Wind Pulsation From The Driver Window

[ivomir]

Hi, guys

I've had my IS 350 for a few months now. I have this annoyance when I drive with my window rolled down. At about 40 mph the air coming from it starts to pulsate (I think it's called "buffeting") instead of being smooth. At freeway speeds it starts to become unpleasant. One way I found to smooth out the air is to open the right-rear window as well (not always an option as there may be passengers there).

I didn't have this problem with my old car (a Camaro). Possibly because it was a coupe and had much longer windows that were producing a better airflow.

Does anybody know how to improve that? I've seen on some old cars these air deflector thingies attached to the front of the window. Is that what they are for? If so, can you recommend a brand that is compatible with Lexus IS?

Thanks

Ivo

[PoolGuyMikey]

Hi, guys

I've had my IS 350 for a few months now. I have this annoyance when I drive with my window rolled down. At about 40 mph the air coming from it starts to pulsate (I think it's called "buffeting") instead of being smooth. At freeway speeds it starts to become unpleasant. One way I found to smooth out the air is to open the right-rear window as well (not always an option as there may be passengers there).

I didn't have this problem with my old car (a Camaro). Possibly because it was a coupe and had much longer windows that were producing a better airflow.

Does anybody know how to improve that? I've seen on some old cars these air deflector thingies attached to the front of the window. Is that what they are for? If so, can you recommend a brand that is compatible with Lexus IS?

Thanks

Ivo

I've got an IS250, and you're right, the right rear window trick does work. When I'm not on the AC (I'm in SoCal), I always put the sunroof open on the back and use the right rear window (I seldom have passengers). You might try the sunroof instead of the right rear and see if that works. Try it open in both the back and front.

[SW03ES]

Welcome to owning a Toyota.

No idea why, but they all do that. My dad's old '98 LS and his '04. my '03 ES and our Prius. My cousin's Rav 4...same way.

Nothing you can do but crack another window or the sunroof.

[The1]

Alot of cars not just Toyota's have this problem. Chyrsler and Mitsubishi are among the others with this problem.

[Roger Bill]

With all the windows shut on my IS250 I can hear a slight pulsing noise and it feels like air pressure is building and then releasing. Switching the air con to recirculate or turning off the fan stops the noise. Therefore, I'm wondering if the fresh air outlets are blocked or if they're covered by a rubber flap or something with a spring that's a little too strong.

I tried driving at high speed with both front windows open to see if that would clear any blockage. I've had a good look around the back window and parcel shelf where fresh air outlets are usually located but the only thing I've found in the boot are some slots under the parcel shelf which I think are behind the woofer and are just to improve the bass response on the audio system. I've also removed the air conditioning filter to check it's not blocked, although this is on the air inlet and so I didn't really think would be the problem.

On the previous model IS200 I understand the air outlets were at the bottom of the trunk behind the road wheels but I've just had a quick look in my IS250 and can't see any obvious airways inside the trunk or inside the wheelarches around the rear wheels. I can't even see any obvious airways from the cabin into the trunk. However, I haven't tried removing any of the trim which obscures all the interior surfaces of the trunk. I guess another experiment would be to try opening the ski hatch to see if that affects the noise.

Although this is only a very, very minor irritation, if anyone has any thoughts I'd be grateful.

[remat457]

Yes, same problem. It is annoying coming from a car that did not do this.

Also to Roger I have the same problem with the windows up (driver side only) at about 70mph...