Wind noise at rear interior of car

roni024

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Location
Syracuse, NY
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL DSG
I'm experiencing an issue and not sure how to pin-point and troubleshoot it. When driving at highway speed on windy days, there is a noise coming from the rear windshield area (passenger side bottom corner?) that sounds a bit like when you blow through a blade of grass held between your thumbs, but much louder and stronger. It is not steady, and seems to correspond with the gush of wind. I asked my VW dealer about it, and they said it is not covered under warranty since my car as roughly 95k on the odometer (it's only a 2013). They recommended I contact an auto glass specialist to replace the rear windshield, but I'm not even sure that's where the noise is coming from. It does not seem weather dependent, as it started back in the summer months and continues to this day. Sometimes, I think the rear windshield (if that's actually the source of the noise) is going to be ripped out of the car!

Has anyone else noticed this in their Passat?
 

nord

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2010
Location
Southern Tier NY
TDI
All turned back to VW. Now a 2017 Hundai Tuscon. Not a single squalk in 10k miles.
You have an SE DSG which means a sunroof I believe. I'd highly suspect a minor issue with the drain hose. Very annoying if constant.

Our SEL develops a bit of noise in rainy weather as water is drained from around the sunroof area. Unusual in anything but very heavy rain.
 

ZippyTDI

Active member
Joined
Oct 12, 2014
Location
Austin, Texas
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL, 2010 JettaTDI
Had the same issue with my 2014 TDI, same window. The fix in my case was to replace the long rubber seals in the doorframe that seal around the window when closed. Problem solved.
 

Cincy_TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2013
Location
Cincy
TDI
Passat SE TDI
Had same issue with left rear passenger door and window seal.. Now I hear the right rear passenger door. Got the left one replaced under warranty, right one will be on me, or I just turn the radio up a little more.
 

saleen351

Active member
Joined
Aug 15, 2011
Location
providence,RI
TDI
2004 jetta tdi
Thank you all for sharing this post. I have this problem since day one and as usual it is "NORMAL" for dealership technician.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

JaredC01

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2011
Location
St. Louis, MO
TDI
2015 Passat SE - 6MT
I have this problem with my 2015 model, dealership confirmed the issue and ordered parts for replacement. The service writer that I spoke with wasn't in when I came to pick the car up, so I didn't hear exactly what the issue was, but it was said to be a seal that requires replacing the glass with it as well.
 

dieselhaze

Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2015
Location
Alabama
TDI
2013 passat tdi se 6m
I have this problem, my dealership told me same thing. Service manager said "These new passats aren't built in Germany and all of them do it, said it's normal"
My interpretation of this is just laziness. Going to try a new dealership with the problem if I ever get enough free time. That is, if I don't trade for a Golf tdi.
 

dieselhaze

Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2015
Location
Alabama
TDI
2013 passat tdi se 6m
I have this problem, my dealership told me same thing. Service manager said "These new passats aren't built in Germany and all of them do it, said it's normal"
My interpretation of this is just laziness. Going to try a new dealership with the problem if I ever get enough free time. That is, if I don't trade for a Golf tdi.
 

Busydiver

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2013
Location
Minneapolis, MN
TDI
Passat TDI SEL
Pass on to VWoA

I have this problem, my dealership told me same thing. Service manager said "These new passats aren't built in Germany and all of them do it, said it's normal"
My interpretation of this is just laziness. Going to try a new dealership with the problem if I ever get enough free time. That is, if I don't trade for a Golf tdi.

I am sure VWoA would love to hear this. If these cars arent built in Germany they are a pos....that is my interpretation of that comment. Sure the sevice manager time at that dealership would short lived.
 

roni024

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Location
Syracuse, NY
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL DSG
I appreciate the replies so far, but I'm convinced the noise is from the rear windshield, and not the rear door. Has anyone had issue with the weather seal failing at the rear windshield? Is there an adhesive I can reapply around the windshield without removing it from the vehicle?
 

nord

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2010
Location
Southern Tier NY
TDI
All turned back to VW. Now a 2017 Hundai Tuscon. Not a single squalk in 10k miles.
Let me see here... You pay $30k for a car and it's okay to have defects? I don't think so! NO DEFECT IS NORMAL!

Allow me to share a personal experience... My older son purchased a truck which became progressively more reluctant to stop. I mean REALLY reluctant! After several failed attempts to address the problem I was informed by the service manager that the truck stopped just fine when cold. At which point I about came over the counter after this moron. I had previously shared that a bumper to bumper warranty was just that and that I didn't care if it involved bolting a new truck between them.

Luckily the owner of the dealership was close by and had heard the exchange. He wasn't too pleased and instructed his employee to take a new truck off the lot and use it as a donor for every part needed until our truck was repaired. Amazingly later that day a call saying that all was well. And it was.

Laziness and uncaring is endemic throughout the automotive industry as it is just about everywhere. It seems the motto is to do as little as possible to slide by and to extract the maximum dollars in return for the minimum effort involved.

Do yourself and the owner of the dealership a huge favor and inform him or her about the treatment you've received. If you get a shrug of the shoulders, then make tracks away and never return. If, on the other hand, the owner quietly tells you that the problem will be immediately addressed and it is, then you'll have done both yourself and the dealer a huge service.

Give your dealer at least the benefit of knowing. See what happens and judge the dealership based on what happens and how the situation is rectified.
 

nord

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2010
Location
Southern Tier NY
TDI
All turned back to VW. Now a 2017 Hundai Tuscon. Not a single squalk in 10k miles.
Oh... I stand by drain noise. Our SEL has a slight hint of this in wet weather when low pressure forms at the vent end of the tube and water is literally being vacuumed from the sunroof channels.
 

RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
I appreciate the replies so far, but I'm convinced the noise is from the rear windshield, and not the rear door. Has anyone had issue with the weather seal failing at the rear windshield? Is there an adhesive I can reapply around the windshield without removing it from the vehicle?
Test your theory by temporarily taping the entire perimeter of the rear door quarter window, spanning the glass/window frame/door top interface. If a test drive reveals no change in the sound, since some report the problem was with the rear window channel weatherstrip, tape around the main window perimeter, again spanning the glass/channel interface. In no change, do the same thing with the backlight (what you call "rear windshield").

I'd be surprised if yours is a different problem than others have had.
 
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roni024

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Location
Syracuse, NY
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL DSG
Chris,

Your idea of taping around the suspected area is genius! I can't believe I did not think of it. I'll try that as soon as the weather warms up around here. Tape won't stick so well when it's -17 outside! Well, at least overnight...
 

roni024

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Location
Syracuse, NY
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL DSG
nord,

Thanks for the drain suggestion. I'll try that if taping the window does not reveal the source.
 

roni024

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Location
Syracuse, NY
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL DSG
Mysterious wind noise problem identified and solved...

In preparation for a road trip last month, I was cleaning the interior surfaces of my car's windows. While wiping the rear windshield, the upper right corner lifted up at least 1". I brought it to a local auto glass business (not nationally known, BTW) to have them reseat the rear glass. The guy at the glass place said it looked like the factory did not apply primer to a large area of the edge. Repair cost $230.
 

RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
Wow, good catch and congratulations on the solution!

That's the very last thing I would have suspected. Out of curiosity, did you try diagnostically taping the backlight (rear windshield)?

Did you have any water intrusion in the trunk?
 

roni024

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Location
Syracuse, NY
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL DSG
I never got around to trying the taping method you had offered. The problem was very sporadic and difficult to replicate. They were no obvious signs of leakage inside, but once I discovered the problem at the upper corner of the window, I then noticed minor water marks on the inside surface of the rear glass near that corner. It wasn't leaking bad enough to make it all the way to the trunk.
 

RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
Of course this begs the question: if this was the original backlight and not a replacement, were you the only (and unlucky) victim or was this a wider, but limited, production issue that wasn't bothersome enough for the majority of owners to notice (noise or water leakage)?
 
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