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Loud Whistling Noise at Highway Speeds

15K views 11 replies 11 participants last post by  impala 409  
#1 ·
Hello,

I'm trying to figure out a problem with a friend's 2003 Kia Rio.

The thing I find odd, is that when they bought the car new from the Kia dealership, they were told that on the highway, you'll get a loud noise from the windshield, and that it was normal, and not to worry.

So they've been driving for over 100,000 kilometers with it like this. I heard it for the first time the other day, and wow.. it's not a little whistle you might get from bad weather stripping on a door or something, it's really loud. If you go over 120 Km/h or 100 Km/h and it happens to be windy out, then it makes this loud shreeking sound coming from the top right side of the windshield.

For such a "normal" thing, I couldn't find anything online about it. Any thoughts?
 
#2 ·
on my 01 rio, the aerodynamics of this POS is garbage. even if i put on the washer fluid and wipe it off with the wipers, i get fluid on my arm (with the driver window open). design was a crap shoot with them. all they ever wanted to do was make a simple and economical vehicle. besides, it is a cheap car, i say this with the word cheap instead of inexpensive, since the quality has never been there to begin with (they use mazda components, how much quality can there be?)
dont worry about the air noise, it only gets worse over time. as for trying to quiet it, go rent a wind tunnel and see with a smoke trail where the wind breaks up the most, that will be the culprit.
enjoy
 
#3 ·
Get a piece of rubber tubing. Have a passenger sit there and put one ond in their ear and use the other end like a stethescope. Any air leaking past the windshield seal will scream in the end of the tube. You might have a bad gasket. Don't limit the check to just the front. Check the side windows and doors as well. The water on the arm is common to alot of different manufacturers. Good luck.
 
#4 ·
re: water on the arm

I've had 2 Geo Metro's and one Chev Nova in the last 10 yrs. All gave me water on the arm, has to do with no lip on the side windows. Dah maybe better air flow & better gas milage because of less air resistance. If you don't like the car trade it off. :D :D :D
 
#11 ·
Mine was doing this alot yesterday on the way home from work.I reached over and pulled in on the door handle and it quit for as long as i hung on.Pushing out on the top of the window did the same thing but created a lot of wind noise.When i have some time I'll try adjusting the bottom of the door in and see if that helps