south87

my 06 525i has a minor but annoying wind noise that starts at about 40 mph and gets worse with more speed. it seems like it is coming from like the upper corner of the window. i have checked the rubber seal for the door and the felt seal around the window and everything looks perfect and tight. it sounds like there is just a little gap or something that air is blowing through.. but i can't find anything. any ideas?

south87

so i am still trying to track this noise down. i've decided it is not anything to do with the window glass / window seal, as i can still hear the noise with the window down (although of course its a lot harder). i'm thinking maybe the problem is the door seal. anyone know why the door seal (the one connected to the door frame) has a bunch of holes in the top of it? kinda seems like if air is running through there they would make noise. and the sound is basically that.. just seems like there is a small hole or crack somewhere that air is blowing though. also, it does not seem to be from the sunroof.. but i guess its possible

turboawd

You could take some packaging tape and cover the gap to see if that is what caused the noise.

south87

solved. it was the jack pad. i've heard of this issue on other bmw's but did not think it was an issue on the e60.

Laci535i

Picture, please! I have the same issue. Stealer unable to duplicate noise. Thanks.

south87

happy to assist. the jack pad issue has been around on bmw's for a while apparantly, but mostly an issue on the older e36 / e39 models. anyway, the deal is that there are four jack pads on the car. they attach to holes in the car's frame. if the jack pad is missing (or as i just found out -- not perfectly seated) it seems that air can travel up though the frame and come out in strange places. the typical complaint, and what was my case as well, is that air goes up from the front driver or passenger jack pad and through the A pillar.. making it sound like you have a window seal leak on the upper part of the window. this thread here has some good info: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...k+pads+bluebee ... it's on an e39 -- but the idea is the same.

in my case i checked all the jack pads and they were all in perfect shape and quite tightly attached. i ruled that out as being my issue. but after taping off the door, window, etc. and STILL getting the noise, i popped off the driver side jack pad and saw that it had just a little grit on the seal. so i cleaned off the jack pad and the car frame (nothing special here.. i used a paper towel and windex). then just to be sure it sealed i put on some sticky mastic tape (which you can get at home depot). i cut the mastic in strips to basically line the surface of the pad where it meets the frame. popped it back on and problem solved. so i think the e60 can have the same problem as the other models..

a picture of the e60 jack pad and masitc tape are attached. to get the jack pad off, use a flat head screwdriver and pry from the front and/or back (not the side so much). anyone can do this themself in about 10 minutes. good luck.

Laci535i

Thanks, I will get on it this weekend. I duct taped the whole thing this morning and will see this is the case with mine!

turboawd

wow. i would have never guessed the jack pad would be the culprit.

AchtungE60

you would think they would design the jackpads and the frame in one piece so there is no plastic piece or room for air to get through. You can easily do this and vent it in the rear.....so unless you're driving backwards there will be no air travel through. Leave it to BMW engineers. Plastic plastic and more plastic to fall apart.........

Laci535i

South87, I owe you for this one! The duct tape worked but it came off after some freeway driving. Anxious to get to Home Depot and fix this darn thing for good! Thanks again.