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Wind Buffeting with rear window down

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Old Mar 28, 2011 | 07:08 PM
  #1  
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2011 E350
Wind Buffeting with rear window down

Ok, shoot me but - I've got a dog and the dog was in the back seat (it was covered up however).

Well, I figured 55MPH roll the rear window down and let him enjoy the wind.

Oh my god the wind buffeting - major pressure and low frequency so bad it wasn't even tolerable. 55-60MPH. No cars on the road around me. I thought there was a flat tire or something.

Open the front window and pressure has a place to go. I couldn't get that window up fast enough.

I don't plan to run around with the dog and window down but was really surprised at how loud it was.

It was like riding a big cruiser behind a tractor trailer with the windshield off - only worse.

Just curious if any of you have had this happen yet? Maybe it was just the right wind direction, temperature, speed that caused it.
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Old Mar 29, 2011 | 12:39 AM
  #2  
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Porsche Macan S SportDesign / Ex M-B's: 11 & 10 & 06 E350's, 02 S500
Probably the cars aerodynamics, and greenhouse aero, etc.

I've seen others post this before, and I do find that if I go past a certain speed (40-50+), or if it's even moderately windy outside, the wind buffeting gets out of control.

Trying to enjoy a nice yet kind of windy day today while cruising around, my party kept getting spoiled because the wind was insane with my window even partially open (at traffic speeds, mind you).
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Old Mar 29, 2011 | 08:07 AM
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Originally Posted by Tibs
Ok, shoot me but - I've got a dog and the dog was in the back seat (it was covered up however).

Well, I figured 55MPH roll the rear window down and let him enjoy the wind.

Oh my god the wind buffeting - major pressure and low frequency so bad it wasn't even tolerable. 55-60MPH. No cars on the road around me. I thought there was a flat tire or something.

Open the front window and pressure has a place to go. I couldn't get that window up fast enough.

I don't plan to run around with the dog and window down but was really surprised at how loud it was.

It was like riding a big cruiser behind a tractor trailer with the windshield off - only worse.

Just curious if any of you have had this happen yet? Maybe it was just the right wind direction, temperature, speed that caused it.
I find that if you just crack your sun roof open (rear tilt up) the noise becomes more bearable and less intrusive. Its much worse in the ML if you can believe it.
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Old Mar 29, 2011 | 10:22 AM
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2010 E350 Luxury Sedan, Engine 272 (V6)
This is normal for most cars. Two windows down is worse than one. I have lowered both rear windows about two inches without any problems at all speeds. Use it in conjunction with sunroof tilt and A/C off with just fan on.
BTW, it is dangerous to let dogs stick their heads out of moving cars. All kinds of debris can get into their eyes. In addition to their possibly being thrown out of the vehicle.
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Old Mar 29, 2011 | 11:35 AM
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I have never owned a car that did not do this. It is totally normal. Just crack a front window to minimize it.
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Old Mar 30, 2011 | 12:40 PM
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2011 E350
Come to think of it, I've never had a dog in the car before and rolled a window down in the back so yeah, I guess its normal.

Good point on the eyes too, he didnt want to stick his head out anyway so it worked out.
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Old Mar 9, 2015 | 10:39 AM
  #7  
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My 2011 E350 definitely has a buffeting issue. My son asked if he could have the rear passenger rear window down because it was nice outside. We were immediately hit with a thunderous pounding inside the car and I thought something major was wrong with the vehicle. I even pulled over and did a visual inspection.

When we started driving again... I rolled down the driver’s window and didn't hear anything and rolled it back up. I rolled the passenger rear window down again and there it was. I rolled the driver’s side window down at the same time and the noise went away.

As others have stated... as long as the front window or sunroof are cracked... the buffeting is not an issue.
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Old Mar 9, 2015 | 01:40 PM
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2008 E320 Bluetec (until 11/14), 2001 SLK 320, 2004 Volvo V70, 1972 MGB, 2013 E350
Have never had rear widow down on my W211 or current w212. If I want air, I will pull the SLK out of the garage.
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Old Mar 9, 2015 | 06:23 PM
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I have never driven a car which doesn't do this. Wind acoustics ...may be. Air in the car fighting with the wind outside. Either open all windows or close all of them.
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Old Mar 9, 2015 | 08:06 PM
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Just a 'normal' characteristic of air pressure waves and resonance.
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