Hi, I'm new to the board here and recently purchased a CPO 2006 525i. I noticed that there was quite a bit of wind noise particularly at speeds of 120 km/h and higher. I brought the car back and they replaced the sunroof seal and the noise from there is gone now but there is still a sound coming from the driver side window or from the windshield. I brought it back and the tech said he thinks that it's the door seals and will have them replaced (they have to order the parts). I'm not sure, I think it may be coming from the windshield and read on the forums here about the noise and how to press against the windshield to stop it. I tried that but it didn't make any difference. I can almost swear it's coming from the windshield but doesn't seem to be the same problem as others have here cause the pressing against the windshield didn't make any difference. Has anyone here have/had the same problem? I think I'll wait until they replace the door seals and see if it fixes it. I agree a car in this class shouldn't have these issues. My wife's father's A6 which I've driven quite a bit doesn't have these kind of problems and he's had it since 2000. Other than the wind noise, the car drives excellent but a little upset I didn't spend a little more and get a 530 or 535 since I'm paying for premium gas anyways might as well get more power. Thanks for reading.

 

yeah, bigger engine is always better.
you dont have to use premium, especially if you are just commuting. the only thing premium does is lower the chance for detonation(pinging), and unless you are driving the car hard, just use regular gas.

 

while driving, have you tried grabbing the top edge of the door and squeeze it in to see if it alters the noise? do the seals look tight when the door is closed?

 

Is that true about the regular gas? regular gas here in Toronto is rated 87 octane and is about 10 cents cheaper which will save me about $6 every fill up. I think I'll try it out. Thanks.

Regarding the seals on the door, they look fine and I compared it to the one on the passenger door (without any noise) and they look the same but I haven't tried squeezing them and push them in and see if they change the noise. I'll try that tomorrow and post results. Thanks again.

 

premium doesnt give you more power, it is just more resistant to detonation. if you're a light footed driver, i'd use the cheaper fuel.

 

Have you ever had the windshield replaced. I had a massive crack on my glass and I had the glass replaced. During installation the glass installer damaged the clip on the trim I didn't make a big deal because the trim was secure. The glass installer said that these clips break all the time. Ever since then I noticed wind noise.

 

I haven't but it's a CPO so maybe the old owner did. I pulled all the records at BMW and there's no record of changing the windshield but there was one entry indicating some work was done outside of BMW so maybe it was that. It is a noise that is only noticeable at 110 km/h and at 140 km/h, it becomes very noticeable.

 

okay squeezed the window part while I was driving and doesn't seem to make a difference. Strange. Oh well, will just wait until the dealer replaces the door seals and see if that helps. Thanks.

 

i too am also located in toronto and i never use 87 octane (regular), i consider myself a light footed driver aswell but i always use ultra 94 octane at sunoco. i have put regular in a customers 330I and it ran very bad... felt like it was misfiring...but no engine lights or anything...just poor gas...for the extra 6 dollars i would put the highest grade gas in toronto that is ultra 94...but that is just me. id rather have the car running nice and smoothly than have it run like crap to save 6 dollars every time you fill up. plus it cant be good for the car.. BMW recommends a minimum of 91 octane..but ive always been the type of person to use what the manufacturer says.

 

Minimum recommended gas is 91 octane. I wouldn't go any lower than that. To the OP, I know it's frustrating, but even our expensive cars are just cars with moving parts that are prone to wear and tear and repairs. The problems you cited are not really all that common, we hear about them because we have a large readership, but we're only a tiny fractions of what's out there. Stuff happens, luckily the company takes care of these things under warranty. I was looking at the Lexus forum, the other day, and I was surprised to read about all the similar problems they complain about.