Can't drive with windows down....NOISE

A lot of cars produce such noises when you roll down only one window. To cure the whomp whomp noise I simple crack the rear window a bit and it goes away. I drive with my windows down more often than up and I've never been stuck with noise.

 

Most hatchbacks I have owned have had a bad low frequency rumble if only one rear window is open which gets much better when you open another window on the opposite side of the car. I haven't noticed it in the Prius, but I don't drive it at speed with the window open since it screws up the aerodynamics.

 

We added the Weathertech wind/rain deflectors, in an attempt to tone down the "whomp whomp" effect.

It does seem to help. Having more than one window, as F8L mentions, works too.

Had the exact same issue on my Malibu, when I had it. Not just a Prii thing.

 

Imagine being inside a giant flute. That is what you are experiencing. Happened to me in my Subaru with the moonroof open.

Fixes include, opening another window, changing speed, or subtracting volume from the space (say by carrying some empty boxes.

 

Don't drive with the windows down. I did it for 40 years and now I have deep notches in my hearing frequency response and generally lousy hearing. Let the air conditioning do its job an don't make yourself deaf.

 

I love my Prius. The one item I do not like is the wind frequency when the front passenger side window is all the way down while going above 40 mph. I solve it by only putting this window down half way and opening the window behind me a couple inches.

 

i only notice it with the rear windows, and have on other cars as well. i don't usually drive with just the passenger window open so not sure about that. i always assumed it was because the rear windows don't go all the way down like they did on older cars with full size rear doors?

 

Tow days ago I opened the windows for the first time since I bought my car last November and I was shocked. Let's just say I won't be doing that again. I tried opening other windows but it did not help much and that tone is annoying.

 

What he said.

The first time I opened the passenger all the way down when driving fast was quite surprising how much buffeting there was. Really bad.

Use the recirc selection & ac on always. Its mpg loss is very small as its electric. You want to keep the cabin cool & dry as its easier on the Hybrid battery connections and the hundreds of electrical connections in the cabin.

 

I've had the same issue on several different cars. What others have said, don't wind down just the one window.

When you have just one window down (particularly in an aerodynamic car) you get a venturi effect which creates lower air pressure in the cabin than outside. This is what causes the air to pulsate, it's a bit like when you empty an upturned bottle of water and it goes in "glug - glug - glug" like pulses as it fights against the partial vacuum left behind in the bottle.

In older cars (that may have emissions and exhaust system that aren't in the best condition) it can actually be dangerous to your health to drive with just window down for this very reason. The reduced cabin pressure caused by the venturi effect can cause exhaust gases to be sucked into the cabin through poorly sealing gaps like in the hatch etc.

That's two reasons why it's always best to use at least two windows together to create a cross-flow.

One final point. Above 40 MPH it's probably more efficient to use the fan and AC anyway. In hot weather I do use the windows down at slow to medium speed, especially when I'm just starting my drive to get the hot air out efficiently, but once I'm up to speed I generally change over to A/C.

 

I very rarely drive with the windows down, especially on the highway. Partly to keep the wind noise out, and partly to keep the music noise in. Opening another window helps a bit, but not enough. I don't notice much difference with the window visors - probably because I had them installed at the dealer before we picked up the car, so I don't know what it's like without them.

Recirc ac is more efficient, but I've found on long trips I'm much more alert with fresh air instead.

 

One of the first things added to our '07 was front side window deflectors, which made a big difference when driving with the front windows down. Still get the pressure oscillation when a rear window is down and the front down as well. Most of my cars have had wind wings, and the deflectors do much the same thing.

Also nice 'cause you can drive in the rain with a window cracked. I noticed that most cars in Japan have them, and are ordered with the car.

 

That is odd. When I drive with my driver's side window down (all other windows up) I get the oscillation noise. When I crack any other window (anything more than 3 inches) the noise goes away.

Ohh, regarding your username, my dad wanted to give me the middle name Time but my mother won and gave me the middle name Case instead. My first name is Justin.

 

At 55mph I decided to lower the rear windows on my 2010. The whole car started to vibrate (shake) I rolled the front windows down also but this helped just a little. I've also noticed that when I roll up the front windows, the door seems to be more solid. Is having all windows up part of the structural integrity of the body? Would you be worse off in a roll over if the windows were down (top-crush)?

 

Our Gen3 is absolutely, by far and beyond question, the worst car I've ever been in in my life for driving with windows down. The rear windows cannot be lowered at any kind of speed, it is a shocking buffeting sound it makes. Front is better, though. It's egregiously awful. At least we have AC

 

price you pay for aero dynamics i guess.

 

The same thing happens with every car. I think its more noticeable on the prius becasue the car is so quiet to begin with and as other have mentioned, opening the windows really introduces alot of drag. I have wind deflectors installed and it definitely helps, i can crack the front windows a couple inches now and its not as bad as before. I like driving with my windows cracked to get fresh air, but rarely down all the way unless its just around town. In the summer it gets too hot most days anyways so I just put the A/C on.

 

Absolutely not. It's definitely much louder in this car than any other car I'm familiar with and is well beyond anything to do with it otherwise being quiet. My minivan has no AC so last summer I drove with the windows down at various speeds. It was loud but there was none of the buffeting drum-beat of air that thumps against ear drums like in this car.