Peichen09

My c300 is January build car, and it has very loud noise in my first highway driving. I really regret buying my c300 2015.
If you plan to buy, please test drive on highway and make sure you are ok with the loud noise.

ManiacGT

I hear wind noise above 80mph. Nothing below that unless its a very cross-windy day. Which is fine as I drive around 70-75mph and I'd expect wind noise at high speeds as most cars have it to some degree. At 80mph+ I get what I'd consider normal wind noise with a little flutter noise too. Its distracting at that speed only because the rest of the car is so quiet. In my other cars, they are so noisy I wouldn't notice this level of wind noise anyhow.

StanNH

I've asked this before with no response: Has anyone tried taking their affected car to a private body shop?

I know many of the better shops commonly deal with wind noise problems, and are very good at finding and fixing these problems. Since no dealer has yet been able to remedy this problem, and MB has not been responsive, that would seem like the logical next step in getting this resolved.

BlackjackM

I could be wrong, but the sound that I hear doesn't sound like wind entering the cabin, but more turbulence outside that is making the sound.

floridadriver

Hi Stan, I took mine by a body shop and said I'd pay out of pocket if they could find anything fixable. They spent about 10 minutes with it, checked the doors, and said 'doors aligned properly'. They said the issue was with the seals for door/window which they said come only from the car manufacturer and did't take a dime.

I had the dealer change all the door seals and window runs, though they said it probably wouldn't help, but I got a lot of improvement.

Another important note, in my car when I had the (to my ears) very significant noise with crosswinds, many people riding with me were 100% insistent they COULD NOT HEAR the noise. They otherwise seem to have normal hearing. I think it's subjective. Maybe just hits the right frequency from that one area.

Either way, the mirrors create some rustle, but is nothing like it was before they changed out all the seals/runs. I imagine a new door seal will be coming down the pike in some time. 1 or 2 mm could make a lot of difference.

StanNH

Thanks for the information. I think the seals being used are okay, but likely way too critical regarding installation. It's really odd that some cars are plagued by wind noise while others are not ... and all use the same seals and side mirrors. The fact that your wind noise problem was helped by new factory seals makes me think that slight misalignment during installation may, in fact, be the culprit.

kellens

Thanks floridadriver for the tip. I had ,y window run and door seals in front changed and had significant improvement. As quiet as I believe it should be with wind? no. Nut better. Thanks again!!

Peichen09

Great, and thanks. I will ask my dealer to re-do windows run and door seal for my c300

arnold0523

how did you tell your dealer to change? My local dealer said there's no problem with the wind noise....

omg516

Same here, my dealer kept the car for 2 days only to tell me that it was on par with other 2015 c300's that they drove back to back for comparison.

PeteInGilroy

I think there are actually two different wind noises entering the cabin. There is one that is constant and I don't have a problem with it. The other is louder and the noise fluctuates/flutters...sort of on & off at a rapid pace.

DBOC205

I've got a very minor amount of wind noise coming from the upper/rear edge of the window frame. It's not much but certainly audible at or above the 100Km/h speed. I can block the sound out significantly by jamming my hand or rag into the upper corner of the door/window. The rubbers all look fine - so I'm not sure what's at fault.

I'm interested by what you're saying about the flutter. When I'm at highway speed I get this occasionally - exactly how you describe (a flutter). The best comparison I can make is like when you have the sunroof open with all windows up and you get that flutter compression in the cabin. Again, it's pretty minor and I don't always get it, but something is definitely not sealing 100% on this car.

I'm still trying to come up with a way to troubleshoot it, but I won't be taking it to the dealership anytime soon for such minor issue.

PeteInGilroy

Keep us posted on any remedies you may find. I think the wind is the contributing factor with the fluttering.

floridadriver

I'm sorry your dealer is giving you a run around. Some are more on MBUSAs side than the customers. Do you have access to other dealers? Here, there's several within an hour and a half's drive.

My dealer at first was reluctant, but I was very respectful, but persistent. I filed case with MBUSA, posted on yelp about my poor experience as well and was going to try another dealer. The service manager called me and I returned to dealer a third time on a breezy day and we rode around in several other C300s, C400s on their lot with a dB meter and I got them to admit there was a disparity between them in sound, and mine on the worse end, so 'part of normal design' excuse I wasn't going to take. Each C was differently poor with wind issue. One of their mechanics who rode also agreed and took my side that his $15000 2009 Hyundai was a lot quieter car. When I put microphone near upper/top side window and a drive in a crosswind, we got a peak of 85db. OSHA would require hearing protection. They said they'd replace it as an effort, but no promise, and seemed confident that in time Mercedes would amend the door seal and/or mirror, that they had in the previous generations of C class.

They were puzzled why the acoustic glass isn't offered in the USA, it is well documented to quiet wind noise and is available in other markets, and in USA it's in most other cars (Some much less expensive).

No doubt Mercedes knows they have a problem with wind noise in some builds. They're not admitting it, but hopefully you'll find a dealer willing to try and help until replacement parts come.

Peichen09

It looks that Mercedes USA and Mercedes Canada do not care wind noise customer complain, and I will keep away from Mercedes. Very poor customer service from Mercedes, and I do not want to buy any more Mercedes car.

Is4b2rjd

Delete

whippet007

I don't understand how at "freeway" speeds a door could stay open 1/2 way.

One would think the force of the air rushing by the body of the car would keep it more or less in the closed position.

As far as the door opening on its own....... I am sure glad I have not had any of these type of issues.

rmc76

Agreed . Seems like a leading question to emphasise the point that some people have this issue.

StanNH

This is based on the assumption that all 2015 C-Class sedans have an inherent wind noise problem. If you start with that premise, then this makes sense ... as biased as it is.

While there are certainly enough of these cars that have wind noise coming through the window seals, there are also many that don't. On most cars you can hear external wind noise as it hits the outside of the car, as well as tire and road noise. That's not the same as an actual wind leak, where a defective door or window seal allows wind to penetrate through those seals.

Although neither of my two C-Class sedans exhibited any signs of wind leaks, I have been told many times that the defect was really there, but I just wasn't aware of it. I have put my ear right up to the glass and still could not hear any trace of a wind leak, so the obvious conclusion is that I'm either totally deaf or somehow immune to wind noise by virtue of a secret government wind noise vaccine.

Yes, I do hear tire and road noise, and I can hear wind outside the car in heavy crosswinds ... although it's never very obtrusive even in the worst conditions. Overall, it's about as quiet as most German cars I've owned and quieter than my last 2012 Volvo.

The real issue is why Mercedes seems reluctant to even acknowledge the problem or come up with a satisfactory fix for those cars that really are affected by it.

rmc76

Is this a 'dependant on where it was built ' issue? Do the cars on the US/Canada market fare worse with the issue?

whippet007

I too did not vote.

I have great hearing and I do not have wind noise there was no option to vote this way, thus my lack of a vote.

My car was purchased in the North American market.

Canada to be exact

CEINDK

My C200 from 10/2014 had the same problem as described by many in this thread, top mid front of both front side windows had a constant wind noise at speeds above 50-60 mph.

I have a very close friend at MB here in Denmark, he admitted that he knew of the issue and also had noticed it himself, when driving various W205 C class models.

The option offered to me (which they have done on several customers cars, with success) was to change both front side windows to windows that are made with the same technology used on the S class. It's a doubled glazed window. This has basically reduced the noise by 90%.

Apparently the design of the side mirror whips up air to that exact point of the windows, thus causing the wind noise. This would also explain why many people have the noise coming from the exact same place.

I hope this helps