Excessive wind buffeting

Not sure if anyone has posted this. I picked up my new Leaf yesterday and while driving home I had time to play with all the buttons and switches. I was doing about 65 mph and decided to drop the front windows and then the rear ones. The weather was gorgeous so I figured I would get some fresh air. What a surprise I got...............when I dropped the front windows.....it sounded like a tornado and the passenger seat began to rock wildly :? I couldn't hear myself think, not like that's a problem. Then I dropped the rear windows, let's just say I won't be doing that any time soon again I rolled all windows back up and tried lowering just the front a few inches and that worked fine at the higher speed. Once I was on roads with speeds of 40 mpg or so I then lowered all windows and things were fine. The only thing I can figure is that those front headlights do take the air from around the mirrors and then dumps it right on the driver and passenger windows, which is fine if they remain closed. I'm sure others have the same problem, or maybe you just haven't tried it yet.........my suggestion is DON'T :lol:

As you suspected, this is common in aerodynamic cars:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-technical-discussion/69929-buffeting-turbulance-inside-car.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I generally avoid rolling the windows down at speeds above 40mph. The only strange behavior I've seen is when I roll down one side and not the other (doesn't matter if it's front or back); I get this low frequency pounding as the wind circles around the car and out the open side. You may be right about the headlights and airflow hitting the windows. It is nice to hear how quiet the car is at low speeds though.

This occurs in most cars. If you really want to hear that low howl, keep the fronts windows up and just drop the rear windows at 65 on the freeway.

:shock:

Try playing margaritaville at max volume and singing along with it

It's a helmholtz resonator excited by a shedding vortex - see von karmin and check http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/waves/cavity.html#c1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's not just a problem for aerodynamic cars - my dad's 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 wagon would do that powerfully enough that you could feel it shaking your preteen stomach, at about 20Hz.

I suspect the Leaf is particularly bad in this respect due to those fancy headlights with fins. I believe the shed a vortex that may roll around the side of the car and cause a pressure pulse as the vortex starts to break down. We'd need some wind tunnel investigation or video from Nissan with a smoke wand to confirm.

I agree, don't drive with the rear windows down over about 40mph. I don't think it will do any real damage except to your ear drums over a long period of time.