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Thanks. I'm a civil engineer but I remembered this flow theory from my physics and fluids classes. I've designed a lot of pressure vessels that utilized buna o-ring seals so I was aware of their capabilities.
I'm surprised there isn't a gasket between the frame and cap to do exactly what you did. Wonder if some finance guy made a decision to save 25 cents?
I'm surprised there isn't a gasket between the frame and cap to do exactly what you did. Wonder if some finance guy made a decision to save 25 cents?
I think it also depends on the gap size? I just measure the gap on my mirror. Its 0.095" on driver side, and 0.1" on the passenger side. I don't think I hear the wind noise that you described. Maybe on the test vehicles that MB uses, they have a smaller gap size which "prevent" or "minimize" the wind noise.
(since you use an o-ring that is 0.139", I assume the gap on your mirror is larger)
Just curious how you tie the two ends together using cord stock. I assume there is a special fastener or is it make your own? An electrical wire splice might work.
Edit-Looking at the picture again it looks like you just did the top 1/2 of the mirror so what keeps it in place? Seems like it might hold better making a joined piece.
Just curious how you tie the two ends together using cord stock. I assume there is a special fastener or is it make your own? An electrical wire splice might work.
Edit-Looking at the picture again it looks like you just did the top 1/2 of the mirror so what keeps it in place? Seems like it might hold better making a joined piece.
I just did the top half. The 70 Durometer material was soft enough that if pushed tightly into the gap. I did have a few different diameters of material available. The width of the gap was not consistent. The 0.139 inch diameter fit the best. My guess is the gap is also inconsistent between mirrors. That maybe why some vehicles have the problem and others don't. Either a bad design or they were manufactured out of tolerance. Or a combination of both.
Splicing o-ring material is simple. You can buy splice kits. Or for this application simply superglue the ends. But if the material stays in place why bother?
After installing this fix the other day I drove about 150 miles on the interstate highway at speeds between 55 and 80 mph. No whistle. The o-ring material stayed in place.
I have only owned my GLE350 for about a month. This noise started driving me nuts the first time I drove on the highway.. I as and still am very pissed about buying a $70k MB that has this type of issue. I shouldn't have to MacGyver a fix on a new, expensive vehicle. I will be bringing this attention to my MB Service Manager. MB needs to fix this problem permanently.. But until then I am very happy that my GLE isn't whistling . and I can enjoy driving it.
I don’t have the whistle problem except when there is a cross wind there is some normal wind noise.
What I hate about mirrors in general is the water dripping constantly after a wash job. It’s just the nature of having adjustable parts and clearance for the folding and tilt function. Looking foreword to the day when a camera replaces the mirror....
I eliminated the whistling noise from the mirror by placing .139” (1/8 inch nominal) BUNA-N O-Ring Cord Stock Durometer 70A in the groove on the top half of the mirror housing cover. This fix worked and looks great. Unless you look at the housing very closely and compare it to another mirror you would never notice it. Looks factory original. That being said the MB engineers should be embarrassed about this design failure. How did they not hear this noise during test drives and wind tunnel testing?
any chance you can link us to the O ring you used ?
thanks!
Very good news. First of all, let me tell you guys that the problem has been solved! They replace the driver's side mirror cap. See the attached screenshot of the detailed explanation from the dealer. I drove the car very on a windy day, I was lucky that the day was windy No noise at all. What i also realized that between the mirror cap and the black frame, there was a larger gap before they replace it, and now the gap is much smaller. Probably that was the problem. If your dealer cant solve it let them call Fletcher Jones Newport Beach. My service advisor was Ray. Let me know if you have guys have any questions.
I want to provide an update as I went to the same dealer/advisor after hearing from oakpek of his successful fix. My GLS with the same whistling sound was at the dealer for a week. For oakpek, his changing of the mirror cover + probably adding some felt in the seams worked, but it did not for me. They then proceeded to change a seal in the mirror, which also didn't work. Lastly they swapped out the entire mirror frame (the part where the mirror attaches to the door) and according to the tech it reduced the noise, but not fully gone. They were pretty much out of options at this point and opened a case with corporate MB, when the engineers instructed them where to place additional felt and apparently gave them specific instructions on how to put the whole mirror assembly back together. I'm not really convinced swapping the mirror cover helped in my case and it was more of placing felt and foam insulation at strategic locations and possibly changing out the mirror frame. But anyhow, they told me the noise was gone and after driving it for a day I think its 85-90% gone. I think I sometimes hear it if I try really hard with radio and A/C off, but I cannot be too sure if its really the sound or my brain is playing tricks on me now. Regardless, the sound is definitely much better for now and I will continue to look out for it. So thank you oakpek!!
I also see the O-ring fix, which I am tempted to try out too since you won't be able to tell. However, if I am remembering correctly, from speaking with my original service advisor the gap is there for the wind to deflect water off the driver's side window and is actually a safety feature. I'm not 100% sure of this but I would think adding the O-zone piece would interfere with the performance of the safety feature. Not that this is a critical safety feature or something more important than saving your ears from the permanent damage of the damn noise, but I would be aware of this if anybody were to add it.
Maybe before doing the O-ring fix it would be wise to have your service advisor to open a case with corporate MB engineers as it seems like they are aware of the issue and have experience in getting the noise away without touching the gap on the mirror.
I'd like to hear that the gap is there to deflect water and is a safety feature from a MB Engineer. My experience with the many, many cars I've owned of all makes is that most Service Advisors do not know what they are talking about. They'll sling any bull**** out to keep a customer quiet and happy as well as to make money for themselves and the dealership.
Next time I drive my GLE in the rain I'll check to see if the o-ring fix has had any impact on water hitting the side window. The o-ring is easy to install and remove. My opinion is the whistling noise is way more of a distraction/annoyance than a little extra rain splashing on my door window.
The more I read in this forum the more I think that MB has a manufacturing issue with the mirrors. Some whistle and some don't. And the whistle varies in pitch and loudness. I think the gap is out of design tolerance on the ones that whistle. Changing out the mirror might get you one that is in or closer to the design requirements.
I'd really like to hear the opinion of a MB Design Engineer. MB needs to address this problem.
I'd like to hear that the gap is there to deflect water and is a safety feature from a MB Engineer. My experience with the many, many cars I've owned of all makes is that most Service Advisors do not know what they are talking about. They'll sling any bull**** out to keep a customer quiet and happy as well as to make money for themselves and the dealership.
Next time I drive my GLE in the rain I'll check to see if the o-ring fix has had any impact on water hitting the side window. The o-ring is easy to install and remove. My opinion is the whistling noise is way more of a distraction/annoyance than a little extra rain splashing on my door window.
The more I read in this forum the more I think that MB has a manufacturing issue with the mirrors. Some whistle and some don't. And the whistle varies in pitch and loudness. I think the gap is out of design tolerance on the ones that whistle. Changing out the mirror might get you one that is in or closer to the design requirements.
I'd really like to hear the opinion of a MB Design Engineer. MB needs to address this problem.
I noticed the sound when I first bought the car.
I havent noticed it lately, I am thinking it might br that I have changes the angle of it or that it went to the dealer to fix the hood as it wasnt closing properly on one side.
had a trip now. I still have it over 120 kmh.
but hardly there
Last edited by CaptainOats; 07-11-2020 at 10:47 AM.
I'd like to hear that the gap is there to deflect water and is a safety feature from a MB Engineer. My experience with the many, many cars I've owned of all makes is that most Service Advisors do not know what they are talking about. They'll sling any bull**** out to keep a customer quiet and happy as well as to make money for themselves and the dealership.
Next time I drive my GLE in the rain I'll check to see if the o-ring fix has had any impact on water hitting the side window. The o-ring is easy to install and remove. My opinion is the whistling noise is way more of a distraction/annoyance than a little extra rain splashing on my door window.
The more I read in this forum the more I think that MB has a manufacturing issue with the mirrors. Some whistle and some don't. And the whistle varies in pitch and loudness. I think the gap is out of design tolerance on the ones that whistle. Changing out the mirror might get you one that is in or closer to the design requirements.
I'd really like to hear the opinion of a MB Design Engineer. MB needs to address this problem.
I very much agree with you that fixing the sound is a higher priority than the rain splashing, as the sound previously actually hurt my ears. It seems as if MB is starting to be aware of this issue and hopefully more owners bring their car in and they'll eventually come out with a service campaign or something.. This whole issue shouldn't happen in the first place and is ridiculous the design team didn't catch on to this.
Finally, picking up my car from the dealer. It was there for two weeks. They claim whistling sound is now fixed. We will see. They referred to mirror housing and window. They say they replaced the window guide seal and sanded off tongue of housing cover. I will let you know of the outcome.
Interestingly, as part of the first 10K maintenance, they changed all the wipers. That is nice.
Yes, that is the material I used. I did not purchase on Amazon though. The 0.139 inch diameter worked best for me. I also bought the size above and below that size. The gap width was inconsistent. I wanted a size that would fit tight but not require too much compression of the o-ring material to install it.
Possibly. The width of the gap wasn't consistent at all around my mirror. So I'm thinking there may be differences between all the mirrors. I did try a slightly bigger and a slightly smaller o-ring size. I wanted it tight enough so it wouldn't fall out but big enough so the top of it was above the mirror edges. Kind of like a small speed bump. The fix is kind of a bit of black magic. Someone else filled up this gap just usual black electrical tape. Someone mentioned filling it with black silicone. Both may work but I thought the black tape looked like crap on a new $70 vehicle and if the silicone didn't work it would be a mess to remove.
i do plan on complaining to MB next time I take my GLE in for service. There has got to be a real fix for this problem.
Well back from the dealer, and of course I got what I expected, the same BS!!! see Below:
E CLIENT STATES HEARING A WIND NOISE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AT ABOUT 60-70
MPH
NC NO CHARGE
70607 INC (N/C)
PARTS: 0.00 LABOR: 0.00 OTHER: 0.00 TOTAL LINE E: 0.00
2967 N/C PERFORM TEST DRIVE TO CHECK FOR ABNORMAL WIND NOISE. THE
NOISE SEEMS TO BE WIND TURBULENCE BUT NOT VERY EXCESSIVE. APPLY MASKING
TAPES AROUND MIRROR HOUSING AND DRIVER DOOR AND HANDLE AND A-PILLAR
AREA. RETEST DRIVE VEHICLE AND NO CHANGES IN WIND TURBULENCE. TEST
DROVE ANOTHER VEHICLE WITH SAME CHASSIS AND BODY STYLE AND VERY SIMILAR
NOISE IS HEARD. UNABLE TO PERFORM ANY REPAIR AT THIS.
2023 GLE450, 2021 E350 / Used to drive: 2019 E300, 2021 + 2020 GLE350, 2019 E450 Wagon(s), 2017 E300
Roadhog - they must copy and paste that text into every repair order. When I owned a Cadillac, the car could be on fire and they would say that same thing. "They all do that..."
Well back from the dealer, and of course I got what I expected, the same BS!!! see Below:
E CLIENT STATES HEARING A WIND NOISE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AT ABOUT 60-70
MPH
NC NO CHARGE
70607 INC (N/C)
PARTS: 0.00 LABOR: 0.00 OTHER: 0.00 TOTAL LINE E: 0.00
2967 N/C PERFORM TEST DRIVE TO CHECK FOR ABNORMAL WIND NOISE. THE
NOISE SEEMS TO BE WIND TURBULENCE BUT NOT VERY EXCESSIVE. APPLY MASKING
TAPES AROUND MIRROR HOUSING AND DRIVER DOOR AND HANDLE AND A-PILLAR
AREA. RETEST DRIVE VEHICLE AND NO CHANGES IN WIND TURBULENCE. TEST
DROVE ANOTHER VEHICLE WITH SAME CHASSIS AND BODY STYLE AND VERY SIMILAR
NOISE IS HEARD. UNABLE TO PERFORM ANY REPAIR AT THIS.
FWIW, it was the third dealership that got this problem fixed for me. The first one (where I bought the car from) gave me the exact same answer as yours did. They found it to be a "characteristic noise" and tested another GLS on the lot also had it. Told me couldn't repair. The 2nd one was even worse, as they said they couldn't hear it so they won't even acknowledge the problem. The third one I went to took my car and kept it for over a week and test drove it for 100 miles and finally fixed the issue.
My point is if you have other dealerships within your area I would definitely go get a second or third opinion until one dealership is willing to fix it for you, or at least try to. Even though this issue is a mirror cover design issue, it doesn't mean they cant open it up and add felt or at least try to do something to it. The designs are the same, but I am assuming tolerances are different, hence people are getting different resolutions for this problem. I know some people stay "loyal" to their service advisor, but if one dealership won't fix it doesn't mean another one will do the same.
Finally, picking up my car from the dealer. It was there for two weeks. They claim whistling sound is now fixed. We will see. They referred to mirror housing and window. They say they replaced the window guide seal and sanded off tongue of housing cover. I will let you know of the outcome.
Interestingly, as part of the first 10K maintenance, they changed all the wipers. That is nice.
The wiper blades don't seem to have the stutter anymore so that is a good thing. The whistling sound was still there but reduced and seems be occurring less. More driving to do...
I ordered the Buna ring as well. How does it stay in place? Do you glue it into the gap?
it stays in place by itself no glue was needed it was a tight fit alll the way from start on the outside upper half until where you see I ended it. After that the gap was smaller and didnt fit.
07-10-2020, 01:02 PM
No noise at all. What i also realized that between the mirror cap and the black frame, there was a larger gap before they replace it, and now the gap is much smaller. Probably that was the problem. If your dealer cant solve it let them call Fletcher Jones Newport Beach. My service advisor was Ray. Let me know if you have guys have any questions.
