Don't remember if I asked this before: When I'm driving and I open just the rear windows - I get a buffeting, choppy, shaking noise - kinda like the whop, whop of a copter blade. The first time it happened I thought I had a flat tire. Does anyone else experience this? Is it the cover for the cargo area? Thanks.
Thank goodness I'm not the only one who experiences this! Worried something might be wrong with my car. Thanks.
Most 4 door cars I've been in do this when the rear windows are down. Sometimes having one a little more open than the other can prevent it. I personally like having the driver's window and rear passenger window cracked a bit. Gives good airflow without much noise.
you did ask before, i remember like it was yesterday. same answer, it's the aerodynamic design, it trumps function every time. my kids used to drive me crazy opening the back windows.
Its called a whistle. Just a big one at a low frequency. Look at the design of a toy whistle and then look at your car with an open rear window. JeffD
...not just the 4 door cars you've been in ... it's a designed in phenomena in 90% of 4 door cars for the past 8 or 10 years. .
You are altering the airflow over the sides of the car when you open windows. I have found that lowering the rear windows only part of the way and then lowering the front door windows just a little will help reduce the buffeting from the unstable eddy currents that you are creating. You may need to play with the exact position since it varies from car model to car model. I don't think I want to ask why you want the windows open at all. Defeats the purpose of the HEPA filter big time! Bill the Engineer
Fresh air....driving down the street on a warm spring day...smelling the flowers, fresh cut lawns, heavenly... My old chevy HHR with front windows UP and rear windows down. it was like a a really big bass drum. I swore that if I went fast enough the harmonics would blow out one of the back windows... Been too cold to try it with the Prius...
You must be one of the lucky people without allergies. The HEPA filter is a Godsend for me. I even need to mow my grass with a dust mask on.
Bill, the only thing that I am allergic to, that I have found, is poison ivy/oak type of plants. if I even look at the stuff, I get it...Funny thing is my chosen trade is landscaping... Occasionaly when I drink large quantities of beer, my wife says I start acting strange, and my skin flushes. Not sure if its an allergic reaction, but the research is on going... when refer to the hepa filter are talking about the plasma cluster? or the stock "filter" behind the glove box... One of the first thing I did when I got my car was to check the filter. it is catching a lot of stuff, but I'm not sure if its a hepa filter... I could probably get a better filtering through an old jock strap...
It's the aerodynamics of modern "slippery" cars. Every car I've owned in the past 20 years or so has done that to some degree. Opening one of the front windows a bit should help. Running with the drivers front and passengers rear open gives you the best ventilation.......for the driver, that is, and should be fairly quiet too.
Ditto as rest. This didn't happen or wasn't noticeable in my 1992 Honda Accord and older vehicles. But every car I've owned since my 1998 Corolla has done this. I chalk it up to aerodynamics of newer vehicles but I'm no expert. I hate it and it gives me a headache. The only way to avoid it is to open all 4 windows. iPhone ?
