Sunroof Turbulence...

[Kraeken]

I love to do local driving in the winter with all the windows closed, heat on and the sunroof open. Especially if its snowing a little. I love sunroofs (sunrooves?) and I'm strange.

Anyway, in my 4th Gen, I could drive like this with no problems. In my 5th Gen, when I drive with only the sunroof open around 30mph the air coming across the sunroof makes a significant WHUMPWHUMPWHUMP sound that can be heard and felt. It is remedied by closing the sunroof a little, or cracking the windows a little to change the shape of the airflow.

I don't want to do this. I want all my windows closed. The fairing on my 4th Gen's sunroof was scalloped, and broke up the airflow in such a way there was no disturbance. The 5th Gen's fairing is smooth. If I rest my fingers on the fairing, the noise is greatly reduced. I'm thinking of attaching something to the fairing to break up the surface shape and hopefully solve the problem. I'm thinking of some type of small rubber bump that will attach with adhesive and not get in the way when its closed. Maybe those things they put on furniture legs? has anyone experienced and/or solved this problem? I'd love to hear ideas.

In a related issue, my wife has a a Thule rack on her Lexus RX 350. due to the design its impossible to install a fairing on her roof and not have it look re****ed and interfere with the sunroof operation, and without the fairing the rack whistles like a locomotive. I solved the problem by wrapping some elastic cord, the type they use as deck rigging on sea kayaks, around the front crossbar. It completely eliminated the noise. And it still looks like a sporty chick's car.

 

[1engineer]

Take a thin piece of adhesive velcro (the loop side) and run a strip across it. Report back. It does not have to be big, just change the effective edge of the shape.

 

[Kraeken]

Ahhh, velcro, I didn't think of that. I've been googling adhesive half dome rubber bumpers. There's a dazzling array, all 1/2" in diameter.

I think I'll do it now. brb.

 

[Jtraskell]

If the Velcro works great. I had a similar problem, different car, different life. What I did is go to the local auto parts store, got a color matching strip of door edge guard, put it at the end, and it worked. Just enough to disrupt the flow.

Good luck, be safe.

 

[Kraeken]

The Velcro didn't work. It didn't make any difference. Also, I took a look at how its made and the fairing isn't just a piece of sheet metal or plastic, its actually a three dimensional formed piece. There's no edge to put a strip of door guard on. Thanks for the ideas though!

I stuck my fingers on the edge of the fairing and paid attention. It seems I actually have to get about 2" above the top to change the airflow enough that it quiets down. There's nothing I can think of that big that wouldn't 1- get in the way when the sunroof closes, 2- actually stay attached at speed, and 3- not look goofy.

If I crack my back windows a tiny bit it goes away. My problem is I'll forget to roll them up half the time...

I really wish they kept the 4th Gen fairing. It seems like it would have been less expensive to manufacture as well.

 

[Jtraskell]

The Velcro didn't work. It didn't make any difference. Also, I took a look at how its made and the fairing isn't just a piece of sheet metal or plastic, its actually a three dimensional formed piece. There's no edge to put a strip of door guard on. Thanks for the ideas though!

I stuck my fingers on the edge of the fairing and paid attention. It seems I actually have to get about 2" above the top to change the airflow enough that it quiets down. There's nothing I can think of that big that wouldn't 1- get in the way when the sunroof closes, 2- actually stay attached at speed, and 3- not look goofy.

If I crack my back windows a tiny bit it goes away. My problem is I'll forget to roll them up half the time...

I really wish they kept the 4th Gen fairing. It seems like it would have been less expensive to manufacture as well.

Sorry, I was thinking about one of these aftermarket sunroof wind deflectors:
This itiem might solve your problem. The one I had was a different manufacturers and a different vehicle. This one might work without any mods.
Here is the link to Weathertech. 2010 Toyota 4Runner | My Vehicle Page | WeatherTech.com There are others out there that are less expensive. But I have found Weathertech to be pretty good quality. Good luck and be safe.

 

[mtbnole]

i drive with the sunroof open all the time, and this doesn't happen for me. In contrast, in my TSX, it's aweful and i dont use the sunroof unless all the windows are open.

 

[Ian97]

I drove about 60 miles today on the highway at 70mph speeds with the sunroof open and all the windows closed and I didn't experience what you're experiencing.....I do know what you're talking about, I've felt it in other cars when the sunroof is open.....perhaps the wind deflector would help, I had one on my 97, worked great. I didn't have one on a suburban or an acura tl, added one to the tl because of what you're talking about, it fixed the problem.

-Ian

 

[Mijfwb23]

Since some people notice it and others don't may be you can try reinitializing the sunroof and windows and see if that changes where it stops. Maybe yours is opening too much or not enough. Just a thought.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/tsb/89546-t-sb-0281-09-2010-4runner-window-initialazation.html

 

[terra4r]

the 4th gens had a nice auto up/down deflector that adjusted with speed, a cool feature that has been cut.

Does the height of the deflector need adjusted? I know you mentioned pulling your fingers on it, but are you moving it down in doing so? Will it "whump" if it is just a tad lower? You could try putting something on top of the side tabs of the deflector that keep it "at height" and in place. They're right off the side of the deflector and end of the deflector arms.