CX5 - Extreme wind noise - cause/solution?

B

bettermazda

Member
:
CX-5, 2.5L petrol awd, 2015
Dear fellow CX5 drivers,

My 2015 (current model) CX5 suffers from extreme interior wind noise. You would think one of the doors is not closed properly or one of the windows is slightly open. But that is not the case. The wind noise is excessive at the highway.

The noise seems mainly to be coming from the front seat windows at ear hight. It is hard to imagine that Mazda would enter the CX5 on the market with such a disturbing interior noise. This is a serious quality issue and big detractor.

My car is quite new, undamaged and all door rubbers are in order. It is also not the tires.

Do you recognize this? Is there anybody who investigated this already? What is the cause, is there a solution what could be a solution? What did Mazda do for you?

Many thanks,

Bettermazda
 
how fast are you going?

my cx-5 is very noisy, from wind, above about 70mph. It's probably the worst car i've every had from wind noise, including a jeep cherokee, and, after driving in a decent mercedes on the highway, you'll never forget it's possible to design a car to keep noise to a minimum.
 
Unfortunately this is the nature of this vehicle and you will have to live with it's excessive wind noise.
 
When compared with a car, the CX-5 is not very aerodynamic, and at speeds over 100km/h, you are going to hear some noise.

So now that you have had the car for a few years now, is it now worse?

Have you spent any time cleaning and lubing the body and door seals?

Clean with a mild cleaner, then return with a rubber protectant or lubricant and wipe all the door gaskets thoroughly so they are sticky and supple again.

Common to fix both squeaks, and wind noise with this service.

I have never noticed any excessive noise myself, so I think it is possible you might have a defect somewhere.
 
Last edited:
mazdadude said:
When compared with a car, the CX-5 is not very aerodynamic, and at speeds over 100km/h, you are going to hear some noise.

So now that you have had the car for a few years now, is it now worse?

Have you spent any time cleaning and lubing the body and door seals?

Clean with a mild cleaner, then return with a rubber protectant or lubricant and wipe all the door gaskets thoroughly so they are sticky and supple again.

Common to fix both squeaks, and wind noise with this service.

I have never noticed any excessive noise myself, so I think it is possible you might have a defect somewhere.
Click to expand...

Actually, as crazy as this sounds, this actually works. Cleaning and keeping the door seals "moist" helps a lot and not just on the Mazda. We recently bought a Honda Odyssey and at close to 47K had even more noise than my CX-5. Even with that car, really cleaning and lubing the door seals helps.
 
Heritage07 said:
Unfortunately this is the nature of this vehicle and you will have to live with it's excessive wind noise.
Click to expand...

You can deaden the sound with some work. We use alubutyl, glue it directly into the doors to increase the sound of the Bose soundsystem and to deaden the outside noise. Afterwords the doors feel like from a Rolls or Bentley when closing them because they become a little bit heavier.

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00O1O9SUY/

it's only a example Link-you can find it also on ebay or Ali.
It works already wonders but will not change the thin glass used in the first CX-5. That they have already made better on the FL and much better on the new one.

Cheers 101
 
we all have smart phones and can download sound meters that sample the volume in dB. everyone record, say with the phone in the door handle pocket (not the bottle pocket at the bottom), at 70mph.
 
Ziggity said:
we all have smart phones and can download sound meters that sample the volume in dB. everyone record, say with the phone in the door handle pocket (not the bottle pocket at the bottom), at 70mph.
Click to expand...


So I actually downloaded an app (Decibel 10th) and used in it. In the house before I drove anywhere, the app read about 53 DB. In the car at idle, the app read about 65 db. When driving, the app read about 77 db and hit 83 db when going 65 MPH on a bridge. This is using the average reading on the bottom left side of the app. No clue what the numbers mean or if they are even accurate but I thought all the numbers would be lower. For some reason, I always thought 60 db was loud.
 
soundlevels.jpg
dougal said:
So I actually downloaded an app (Decibel 10th) and used in it. In the house before I drove anywhere, the app read about 53 DB. In the car at idle, the app read about 65 db. When driving, the app read about 77 db and hit 83 db when going 65 MPH on a bridge. This is using the average reading on the bottom left side of the app. No clue what the numbers mean or if they are even accurate but I thought all the numbers would be lower. For some reason, I always thought 60 db was loud.
Click to expand...
 
For city drivers like me, road noise is the biggest noise. Better tires or more sound insulation near wheel wells is first step. Wind noise... Not so much.
 
mazdadude said:
When compared with a car, the CX-5 is not very aerodynamic, and at speeds over 100km/h, you are going to hear some noise.
So now that you have had the car for a few years now, is it now worse?
Have you spent any time cleaning and lubing the body and door seals?
Clean with a mild cleaner, then return with a rubber protectant or lubricant and wipe all the door gaskets thoroughly so they are sticky and supple again.
Common to fix both squeaks, and wind noise with this service.
I have never noticed any excessive noise myself, so I think it is possible you might have a defect somewhere.
Click to expand...

Actually I read that being efficiently aerodynamic has the potential to allow more or a certain noise. Specifically "aerodynamic noise". For reference a helicopter's propeller blades which make a distinctive chopping sound. The CX-5's slick design could lead to more aerodynamic noise than say a boxy cargo van. I read this is some porsche or other car forum somewhere. Anyways long story short you need to keep those door seals from allowing aerodynamic noise to penetrate into the cabin. You need to keep them clean. I my case I added additional door seals (doubled up). In the 2017 models you can see where Mazda added new seals in specific locations. In luxury cars they use beefier seals or double seals as well. I keep my seals cleaned and supplement with 303 Aerospace protectant.
 
Last edited:
CX-5um said:
Actually I read that being efficiently aerodynamic has the potential to allow more or a certain noise. Specifically "aerodynamic noise". For reference a helicopter's propeller blades which make a distinctive chopping sound. The CX-5's slick design could lead to more aerodynamic noise than say a boxy cargo van. I read this is some porsche or other car forum somewhere. Anyways long story short you need to keep those door seals from allowing aerodynamic noise to penetrate into the cabin. You need to keep them clean. I my case I added additional door seals (doubled up). In the 2017 models you can see where Mazda added new seals in specific locations. In luxury cars they use beefier seals or double seals as well. I keep my seals cleaned and supplement with 303 Aerospace protectant.
Click to expand...

Agreed, when I think back to driving some boxy items live a VW Westfalia, or GRUMMAN STEP VAN, I do not recall having any windnoise. But also neither vehicle liked to go over 65mph either.
(whip)
 
dougal said:
So I actually downloaded an app (Decibel 10th) and used in it. In the house before I drove anywhere, the app read about 53 DB. In the car at idle, the app read about 65 db. When driving, the app read about 77 db and hit 83 db when going 65 MPH on a bridge. This is using the average reading on the bottom left side of the app. No clue what the numbers mean or if they are even accurate but I thought all the numbers would be lower. For some reason, I always thought 60 db was loud.
Click to expand...

The issue with this is the phone vibrating or even actually bouncing on the surface it was sitting on, which is picked up by the mic. That's why you're seeing readings in the 80s.
 
Ziggity said:
we all have smart phones and can download sound meters that sample the volume in dB. everyone record, say with the phone in the door handle pocket (not the bottle pocket at the bottom), at 70mph.
Click to expand...

Need to isolate the phone better from the vehicle. Every bump and jiggle will be recorded as a loud event.

Easiest way is to have a passenger hold it carefully.
 
craigo said:
Need to isolate the phone better from the vehicle. Every bump and jiggle will be recorded as a loud event.

Easiest way is to have a passenger hold it carefully.
Click to expand...

During my testing if I recall correctly, (during summer) testing was skewed by the AC's loud fan. It presented the loudest dBs.
 
craigo said:
The issue with this is the phone vibrating or even actually bouncing on the surface it was sitting on, which is picked up by the mic. That's why you're seeing readings in the 80s.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That makes sense.
 
I took my brand new 2016 CX-5 into the dealer 3 times with noise coming from all 4 windows. Especially in the corners. One of the tech's took a decibel meter on a ride with me. It was low at street speeds but doubled on the highway speeds over 65 mph. I showed him that the seal in corners where the glass slides up and down OVERLAPS and caused a very small gap. I sent in complaints to Mazda and finally had a Customer Service Rep call me back. She said that it was a design flaw. But nothing they were going to try and fix since it was not a safety issue. And that is why this will be my last Mazda I ever own. And when people ask about the car the first thing I tell them is don't buy a Mazda, lousy customer service and no support from the dealership.
 
My 2020 CX-5 has no serious wind noise at all. Very little road noise from the stock Yokohama Geolander tires either. When they wear out, I intend to put Michelin Pilot 4 tires on it. I have those on my Audi and they are the most grippy and quietest tires I've ever had. They're kinda pricey though
 
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