Wind noise

Reign of Ravens

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Threads
5
Messages
454
Reaction score
498
Location
Hawaii
Vehicles
22 Mach-E Premium, Chrysler PacHy
Country flag
I wonder if there are differences in the tolerances when produced. I have some sealant that I plan to apply (72 hours to fully cure; will plan to do it on a Friday). I was wondering if I should apply it on the passenger side, as well, but the gap on my passenger side is nowhere near as noticeable. In fact, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to fill much of anything on that side, whereas the gap on the driver side is very noticeable by comparison, the depth is fairly consistent, and it runs the length of the plastic connector piece. Or maybe that's just how it is for all of the Mach-E's... in any event, excited to think that this might help, even if just a little.
Sponsored

 

mdow2788

Member
First Name
Mark
Joined
Nov 14, 2022
Threads
0
Messages
23
Reaction score
14
Location
USA
Vehicles
2022 Mach-E Premium RWD Standard Battery
Country flag
I wonder if there are differences in the tolerances when produced. I have some sealant that I plan to apply (72 hours to fully cure; will plan to do it on a Friday). I was wondering if I should apply it on the passenger side, as well, but the gap on my passenger side is nowhere near as noticeable. In fact, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to fill much of anything on that side, whereas the gap on the driver side is very noticeable by comparison, the depth is fairly consistent, and it runs the length of the plastic connector piece. Or maybe that's just how it is for all of the Mach-E's... in any event, excited to think that this might help, even if just a little.
My wife and I had never really heard the noise on the passenger side but they filled the gap anyways. Everybody on the forums always seemed to complain about the driver side. So I’m guessing that plastic part has poor quality control and some are getting produced not to the right size.
 

Neil4Real

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2021
Threads
15
Messages
3,243
Reaction score
2,936
Location
Southern California
Vehicles
Mach-E GT Performance Edition - Shadow Black
Country flag
IMG_1719.jpeg


Decided to test this. After taping the seam, there was a small improvement in wind noise of 1.3 dB @ 70 MPH. The quality of the sound was also improved slightly, sounding a bit more laminar with less buffeting.

Overall it’s not nearly as significant as my roof wind noise I recently solved, but perhaps on other Mach-E’s the mirror gap sound could be louder than my car.
What roof wind noise and how did you solve it?!?
 


Neil4Real

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2021
Threads
15
Messages
3,243
Reaction score
2,936
Location
Southern California
Vehicles
Mach-E GT Performance Edition - Shadow Black
Country flag

21st Century Pony

Well-Known Member
First Name
Martin
Joined
May 21, 2022
Threads
31
Messages
1,740
Reaction score
1,809
Location
Arlington, Virginia
Vehicles
Ford Mustang Mach E 2022 Premium AWD ER
Country flag
They didn’t have to take apart the mirrors. It’s literally that bead of sealant between the mirror and the door in the picture. Where the plastic from the mirror is meeting the window seal.

0EF5AD93-3BD0-43EC-B985-B2E556914EBC.jpeg
Thanks.. I will try this.
 

Reign of Ravens

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Threads
5
Messages
454
Reaction score
498
Location
Hawaii
Vehicles
22 Mach-E Premium, Chrysler PacHy
Country flag
They didn’t have to take apart the mirrors. It’s literally that bead of sealant between the mirror and the door in the picture. Where the plastic from the mirror is meeting the window seal.

0EF5AD93-3BD0-43EC-B985-B2E556914EBC.jpeg
This fixed it for me! I didn't need to raise my volume to overcome wind noise, and while I still heard wind noise, I could hear it now at the front and passenger sides of the car as well, depending on the wind and the road - previously, I could only ever hear it from the driver side. And now, finally, it was just regular old wind noise, whereas previously it was, as someone on here previously described it, the "plastic bag effect" (similarly to the way you'd hear the wind blowing a plastic bag attached to something). Road noise has become more prominent to me now, which is another sign of how much the wind noise was reduced.
Ford Mustang Mach-E Wind noise IMG_3449D


I used DAP Dynaflex Ultra (black) from Home Depot, which I had laying around for another project that never ended up happening. I already had a caulk gun, but admit that this was my first time ever using it (or using a caulk gun, in general). Here are some closer views:

Ford Mustang Mach-E Wind noise IMG_3450D


Ford Mustang Mach-E Wind noise IMG_3451D


The material was a bit under 48 hours dry in these photos, and while the instructions say it's good to go for water exposure or painting after one hour, it says it might take 7-14 days to fully cure. In artificial light you'd be hard-pressed to tell it wasn't part of the car from the beginning. In sunlight it looks glossier than the surrounding materials, but I'm guessing the shine will disappear with age and weather exposure - and it's not very obvious even now, unless you're looking at it up close.

If you go this route, the total fix would cost you under $20 from Home Depot (cost includes a caulk gun, the DAP Dynaflex Ultra in black, and painter's tape). I admit that I was in a bit of a rush and did not use painter's tape to protect the siding and the paint, instead choosing to wipe the excess off with a wet paper towel - not as ideal, ideally you'd put tape down on the sides and over the bottom paint (might be difficult but should be doable). I also didn't clean the crevice, but ideally you'd clean and dry it first. Squeeze out the material with the caulk gun, tamp it down a bit, wipe away any excess, and then remove the tape before everything completely dries. I let it sit for about 36-48 hours before driving the car. Even though it looked like I had way too much on there and wiped off a fair bit, the material seemingly sank in a bit and there is a small crevice. I could put a second layer on there to make it completely even, but based on my test drive today, this has completely resolved the issue for me and I don't feel the need to do it.

Major kudos to @mdow2788 's Ford dealership. Mine told me it was operating as intended and said I was probably just noticing it more because there was no engine noise - despite my telling them that it wasn't my first electric vehicle, and I never noticed anything like this on my previous one. For the other dealership to do trial and error to find the faulty spot, and then finding a fix, is going above and beyond. @Ford Motor Company I hope you can recognize that dealership in some way, and pass along this fix to the engineering team. It's an easy and cheap enough fix, but one that customers shouldn't have to be applying.
 
Last edited:

SJP

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
Mar 24, 2022
Threads
0
Messages
48
Reaction score
9
Location
New York
Vehicles
2021 Mach E Select AWD
Country flag
This fixed it for me! I didn't need to raise my volume to overcome wind noise, and while I still heard wind noise, I could hear it now at the front and passenger sides of the car as well, depending on the wind and the road - previously, I could only ever hear it from the driver side. And now, finally, it was just regular old wind noise, whereas previously it was, as someone on here previously described it, the "plastic bag effect" (similarly to the way you'd hear the wind blowing a plastic bag attached to something). Road noise has become more prominent to me now, which is another sign of how much the wind noise was reduced.
Ford Mustang Mach-E Wind noise IMG_3451D


I used DAP Dynaflex Ultra (black) from Home Depot, which I had laying around for another project that never ended up happening. I already had a caulk gun, but admit that this was my first time ever using it (or using a caulk gun, in general). Here are some closer views:

Ford Mustang Mach-E Wind noise IMG_3451D


Ford Mustang Mach-E Wind noise IMG_3451D


The material was a bit under 48 hours dry in these photos, and while the instructions say it's good to go for water exposure or painting after one hour, it says it might take 7-14 days to fully cure. In artificial light you'd be hard-pressed to tell it wasn't part of the car from the beginning. In sunlight it looks glossier than the surrounding materials, but I'm guessing the shine will disappear with age and weather exposure - and it's not very obvious even now, unless you're looking at it up close.

If you go this route, the total fix would cost you under $20 from Home Depot (cost includes a caulk gun, the DAP Dynaflex Ultra in black, and painter's tape). I admit that I was in a bit of a rush and did not use painter's tape to protect the siding and the paint, instead choosing to wipe the excess off with a wet paper towel - not as ideal, ideally you'd put tape down on the sides and over the bottom paint (might be difficult but should be doable). I also didn't clean the crevice, but ideally you'd clean and dry it first. Squeeze out the material with the caulk gun, tamp it down a bit, wipe away any excess, and then remove the tape before everything completely dries. I let it sit for about 36-48 hours before driving the car. Even though it looked like I had way too much on there and wiped off a fair bit, the material seemingly sank in a bit and there is a small crevice. I could put a second layer on there to make it completely even, but based on my test drive today, this has completely resolved the issue for me and I don't feel the need to do it.

Major kudos to @mdow2788 's Ford dealership. Mine told me it was operating as intended and said I was probably just noticing it more because there was no engine noise - despite my telling them that it wasn't my first electric vehicle, and I never noticed anything like this on my previous one. For the other dealership to do trial and error to find the faulty spot, and then finding a fix, is going above and beyond. @Ford Motor Company I hope you can recognize that dealership in some way, and pass along this fix to the engineering team. It's an easy and cheap enough fix, but one that customers shouldn't have to be applying.
Thanks for this information. I'm going to give it a try because my car was in the dealer three times for the wind noise and they haven't been able to solve it. This almost seems like a lemon law or class action issue. You figured it out, why doesn't FORD fix every car.
Thanks again,
 

Reign of Ravens

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Threads
5
Messages
454
Reaction score
498
Location
Hawaii
Vehicles
22 Mach-E Premium, Chrysler PacHy
Country flag
I hope it works for you. I have been driving each day this week so far and while I keep listening for the wind noise, I haven't heard it. It really elevates the driving experience to not be hearing it anymore. Some people reported that their wind noise came from the gaps in the roof - hopefully for you and anyone else reading, it's really just this side mirror gap.

Some of the reviews on Home Depot's website remark that the DAP Dynaflex Ultra's claims of being water-ready in one hour aren't true; one review wrote that it ran with water exposure even after four hours. I've gone through some rain already and can say that at around 72 hours it held up fine. I'd hate for people to possibly ruin their car's paint by having the material run, though. If rain is in the forecast, or if you can't give it at least 24-48 dry hours, consider holding off. It seems to wipe away easily enough when it's freshly applied, but there's a difference between taking it off of a house if it ran, and potentially screwing up the paint on your car.
 

Moxiemoney

Well-Known Member
First Name
Brent
Joined
Mar 25, 2023
Threads
0
Messages
58
Reaction score
50
Location
Portland, OR
Vehicles
'23 Premium AWD ER
Country flag
i am having the same wind noise at speeds above 60km from the driver side window, more noticeable when there is a cross wind. Also if I push the power window switch up you can hear the window move up slightly, although I never opened the window but the noise is still there. It is all quiet on the passenger side.
Yep, same with me on my '23. In fact, often times if I push the up buttons on all windows, several of them seem to push up a bit more. While driving, I retracted my power side mirrors, and the wind noise got even worse, so makes me think maybe it is that place where the mirrors meet the door. Gonna try to tape it as well and see if it makes a difference. Coming from a Ford Fusion Energi that was absolutely quiet, this wind noise really bothers me! haha
 

Mach-Lee

Well-Known Member
First Name
Lee
Joined
Jul 16, 2021
Threads
207
Messages
7,867
Reaction score
15,802
Location
Wisconsin
Vehicles
2022 Mach-E Premium AWD
Occupation
Sci/Eng
Country flag
Yep, same with me on my '23. In fact, often times if I push the up buttons on all windows, several of them seem to push up a bit more. While driving, I retracted my power side mirrors, and the wind noise got even worse, so makes me think maybe it is that place where the mirrors meet the door. Gonna try to tape it as well and see if it makes a difference. Coming from a Ford Fusion Energi that was absolutely quiet, this wind noise really bothers me! haha
The windows moving up slightly is normal and is not the issue. Try taping the mirror trim as shown.
 

Reign of Ravens

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Threads
5
Messages
454
Reaction score
498
Location
Hawaii
Vehicles
22 Mach-E Premium, Chrysler PacHy
Country flag
So far, still so good. I accelerated onto the highway recently and thought I heard the wind noise - and then I passed a pickup truck that was in the lane to the left of me, and realized that I was hearing the wind noise from that vehicle. The ride is considerably quieter and whether people fix it the way I did or fill that gap with something else, I can highly recommend it.. The DAP Dynaflex Ultra has developed a more matte appearance, as predicted; if it weren't for my sloppy work, you really wouldn't know that it wasn't on the car from the start.
 

Moxiemoney

Well-Known Member
First Name
Brent
Joined
Mar 25, 2023
Threads
0
Messages
58
Reaction score
50
Location
Portland, OR
Vehicles
'23 Premium AWD ER
Country flag
The windows moving up slightly is normal and is not the issue. Try taping the mirror trim as shown.
Unless it's specific to the MME, it certainly isn't normal in any vehicle I've ever owned. Unless, by normal, you mean it's a common defect, which I can believe. In fact, my rear passenger window slipped down to where there was about 1/8th inch open air between the top of the window and the door molding.
Sponsored

 
 




Top