker plates a bit on all 4 doors.

The bottle should arrive on Friday and I am leaving Sat morning on the trip. I will let you know what happens.

:beer:


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

The wind noise problem on mine was due to an improperly-adjusted striker. The PO had complained about the door being difficult to close, and the dealer solution was to adjust the striker to the point where the door didn't fit flush. All I did was to loosen the bolts slightly on the striker and then use a rubber mallet to gently tap it in. I did it a couple of times until the door was flush. Closing the door properly doesn't seem to be an issue now (and I'm anal about not slamming), and there was a noticeable reduction in wind noise. I'd guess at 200mph, the change would be much more noticeable!


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## bobster1969 (Apr 18, 2015)

bump......
i have the wind noise, will be adjusting the striker, how did people do with the gummi paste?


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## pgoober (Jan 4, 2009)

*Check the window seals with the window closed*

Just in case it isn't the striker...
I have one window with a tendency to trap and fold the window seal. If I guide up past a certain point, it closes normally. Lets wind noise in if improperly seated. 
Minor nuisance. Easy to deal with and visible from the outside of the car.

-BD


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## bobster1969 (Apr 18, 2015)

pgoober said:


> Just in case it isn't the striker...
> I have one window with a tendency to trap and fold the window seal. If I guide up past a certain point, it closes normally. Lets wind noise in if improperly seated.
> Minor nuisance. Easy to deal with and visible from the outside of the car.
> 
> -BD


cheers will check.


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## robbie-rocket-pants (Mar 25, 2012)

My P went in for the usual door corrosion repairs a few months ago. Since then it has had a very noticeable whistle at ~50mph which sounds like it comes from around the top of the door. The seals all look perfect and appear to be tight when the door is shut. 

I have taken it back to the very helpful dealer a couple of times. First time they moved the striker plate in. This required the door to be slammed to close it, it was so tight. This did not cure the problem. Secondly they moved the striker back out and raised the striker a bit. This also had no effect. They said the next try would be to check a seal behind the door mirror attachment, but I don't see any seal on MGE's handy diagram above.

Perhaps it could be that part 23 is missing on mine too?


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## coolsig (Jan 4, 2011)

I think the noise comes from the driver side view mirror, its a high pitched whistle that is at times annoying  I fold in the mirrors at highway speeds and the noise goes away. The mirror assembly seems pretty tight but somewhere in there, there is air creeping that produces the whistling sound.

Just my observation


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## bobster1969 (Apr 18, 2015)

Wind noise was driving me mad. 
Rear door drivers side and was not as flush or smooth as should look this was due to paint repair and door not fitted back correct. 
No noise till got to 60 then was really annoying as you knew it was their. 

Slightly different fix for me but much in the same style as previously mentioned so will add as may help someone. 

I took the torque off the rear bolts that hold the door in place. 
A total of 6 bolts loosened but still tight enough to hold in place the door without any movement. 
I did this so that when I adjusted the striker plate and the door was closed it would allow the door to adjust to the striker plate movement instead of a forced movement using the strike to pull the door keeping extra tension on striker. 
After adjusting striker inwards I closed the door normally then pushed the door flush with a heavy push even pressure across the door. 
Door looked flush and inline. 
I opened door and torqued everything back up then checked everything still flush. 
Took for a run and has worked a treat no noise at all. 
I will be checking and adjusting all my doors whenever it stops raining here (uk) as I suppose the weight of these doors and the occasional slam from guests will over time cause some disformment of the perfect seal. 
It took me 3/4 minutes to do this with a spanner star key and torque wrench. 
I know it's a little more work just loosening the hinge but if you think about it both ends should be adjusted as you want flush not forced or you may over time get a little more wind noise. 
Hope this helps and is just another variation of a small technique. 
Regards Bob


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## robbie-rocket-pants (Mar 25, 2012)

Thanks coolsig and Bobster.

I have tried folding the mirrors, but no change. I have triple checked the door alignment and seals and they all look good. I inserted a length of washing line into the fold in the door seals to really pack them out, but no change.

I now think the noise is towards the upper rear of the front door (near my ear) so my suspicion is on the external black B-pillar trim. Does anyone know how to remove it please ? I can see a small grub screw on the inside of the B-pillar which I guess has something to do with its attachment.

Thanks, Robbie


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## bobster1969 (Apr 18, 2015)

robbie-rocket-pants said:


> Thanks coolsig and Bobster.
> 
> I have tried folding the mirrors, but no change. I have triple checked the door alignment and seals and they all look good. I inserted a length of washing line into the fold in the door seals to really pack them out, but no change.
> 
> ...



We have the same year car and same prob. 
Door adjustment did work for me as I do believe trim removed should be a last resort especially on a phaeton as it has so many components that if any snap you are super gluing bits back or paying through the nose for new parts. 
If I may suggest you invest in one of these 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/FXLAB-Metal-mini-Smoke-Machine/dp/B002OEX9UI

Then do a proper pressured test and door adjustment first. 
This bit of kit with fog liquid will only set you back £30 quid and will give you a very accurate smoke release visual guide with no smell or after effects. 
You can also use Halloween lol 
I have just ordered one myself and will post a few pics and results when I have done a full test. 

Good luck let me know how you get on.


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## robbie-rocket-pants (Mar 25, 2012)

I've spent nearly all day fettling with the doors with limited success.

One point worthy of note is that _all_ the doors had not been fitted correctly by the dealer. 

I noticed in particular that the seal shown here had gaps between it and the door when closed :









As you can see below, when I shone a light at it (through the open window) there is a line of silver bodywork paint visible, meaning the seal was having zero effect









I found that if I moved the striker down a little at a time (~1mm) and then in a little, the gap closed up. I had to do this on all four doors. Unfortunately, although this probably made the car a little quieter, it did not solve the wind noise near my ear. 


So I then removed the black B-pillar trim. I found the securing bolts by pulling the centre part of the window guide rubber out. The bolts are towards the top and bottom.









The trim can then be removed by sliding up and back. As you can see there does not seem to be fitted part 23 in MGE's diagram link. 










So I cut some sponge up and stuffed it in the holes, in case the wind was somehow whistling up through there. 
Now you're expecting me to say that fixed the noise - but it didn't 

I did another pressure test and listened very carefully. I even used a stethascope, but I couldn't find a leak. I stuck draught excluder foam on just about every seal on the door and window frame and filled in gaps, but still no joy.

Woe is me. I'll be interested to hear how you get on with your smoke machine Bobster (you could always add a disco ball for extra effect :laugh


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## bobster1969 (Apr 18, 2015)

robbie-rocket-pants said:


> I've spent nearly all day fettling with the doors with limited success.
> 
> One point worthy of note is that _all_ the doors had not been fitted correctly by the dealer.
> 
> ...


Will let you know when it arrives. 
Will post a video just need a clear windless day to gage results. 
From. What I have seen so far I'm expecting the whole car to leak lol


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## robbie-rocket-pants (Mar 25, 2012)

After more hours of fiddling, I've found another cause of some of the wind noise. 

While driving, I pressed the internal rear vertical seal (at the B-pillar) of the drivers side window against the glass and noticed some of the wind noise reduced. Looking at the seal from the inside and winding the window up and down I could see that for the majority of the window travel the seal was tight against the glass, but in the last ~ 1/4" during closing the glass gets pushed outwards a little which leaves a small gap between the seal and glass.

If you examine the seal you will see there are actually two parallel folds which are both supposed to touch the glass, so I got a length of soft draught excluder and stuck it behind both folds to pack the seal out. 



















There is still some wind noise, but it's getting better. Perhaps the noise is now just "normal" and I am paranoid !


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## bobster1969 (Apr 18, 2015)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brush-Draug...qid=1452190603&sr=8-6&keywords=door+gap+strip

I wonder if some of this was strategically placed would it help 
I was thinking the door base and the inner door frame where their would be some natural gaps.


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## robbie-rocket-pants (Mar 25, 2012)

Any joy with your smoke machine Bobster ?


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## bobster1969 (Apr 18, 2015)

robbie-rocket-pants said:


> Any joy with your smoke machine Bobster ?


Had the smoke machine for a month now sat their tormenting me lol but had a month of rain and freezing conditions. 
I will do a short video and post up once I get a good day or two. 
Hoping maybe this or next weekend I can give it a go.


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## robbie-rocket-pants (Mar 25, 2012)

I've had success fixing the very annoying whistling noise that kept returning after all previous attempts. I was astounded to find that although the whistling noise was definitely near my right ear (RHD car) at the rear of the driver's window, the source was in fact a small gap at the lower front of the window caused by the weather strip being about 5mm too short. I found this out by lots of trial and error and finally covering this hole with a small piece of tape. At first I thought it must be a fluke, but sure enough it was the cause. So I got some of my trusty foam draught excluder and stuck it to the inside of the weather strip to seal the hole whilst still allowing the window to travel up and down.

I can only imagine that the air comes over the side mirror then vertically down that small hole and then tries to exit wherever it can on the inside of the door (or perhaps there is a Bernoulli effect and air is being sucked out of that hole ?) 
I don't know why the car was built with the weather strip slightly too short, or maybe it has shrunk with age. It is the same on the passenger side.


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## Prince Ludwig (Mar 24, 2007)

I've been trying to track down some wind noise on my Phaeton and thought I'd give a little account of what I tried to resolve the issue.

After adjusting the door striker to make sure the front door was perfectly in line with the rear, I borrowed some unwanted lipstick from a family member and drew a line on both the inner and outer door seals to see if there were any points that they weren't making contact with the opposite surface. However, both seals seemed to have a tight fit.

Since that eliminated the gap between the door and the frame as the source of the noise I started taping up gaps on the door itself bit by bit to see which made a difference. As it turned out, taping over the mirror support had the biggest effect. Consulting Elsawin showed there should be a rubber seal between the mirror assembly and the door frame so I thought I'd check mine.

To remove the mirror you have to remove the inner door card (instructions on this are in the FAQ) and then the inner trim of the window frame. Start at the tweeter cover and pop it off before removing the whole part from the door. This reveals two screws that hold the mirror to the body. There's a small panel on the inside of the door that pops off to reveal one final screw. 

Disconnect the mirror cables from the door controller, unscrew the three screws and then the mirror just comes away.

In my case, there wasn't a seal at all. I'm going to look up the part and get a price from the local VW dealer but in the meantime I put 3mm thick insulation tape around the edge of the mating surface which has almost completely eliminated the wind noise at speed. Happy days!

Harry


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

Prince Ludwig said:


> I've been trying to track down some wind noise on my Phaeton and thought I'd give a little account of what I tried to resolve the issue.
> 
> After adjusting the door striker to make sure the front door was perfectly in line with the rear, I borrowed some unwanted lipstick from a family member and drew a line on both the inner and outer door seals to see if there were any points that they weren't making contact with the opposite surface. However, both seals seemed to have a tight fit.
> 
> ...


It appears to be #9, Harry:

https://parts.vw.com/a/Volkswagen_2...r/_51505_5987917/OUTSIDE-MIRRORS/9235585.html

Also #9 here:

https://volkswagen.7zap.com/en/rdw/phaeton/phae/2005-258/8/857-857040/

-Eric


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