Honda Ridgeline Owners Club Forums banner

Whistling Wind Noise! -READ THIS-

8K views 30 replies 16 participants last post by  apar4 
#1 · (Edited)
To all Ridgeline owners:
If you are experiencing wind noise, it may not be coming from the windshield as regularly diagnosed on the boards. It may actually be coming from the rear roof panel that houses your brake light. If you inspect the roof gutters that go from fore to aft on your roof you will notice that they go directly into that rear panel. Air is said to be channeled from the roof gutters into that panel down into somewhere in the back of the truck.My technicians caught this by driving with two people in the car. One driver, one passenger in the back.
The body shop took the panel off and filled it with ept foam. This has taken care of the whistling all together and most of the wind buffeting sounds.

The guys at Mel Rapton Honda in Sacramento were the ones who solved this problem for me. Thanks guys.
 
#3 ·
I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS POST because I have the same problem. My vin is 518000 something and I noticed more noise than I thought I should have around 70-80 but it wasn't coming from the front. It sounded like it was coming from the back.

Now I have a starting point to see if my noise is the same as this one just posted. :eek:
 
#4 ·
$#%@#$^*&^%$ AAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG :mad:
IM SO FREAKING CONFUSED!!! i have the windnoise and was hesitant to take to dealer due to the lack of success of some windshield "fixes". now this information........(though very much appreciated, for sure). that whistling is driving me freaking nuts when i have the radio off............but now i really don't know what approach to take.......gawd,i don't want them replacing factory installed glass, seals, etc unless its for sure the problem.
 
#5 ·
Sounds like this is an easy fix, without replacing anything. Try it. What have you got to lose?
 
#7 ·
I've been listening for this noise since I first read about it at ROC. On the way home from the golf course today, I heard what I thought was "the noise". I pushed the windows up. No change. I turned off the driving lights, No change. I turned off the radio. No change. Then, I looked down at my bottle of Diet Pepsi, put it to my ear, and behold. The source of the noise was carbonation escaping from the loosened cap. :rolleyes:
 
#8 ·
jam2004 said:
I've been listening for this noise since I first read about it at ROC. On the way home from the golf course today, I heard what I thought was "the noise". I pushed the windows up. No change. I turned off the driving lights, No change. I turned off the radio. No change. Then, I looked down at my bottle of Diet Pepsi, put it to my ear, and behold. The source of the noise was carbonation escaping from the loosened cap. :rolleyes:
Doh!!! :eek: :D
 
#9 ·
jam2004 said:
I've been listening for this noise since I first read about it at ROC. On the way home from the golf course today, I heard what I thought was "the noise". I pushed the windows up. No change. I turned off the driving lights, No change. I turned off the radio. No change. Then, I looked down at my bottle of Diet Pepsi, put it to my ear, and behold. The source of the noise was carbonation escaping from the loosened cap. :rolleyes:
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
 
#10 ·
Re: Wind Noise

I just talked with Honda america and complained about the wind noise. The rep told me that he was not aware of the noise. What made the call interesting he put me on hold and came back with a 5 minute speach about the wind, such as speed, direction and so on. My reply was that my wife has an element and that no weather conditions effect the cabin noise in the element. That is all he offered me. My dealer told me they haven't heard of the wind noise problem either but are willing to take a look at it July 8 and I will keep everyone posted.
 
#11 ·
Re: Wind Noise

miked said:
I just talked with Honda america and complained about the wind noise. The rep told me that he was not aware of the noise. What made the call interesting he put me on hold and came back with a 5 minute speach about the wind, such as speed, direction and so on. My reply was that my wife has an element and that no weather conditions effect the cabin noise in the element. That is all he offered me. My dealer told me they haven't heard of the wind noise problem either but are willing to take a look at it July 8 and I will keep everyone posted.
wonderful :rolleyes: ...........................will be looking for your next post on the subject.
 
#14 ·
Here's what you do to prove it to the dealer so they'll take action. Use masking tape and tape over the side and top window moldings. DO NOT form the tape to the profile of the molding but rather make it a smooth transition from the window to the roof line.

Now go drive your truck and if the wind noise is gone something is wrong with the molding and/or windshield placement. LEAVE the tape in this case and drive it to the dealer. Have them go for a ride with you and half way thru the ride stop and remove the tape so they can hear the difference.
 
#17 · (Edited)
thanks vertrkr..................ive always been glad you were on this site. even though you like to get drunk and tear up your ridge ;) , you have sense about you............i don't. i like this truck, just want to get that quiet ride that was part of the appeal of it. between you and bellteck, ive learned a few things that i never thought about before as yall seem to appreciate the auto a bit more that i do. i guess ive always just picked my nose and went on. :rolleyes:..........by the way, got the cowling back in place. :cool:
 
#18 ·
American Honda contacted me twice. First time was about the ridegeline customer sastisfaction survey. This was before I found this site. Second time was a call about how I liked the truck and if I had any comments. I told them about the wind noise. The lady I spoke with said that this was the number one concern amongst owners, so they are aware of it. For the record, I did have my windshield reinstalled, which didn't solve the problem for low speed windnoise, freeway noise went away. Then after I brought it back a second time, they taped stuff off because they were sure they installed it correctly. That's when the put two technicians in the truck and found out about the the rear roof panel...and now...no sound at all. I'm not saying there was never a problem with the windshield installs. What am I saying is that the could be more then one culprit to the whistling sound that can vary from truck to truck. :)
 
#19 ·
I'm so confused... :( Like Jeff, I have no idea what to do. I have minor, but noticeable, wind noise at above 65 mph. I'd like to get it looked at, but hesitate to have them replacing windshields and whatnot without knowing the root cause. I'm leaning towards waiting a month or two and seeing how this plays out before having the service dept. at my dealership tinkering with my baby.
 
#20 ·
ok, i took vertrkr's advise and taped off winshield myself. sure enough, windnoise stopped....here goes....the whistling is coming from passenger side on mine. i used painters tape to tape of that whole side, down to the cowling and to the far upper portion as well. noise stopped....i used sections of tape so i could pull each section off one by one to isolate exactly where the problem was..pull a section off, drive, no noise. pull a section, drive no noise. pull a section, you get the idea...takes a few minutes but BINGO. the whistling i am hearing is coming from about a 2-3 inch area in the upper passenger corner, before the top of the windshield.........its the seal. there is a gap between the seal and the sheetmetal that is about 1/8 inch i guess more than the driver side. i traced the noise directly to that spot, no doubt.
you guys take a look and you may notice the gap. it is noticeable to the eye once you know what you are looking for. now just wondering how to fix. don't want to have the glass removed. but i do know thats exactly the area and problem on my rl.............good luck.
 
#21 ·
methodtim said:
I'm so confused... :( Like Jeff, I have no idea what to do. I have minor, but noticeable, wind noise at above 65 mph. I'd like to get it looked at, but hesitate to have them replacing windshields and whatnot without knowing the root cause. I'm leaning towards waiting a month or two and seeing how this plays out before having the service dept. at my dealership tinkering with my baby.
There is nothing really to be confused about. Windnoise is a problem that can be coming from different areas of the truck, it's a fact, get it diagnosed and remedied, if it's not the windshield it may be coming from the rear roof panel. As I have stated before, I have had both windshield reinstalled and the rear roof panel filled with ept foam. The reinstallation of the windshield took care of the wind noise on the freeway and crosswinds. But I was still getting the whistling sound around 45mph. Thats when the rear roof panel was looked at.
Good luck.
 
#23 ·
Just got back from a long road trip. Tucson to Whitefish, MT. Then towed about 2000lbs back down to Jackson, WY. The Ridge was an absolutely amazing vehicle with one exception - wind noise. I've had my windshield replaced and the wind noise is not fixed and possibly worse than before. The GUSH is as loud as can be. I don't know what the next step is... I can tell you that this noise makes road trips suck and that I may end up selling this truck because of this issue. I have told everyone who is interested in the Ridge the truth about this problem and how HONDA pretends like it doesn't exist when you call the customer circus department. Too bad. They hit a homer with this great product, but have killed it with a Sh**ty QC issue.
 
#24 ·
tucsonridge said:
Just got back from a long road trip. Tucson to Whitefish, MT. Then towed about 2000lbs back down to Jackson, WY. The Ridge was an absolutely amazing vehicle with one exception - wind noise. I've had my windshield replaced and the wind noise is not fixed and possibly worse than before. The GUSH is as loud as can be. I don't know what the next step is... I can tell you that this noise makes road trips suck and that I may end up selling this truck because of this issue. I have told everyone who is interested in the Ridge the truth about this problem and how HONDA pretends like it doesn't exist when you call the customer circus department. Too bad. They hit a homer with this great product, but have killed it with a Sh**ty QC issue.
hey tuscon, see previous posts #18 and #20. honda is acknowledging. sounds like it depends on who you talk to. also, see if the problem can be isolated like i did with the painters tape. i can see why replacing the glass wouldn not help, or especially if not installed properly. i recall vertrkr saying a honda rep was present when his was replaced because it had to be done a certain way.
 
#25 ·
jeffiam said:
hey tuscon, see previous posts #18 and #20. honda is acknowledging. sounds like it depends on who you talk to. also, see if the problem can be isolated like i did with the painters tape. i can see why replacing the glass wouldn not help, or especially if not installed properly. i recall vertrkr saying a honda rep was present when his was replaced because it had to be done a certain way.
I have more to my story I'll post in a new thread later today. Basically even with my new windshield and a honda engineer to help install it I still had wind noise although less than before. I just fixed it myself yesterday by adding black silicone all the way around the molding. I'll post more details & pics later.
 
#26 ·
vertrkr said:
I have more to my story I'll post in a new thread later today. Basically even with my new windshield and a honda engineer to help install it I still had wind noise although less than before. I just fixed it myself yesterday by adding black silicone all the way around the molding. I'll post more details & pics later.
I thought about using black silicone as well....my wife gave me a "dont you dare touch it" look thinking i would have it torn up in the driveway :D .
so, i haven't done anything yet. would like to know how that silicone worked out.......as a matter of fact, my wife said, "dont you dare use DAP on that thing!!)...lol..lol....oh, that cracked me up. dap and duct tape...excellent cure alls..............but not for the ridge!!!...........will be looking for that post vertrkr.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top