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The highway wind noise is about the only complaint I have with my G35. Many of you know this problem all too well. Whenever I would reach 65 MPH or above, it would seem that my drivers side window was cracked open. At 80 MPH, the wind noise was absolutely unbearable, and was actually better if I rolled the window all the way down. I've read every wind noise thread, and have tried all the "fixes" suggested to no avail. I was getting to the point of just living with it until a couple weeks ago when I stumbled upon the fix randomly while replacing my door lock actuator.
The cause of our wind noise is due to a the window being adjusted too low vertically. The window thus does not roll up all the way to pinch the weather stripping at the top of the frame. We're talking about 2-3 mm here - not a large amount. This is also why you don't hear the noise at 45 MPH. I had no idea that there was a vertical adjustment for the window, but came across one just because I wanted to know what a couple bolts/nuts did on the door.
The bolts/nuts I'm referring to are in the pictures below. The bolts have a flat blade screwdriver end for adjusting the window's horizontal location (screw in, screw out). In my curiosity, I removed one of the nuts which lock the bolt in place, and noticed that the bolt was resting on the hole in the door from which it protrudes. I felt that this was odd and lifted up on the bolt. Low and behold, the window raised as well. I decided then to pull up as much as I could on the window, and tighten the nut while the window was raised. I did that for both bolt/nut combos. I completed the window motor reset procedure just in case, put the door panel back on, and observed from the exterior of the car that the window did roll higher up into the weather stripping, and was completely underneath the top frame. I took the car on the highway, and to my overwhelming joy, there was absolutely ZERO wind noise at 70 MPH, and just a whisper at 80.
I brought the car back, and determined that my 80 MPH whisper was coming from the rear side of the window. There were places along the weather stripping where the window was not making full contact. In a stroke of genius, I grabbed some vacuum hose and silicone spray, and proceeded to insert some lubricated hose down into the weather stripping to make it more "full". Observing the window now with the door closed confirmed that it was in full contact with the weather stripping. Back out on the highway I went. I hit 90 MPH (I know, I know), and ZERO, ZILCH, NADA wind noise. This has completely transformed how I feel about the G, and it is so much more enjoyable to drive.
So, let's begin.
Remove your door panel. You do not have to remove any harnesses or door lock cables. Just allow the door to rest on the ground with everything connected.
Now, identify the bolts/nuts I mentioned above. Loosen the nut towards the back of the car first, pull up on the window, hold, and tighten the nut.
Proceed to do the same thing with the bolt/nut towards the front of the car.
Now, if you end up having the same "whisper" from the vertical rear of the window, proceed with the following:
Find some decent sized vacuum hose, and any type of lubricant.
Lube up the vacuum hose, find the opening for the weather stripping in the upper corner of the door jam, and push the hose into the weatherstripping starting at the top and working it all the way down to the bottom. Cut any excess hose, and stuff the end into the upper corner of the weather stripping. You should not see any hose once you are finished. (In the photo below, I have it shoved into the corner first before inserting it down the vertical weather stripping.)
You may also wish to add a fine silicone bead under the exterior weather stripping "flap" to allow it to protrude a bit more. This is more of a secondary "air block", and is not as effective as inserting the vacuum hose into the weather stripping. (One of the "fixes" I had tried before, but did not work too well).
Enjoy!
Last edited by brazen; 03-09-2013 at 06:34 PM.
Reason: Added new photos/clarification
Additional photos have been added to the second portion of this fix. Let me know if there are any questions, and if I can clarify any of this in the DIY.
I didn't know prior to this attempt, but realized that was the case once I had the tightening nuts loose. I've seen (probably) hundreds of complaints on this single issue, and many attempts by owners and dealerships alike - all with unfavorable results. The wind noise was the single most annoying aspect of my G, and I figured there was no "good" fix as certainly someone would have found it in the last decade. I'm very surprised that Infiniti never released anything on this adjustment as it is the only way to completely eliminate wind noise without incorporating some sort of external weather stripping, or driving around with duct tape strapped on and flapping in the wind like a trike with tassels. Either way, I'm glad I found something (dumb luck or not) that saved my highway sanity. Hopefully this helps some other people exorcise the wind noise as well.
I just took apart the entire door today trying to figure out how to make this work, and with all of it out I noticed that the window is actually held by 2 bolts higher up as well as the 2 studs down below. They're all gold-colored plated, and if the top two are tight you won't be able to move the window. The top two are kind of important for guiding the position of the window, so have them threaded in most of the way while adjusting the bottom nuts.
I was able to reduce my wind noise a bit with this fix, but I can still hear it. I'm guessing it's just the A pillar design that creates some wind noise.
Use the "dollar bill test" to make sure the window is clamping properly on the seal. Roll down the window a little bit, lay a dollar bill on the window, roll up the window. You should barely be able to pull the dollar out without ripping it, it should be pinched in there really well. Test the front/mid/rear of the window in a few places.
As the components wear (specifically the regulator) things get out of alignment. Tighten all those bolts to 45 INCH lbs, tighten the two nuts at the bottom to 100 INCH lbs. (yes you need an inch pound torque wrench for this, don't just guess it)
Then turn the adjuster nut to set the correct pinch angle on the window.
Oh yea, I thought I should share: THE ADJUSTER SCREW WORKS.
I increased the tension on both sides and the wind noise was reduced significantly (there's still a little bit of noise, but I don't feel the urge to put earplugs in anymore). On my passenger side door, having the adjustment maxed out produced a seemingly tight seal but not as much tension as on the driver's side, and perhaps this is just correlation but there is also more whistling wind noise from that side.
As mentioned in a previous post the "dollar bill" test works as well as any test you can do to check for seal. Don't get it too tight it as should just drag as you pull it through but not so tight you think you'll tear the bill. This works just as well on the framed sedan doors as the frameless windows on a coupe. Additionally if you have a sedan the upper part of the doors that frame the glass can be easily bent out of position over time. We used to get brand new door shells out of pretty sturdy boxes that had to be tweaked into the right shape. To do this on the car all you need is a towel and a block of wood. Wrap the towel around the block and position it where it touches the door striker and the latch area. They're usually out at the B-pillar and need to be pushed in just a bit. Just hold the door against the wood block(with the window all the way DOWN) and bounce on it with your hands. Do small increments only and keep checking the door closure. Do not push it like you're trying to turn the car over as one of my employees did as you can crimp the window channel. This is the weakest part of any door so go slow and if you accidently overdo it slightly move your block to the top rear of the window frame and "bounce" it back out. Hope this helps someone.
03-09-2013, 02:41 PM
