jeffknet

Just wondered if I'm alone on this... but

When you're driving your RX330 and you roll down the rear windows (and leave the fronts closed) it creates this wierd vacuum of rumbling air that vibrates your ear drums??? It's pretty uncomfortable. The only way to stop it is to open one of the front windows.... my wife and daughter noticed it too....

what's up with THAT???

JRB

I've experienced this "buffetting" with other cars, similar to the effect that you can get when the sunroof is in the fully open position and you have no windows open for the incoming air to escape. I believe the tighter the car's interior, the more likely this is to happen. SUV and wagon body styles (with their larger rear cargo capacity areas) seem especially prone to developing louder buffetting sounds. I'm not an engineer, so I don't know the techical explanation for why this is, but I've seen lots of similar complaints on other message boards. As you've noticed, the solution is to also open one or both front windows a crack. Or in the case of a sunroof, either back off slightly on the opening or open one of the rear windows a crack.

Remember the old rear winglet windows that you could push open a little? Having those would also take care of either situation!

Lil4X

There have been a number of discussions on this issue on these boards - see:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...threadid=74951

Sorry, no solution, it's just physics!

jeffknet

A-Ha!!!

the dreaded resonant frequency problem

funny, I've never had this issue with any other vehicle, but apparently it's common....

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

Hmm, interesting. I'm going to have to try it out. We pretty much never drive with the windows down so I've never noticed anything like that. We just use the AC all year.

cmstahl

The problem described here isn't just limited to SUVs/wagons with large cargo areas. I used to drive a 4-door sedan and used to experience the same problem with the moonroof open. As JRB mentioned, slightly opening one of the rear windows would stop the "buffeting" effect. Actually, in my old car, closing the moonroof while at speed it would make this weird vacuum/whooshing noise starting at the point where the panel was about half-closed and continue until it was completely closed.

I'm no physicist either, but I wonder if there's some kind of drop in pressure or disturbance of existing air in the cabin caused by the air going over the opening of the moonroof. The air goes over the opening, and as it rushes past the opening, the pressure inside the cabin is less than the pressure of the outside air. Opening a window would cause air to come into the cabin, re-balacing the pressure.

Just a thought. I'm off to my AA (Armchair Aerodynamicists) meeting now.

Lexterious

This is just some turbulence from the air coming in and swirling around the cabin.

ALL cars will do this with some combination of front or rear windows open and/or open to some degree or another.

It'll even happen on a Rolls Royce, so were in good company.

jcg

I've had this noise problem with the back windows open since the first car I owned. That was a '51 Studebaker.

titanskj10

yeah i noticed that too. i have a 2001 RX and it makes that noise and it hurt my ears.. also when the sunroof opens its makes that noise still. i have to close it a lil but not all tha way