Cold weather results in eye-watering whistle over 65mph

Bought my 2016 CrewMax in August, so this is the first I've really noticed it, but damn, is it terrible to listen to for over an hour.

Things I've tried so far:
- switching to internal air circulation (no change)
- cracking all the windows one at a time, the rear don't really change anything, but cracking one of the fronts makes it slightly quieter in trade for wind
- cursing a bit
- Tailgating a semi truck (this works due to air turbulence but not a real solution)

Any tips? My initial thought next is a hood seal maybe?

 

Fairly certain you're speaking of a bad weather/rubber seal on the 2.5 gens if I'm not mistaken. I know my 2017 had a terrible whistle at 75 and it turned out to be the windshield seal.

Have you had the windshield replaced recently or is it factory?

 

The truck is new to me since July, so I'm not certain if it's factory or not. I'll ring up a local glass shop and see if they can quote me on a replacement seal. After that if that's not a solution I'll see if I can book a wind tunnel somewhere with a roll of painters tape, see if I can't find what needs replacement, this whistle is not gonna work for me!

 

Windshield most likely and check the lower areas of the windsheild where the wipers sit for any cracks. It happens with Tundras, more prevalent if your has that area heated (on higher trims or part of the SR5 convenience (or upgrade) package. I have a 2016 SR5 OR as well. Mine cracked in that area and I have heard of others. In my case, it was a kind of tick, almost rattle at times but if the crack is large enough it will let air pass and whistle.

Could also be door trim, but I would think you could isolate to the door/window.

 

Before spending any money. Remove the panel inside hiding the door mirror bolts. There's a small hole that should have a rubber grommet (circled). If that grommet is missing it'll whistle at highway speeds. I had my door replaced after hitting a deer. The new door didn't have this grommet. The whistle drove me crazy until discovering this missing rubber grommet. I found one in my garage that fit and the whistle has been gone ever since.

 

How the hell did you know to look for a missing grommet?!

 

I was seeking help anywhere I could. The Body shop replaced the door seal and also bolstered the gasket around the mirror. Nothing was working. I asked this on another forum and found this fix. I wouldn't have tried this otherwise, but it worked. Whistle gone.

 

well looking for the wind noise after a door replacement has been low on my priority list…I just so happened to stumble across this…and wouldn’t you know….



Looks like I’ll be ordering the seal and seeing if it goes away…

my hat is off to you good sir, if this fixes my wind noise….I’m going to paypal, venmo, zelle or something as a finder’s fee…no joke!

-JS

 

Alas, that grommet exists on both of my door/mirror junctions, so I'll have to keep looking, but that's a solid zero-dollar tip, things free to check are the best!

 

I had a high pitched whistle on my 2020 which was difficult to pinpoint. I finally took a roll of 2” wide painters tape and started adding a strip over various spots, then driving one exit up the highway. I’d then add another piece of tape, and drive back the opposite direction. Eventually I narrowed the noise origin down to the right passenger window seal, and had it replaced.

 

You said it changed with the cracking open of the window. This leads me to believe you should try the tape method mentioned above. Likely the problem.

 

I have a 2016 and I have had my windshield replaced 3 times (I live near a quarry and the semis kick up rocks). After the first windshield was replaced, I got that whistle. The noise came from the lower right hand side of the window (near the windshield wiper). When I had my second windshield replaced, I told the window tech about the noise and he put extra sealant around the entire windshield. The noise was gone.

To narrow the noise down, you can try putting blue painter's tape around the outside edges of the windshield and see if the whistle goes away. It would suck to have to replace the windshield, but having to forever listen to that wind noise sucks more. In my area, aftermarket windshields are about $500 installed.

Good luck.

 

Good excuse to get going on an ass kicking stereo system!

 

I love this forum! Never would I have thought to look for a missing grommet…but nevertheless after seeing this I checked and lo and behold my truck is missing it. I’ve been chasing this damned howling/whistling since I bought my truck a few months ago and it was driving me mad. This seems to have solved the problem for me so far and if it holds up will be the most valuable information I’ve gotten in a while. Thanks @19 Cement Lmtd !

 

Sadly I haven't had a chance to troubleshoot mine further, wish my grommets had been missing!

 

Dang! Have you tried the Velcro strip in the mirror hinge trick yet? That seems to be the most common fix that I’ve read about. Good luck because I know firsthand how f’ing annoying it is.

 

So I did finally get around to troubleshooting this.

Top of my windshield has a weird extra gap just in the middle, in a hard to reach place to tape off.

It's not the right windshield, lol. It doesn't leak water, but it's a cheap replacement with bad fitment and doesn't even have the heating element for the wipers, the previous OEM shield's wiring was clipped and just hanging.



So, $380 installed and on Wednesday my truck will be back to OEM spec fitment and features (needed in MN here, I wondered why my defroster settings were so weaksauce) and - bonus, no more whistling. (Per the shop doing the install)

It'd have been nice to have had a cheaper easier quick fix, or at least, more effort on the original owners behalf not to shortcut a windshield swap for cheap, but, oh well.