Wind noise on driver's door/alignment issues

[daan]

I got a new job, I have to drive 17mi each way (I know, not as long as some but it's a long way for me) anyway, I noticed that there's a lot of wind noise, sounding like the window is open partway even when it's closed. And yes, I made sure it was closed, the door is shut properly, the back door is shut, etc. This is my first new car, and it has less than 4K miles on it so I'd expect it to be quieter than it is. My previous car was a convertible (Miata) with over 200K on it, and this one is about as loud. I took it back to the dealer and the service guy said, "They all do that. You just have to expect noise, rattles, etc from this class of car." Argh. Anyway the other thing I'm dealing with is the alignment. The car pulled to the driver's side from the day I got it. I took it back in twice now, the first time the service guys said "It doesn't pull for us, so we didn't do anything." The 2nd time they said "We put it on the rack, it's still in spec but we re-aligned it anyway". It still pulls. I rotated all the tires, they all are inflated to 35#, I think I did everything I can to fix this pulling. Has anybody else encountered this? I think I'm going to try a different dealer, although of the 2 Nissan places within an hour of my place, the other dealer is the one that told me Nissan doesn't make a manual transmission Versa so I'm not holding much hope of that place being better than where I got mine.Oh yeah, I don't have any of the steering clunk that you guys are reporting. T. I. A. and all that.

[Daviswilson333]

Hi this is Davis....hello to all the members of this forum....I really love Black Nissan.....if anyone have any sales related stuff related to Nissan please post here...else if u want i will provide my personal email id....-----------------------------------Davis.

Used Cars

[mosquito_R]

Hmmm... your complaints sound just like mine when I first got my car.

With the wind noise, do you have a hood deflector installed? I got mine installed since day 1 and it generates some sort of a whistling sound at the front doors. This was fixed with some foam applied on the underside of the deflector to divert some of the airflow.

The alignment problem was not as apparent to me until I got the car to 100km/h and up (60mph). The dealer explained that the problem was a rear axle assembly that was put out of alignment due to the way the car was tied down during shipping. It was replaced and the problem was solved, but make sure you ask them to check the alignment of your steering wheel as well because it'll likely require a tweak.

If I were you, I would try the other dealer anyway. See what they'll say.

All the best, and keep us posted!

[DrivingHabit]

Grooves in the roadway can also pull your car at high speeds. Grooves in the freeway lanes here in Spokane are really bad.

[sooner4x4]

I have had my Versa on several road trips and there is very little wind noise, even cruising a steady 80 mph in windy Oklahoma. No pull either, tracks straight and true.

But I did have the steering clunk and it took a couple of different dealers to finally get it properly diagnosed and fixed. Sounds like you need to try another dealer for your problems who is more customer oriented.

Something that worked for me when I was having difficulty getting a dealer interested in my Versa's problem, I read up in the owners manual how to handle these types of issues, then I contacted the manager of the dealership where I bought the car, and very politely explained my problem and what I expected and after that I had very good customer service and got my problem resolved.

Saying the Versa is a cheap car and therefore should have wind noise and poor tracking is total BS. Good luck. Patient persistance can pay off.

[blockmachining]

I had a very similar issue with wind noise from the driver's side door. This is what I found.....First, the black rubber seal that goes around the driver's door window was twisted. The small black tab on this seal was actually twisted to the point the window pressed this tab into the window track. I was able to "untwist" this seal which illuminated most of this noise. The second problem with the door and the wind noise was the inside door panel was not positioned correctly. The door panel was pulled away from the door and the window. This allowed a little extra noise to make it from the outside of the door into the passenger compartment. I had to take this issue to the dealership for repair as the inside door handle had to be removed to reposition the door panel into place. Once these two actions were taken, the wind noise dropped considerably.

Out of curiosity...when was your car built? Mine was built in October, 07. Hope this helps.

[NMI]

I have had my Versa SL HB for a couple of days and I have noticed it is pulling to the driverside now too (just noticed it this morning). I will be bringing it in this coming week, I will let you know what they tell me.

[erocuroc]

Daan-

After owning my Versa for about a year I also had an increase in wind noise coming from the driver's side window. As you described, it was as if the window wasn't quite rolled up all the way. I brought it into a local Nissan dealer (not the one I bought it from, as I no longer deal with their incompetance) and they verified the noise issue. They diagnosed the noise as the soft black rubber seal that goes around the door frame being frayed. I was unsure of the diagnoses at first as the seal visually looked fine. However after being replaced, I have had no problems (with the wind noise that is)!

Hope this helps, and hang in there.

[iluvmyVersa08]

Hey, I too hear a high pitched noise when I drive over 90km/h. I cant seem to figure out what it is. I have a bug deflector added to the front of my car. Is that what it is? I dont understand what you did to fix it? What did you use? Did it actually reduce the high pitched noise? It almost sounds like air is coming in from somewhere, but all the windows and doors are closed. At first I thought it was my sunroof but it happens even after I open the sunroof so it must be something else. If it really is the bug deflector what did you do? Did the dealer do it for you, or did you add the foam yourself? What foam did you use?Sorry for all the questions, this is my first ever car and I really want to learn how to fix these things myself. Thanks for all your help.Ashley

[mosquito_R]

Hey, I too hear a high pitched noise when I drive over 90km/h. I cant seem to figure out what it is. I have a bug deflector added to the front of my car. Is that what it is? I dont understand what you did to fix it? What did you use? Did it actually reduce the high pitched noise?

If it really is the bug deflector what did you do? Did the dealer do it for you, or did you add the foam yourself? What foam did you use?

The dealer fixed it because I got it installed before taking delivery of the car. The foam is not high-density (it's more of the density of a typical sponge) and was stuck with double-sided tape on the underside of the deflector along its entire length. It seemed to have done the job.

On the other hand, if you're planning to install side window visors, you probably won't need to apply the fix to the bug deflector as the affected area on the window will be covered by the visor.

[iluvmyVersa08]

The dealer fixed it because I got it installed before taking delivery of the car. The foam is not high-density (it's more of the density of a typical sponge) and was stuck with double-sided tape on the underside of the deflector along its entire length. It seemed to have done the job.

On the other hand, if you're planning to install side window visors, you probably won't need to apply the fix to the bug deflector as the affected area on the window will be covered by the visor.

Thanks for all your help. Ya I installed the bug deflector myself, I purchased it from the dealer but once I already had possession of the car. I am planning on buying window vents so hopefully that will help, if not I'll look into getting the foam to put under the deflector.

Thanks again for your quick response, it helps

Ash

[mosquito_R]

I'd leave the install of the visors to the dealer because they're a real pain to line up. For my set I've experienced problems with the adhesive separating from door, so I had to get the set replaced by the warranty (dealer provides 1 yr warranty on accessories installed by them). For me it was worth the extra money.

[iluvmyVersa08]

I'd leave the install of the visors to the dealer because they're a real pain to line up. For my set I've experienced problems with the adhesive separating from door, so I had to get the set replaced by the warranty (dealer provides 1 yr warranty on accessories installed by them). For me it was worth the extra money.

Really? Thanks ... Did you purchase your window visors from the dealer?How much was it? And did they charge extra to install it?

[mosquito_R]

Really? Thanks ... Did you purchase your window visors from the dealer?How much was it? And did they charge extra to install it?

Yes, I got the visors from the dealer at $100 for the set. Install was another $80-100 (I forgot), but since I (1) was in a hurry to take the car on a road trip and didn't have time to install it and (2) am very anal retentive about lining up stuff properly, I ended up going to the dealer and paying this much. Most others on this forum may think I'm an idiot for letting the dealership do the work.

[daan]

I still have the wind noise problem, a coworker has an 07 SL that is way quieter than mine, and it has close to 40K on it (mine JUST turned over 8K) I took my car to 2 different Nissan places, the first one blew me off ("All economy cars are loud, you should have bought an Altima if you wanted a quiet car...") THe 2nd dealer took it out and confirmed the wind noise, they said they replaced the weatherstripping on the door, but it isn't any quieter now than before. I called them the next day about the noise not going away, and they told me "replacing the seal is the only thing we can do, we can keep your car overnight again but if we changed the seal once, changing it again isn't going to make it any quieter." Dangit. And no, I don't have the wind deflector thing so the problem isn't that. The alignment is still kind of off, but after rotating the tires it seems better. Oh yeah, I haven't paid a dime for any of this, so at least that makes me happy.

[srellim234]

Have you confirmed that the sound is truly coming from that particular door? The rubber stripping around the doors is only set in place on the Versa, not glued in place. As a result, some of us have had problems with the rubber strips on the rear doors. They bunch up, get gaps, etc. Since sounds tend to echo through the car and appear to come from somewhere else, check the back doors to see if the rubber is loose there.

It could even be that a problem with the back door rubber is sucking air through somewhere in the front door, causing the whistling up front. It may not be the cause of your problem, but it's worth a look.