Door seals

[NVSteve]

For a good 2-3 years now, while driving on the highway hitting the wind at some magical angle, the top of my door would get pushed out a fraction and let a tiny amount of wind through. This creates a very loud and annoying whistling noise. In the past, I would simply reach up with my left hand while driving and squeeze the door and the frame together to stop the noise. First thing I did when I originally encountered this was to readjust the door so that it would close as far toward the inside of the vehicle as I could get it. I even broke down and put in some thick weatherstripping this past summer thinking that may help, but it didn't. After more thought, it was obvious to me that overall exterior sounds were much louder than when new. I stopped by the dealer last Friday because my damned TPMS light was on again (5th time in 2011, although it would have been more but I would drive for months at a time before getting it reset). I picked up a few parts and also broke down and bought a new door seal for ~$60. As soon as I pulled the new one out of the box and put it next to the original, I could see why I was having the problem.

I doubt anyone else has encountered this, or at least nobody else has posted about it, but I'm just writing this as an FYI to replace the door seal if you have the same problem.

Here's the new seal installed:



Here is the old seal compared to the new. You can see how flattened the old one is:

[volvite]

My 08 has this same noise. We have alot of wind here in Mt. Home and when you have a side wind, the door that is on the tail end of the wind is grabbed and a whole lot of noise. I woudn't think that for a 3 year old vehicle I should have to worry about door seals.

[NVSteve]

This will be the first time I've ever had to replace a door seal. I still have to replace the passenger side, but that can wait since it is no longer affecting "my side." I've been kind of surprised at the types of things I've had to replace on the Pathfinder-things that I never would have on one of my older cars.

[mtbpath]

I experience the same on my 05. but mostly on passenger door.
I figured it was poor seals and when driving highway speeds add strong winds blowing. when it hit the door seals it was pushing the door out creating the whistling sound.
thanks for posting this as it does confirm poor seals.
$60 from dealer. can we get aftermarket ones?

[FindyourPath]

mine had a rip, just replaced it at dealer $60!
No Noise issues
free install - WOOHOO

[hfrez]

Sounds a lot like wear and tear. Some wear and tear faster then others pending on usage. After all the 05 Pathy's are now going on 7 years in age pending on climate and type of driving conditions door seals can wear themselves down.

[Clay350]

IM in the same boat. Will be replacing door seals pronto. Thanks for the post. I was debating what to do about this.

[volvite]

Wonder if Courtsey Nissan sells them cheaper, and maybe a group buy?

[RoNYC]

Had this issue as well, even went to the dealer. Of course they could not replicate the problem. Thought about buying new seals. It's also on the driverside, funny. I guess off to the stealer and getting new seals. Thanks for posting this!!!

[NVSteve]

It's only been a few months since I've replaced the seal on the driver's side door. I notice that the seal is now just as flat as the one that was replaced. With a few longer highway trips coming up, I'll know if the new seal actually works or not. If it doesn't, I have come up with a very cheap mod that should completely take care of the problem.

If you notice, the door seals are hollow on the inside. The problem is the material used for the seal is just not prone to retaining its original shape. You can buy a roll of backer rod from Lowe's or Home Depot, which is more of a closed cell type of foam. They come in a variety of diameters and are only a few bucks each. Anyway, one could easily thread one of these into the open space of the door seal, which will keep the seal from flattening. So, if my seal(s) start whistling again on my drives this next month, I will be doing this to mine. Of course I'll post up pics of the whole thing.

[volvite]

Steve,

That sucks. They should have held up better than 2 months. I'll wait to see what your trip brings and if you end up using the backer rod.

[NVSteve]

Well, my brilliant idea didn't work worth a shit. I removed the passenger side seal and enlarged both bottom drain holes to fit fishing wire and the backer rod. I was only able to work the fishing wire about 3 feet inside the seal before I simply couldn't get it to budge anymore. The problem is the seal material is fairly tacky stuff. If I had about 15 people helping me massage the wire along the inside of the seal, it would probably work. I then enlarged 2 other holes about 1.5' apart to see if I could do a short run. I was able to fish the wire through, but the backer rod kept tearing because it was being gripped so well by the seal. At this point, I'm going to grab a passenger seal the next time I'm at the dealer.

[volvite]

Dang,

That sucks.

[NVSteve]

I was working with 3/8" backer rod as that seems the perfect size. I wonder if I should try 1/4" instead. I could also try lubricating everything with soapy water. If not, maybe I'll try squirting in some silicone. Anything to keep it from flattening out so much and retaining that flattened shape.

I only know that I have to keep trying. Drove to work today in somewhat strong winds & I was getting lots of wind noise on the driver's side door (the side with the new seal).

[volvite]

Steve,

I hate the wind noise. We are having some rain and wind here in Idaho as well, and when it's a cross wind it is so loud up front. It drives me crazy. I can't believe that the new seal you purchased didn't last even a year.