Cruising on highway at seventy my wife and her friend opened the back windows and the car started shaking uncontrollably. I mean not just the interior, but the hood and trunk and steering wheel basically had an fit. Scared everyone in the car. The dealer says this is normal. What! I have a car that cannot open windows and travel above 65 miles an hour? Camry XSE v-6
Is it possible she might be exaggerating a bit?
If the car was uncontrollable and everyone was that scared, someone actually noticed the trunk was shaking in the few seconds this was happening.
Almost any vehicle will make a racket and wind turbulence if you just open the rear windows only . And It’s Me is correct , there is a bit of exaggeration involved here.
Of course you could take it for a drive and open the rear windows yourself and actually see what is happening.
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Modern cars are designed for aerodynamics with the windows closed. Buffeting at speed is normal.
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No 1, That’s a cop out for an unfinished product, I have driven in Tahoe and felt what you call buffeting. This is more than that. Do you work for Toyota!
Joseph A. Sinicola
Have you driven the vehicle that way yourself because unless someone actually sees the hood and trunk lid shaking there will be doubt that it really occurred.
No, I have never even purchase any Pacific Rim car. Test drive nearly any modern car and you will get buffeting at speed.
BTW, how did it take you three years to discover buffeting?
If you also open the front windows the buffering should go away. Cars with vent windows did not do this if the vent windows were open and cars with flow through ventilation that did not require the blower to move the air didn’t often do this either.
Weird pulsing noises are pretty common w/newer vehicles when the windows are down in certain positions. But this seems to be much more severe than just weird pulsing noises. Suggest to have the suspension and steering systems checked for play.
Buffetting seems more pronounced on newer vehicles for some reason. Maybe because they’re more aerodynamic. I didn’t notice it as much in older cars.
In one of my previous cars, if the windows were at a certain position, the pulsation of the air was extreme enough that it would be scary for anyone not expecting it. I suspect that’s what happened here.
We don’t work for Toyota, we just know what we’re talking about.
I shouldn’t have to say this to a functioning adult, but it is not OK to accuse people of corruption when you don’t have basis. You need to stop the edgelord teenager-on-Reddit garbage if you want to get along here.
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This phenomenon is definitely not limited to the newer Camry models, and–in fact–is present to greater or lesser extents with all modern vehicles, due to their aerodynamic design that presumes drivers and passengers would want to keep windows closed at high speeds.
And, I have to say that I am also one of the forum members who believes that the OP’s wife may be exaggerating the severity of the problem to some extent.
And–no–I don’t work for Toyota.
I noticed this when I replaced my 2000 Blazer with a 2013 Equinox. Just out of curiosity I lowered my back windows on the drive to work. The buffeting started at 30 mph, by 55 mph the buffeting was unbearable. It’s a fair trade to go from 16.5 mpg to 27 mpg in daily driving.
Sorry, I meant the 2000 Blazer got 16.5 mpg and the 2013 Equinox 27 mpg. The wind noise in the Equinox gets annoying over 35-40 mph with the front driver’s side window all the way down. I used to drive with the window open and used the AC as little as possible. Now I crack the window a few inches and use the AC as needed in the Equinox. Again a fair trade for the increase in mpg.
Ed B.
Which way are you saying gets better miles per gallon. I always understood that all windows up gave the better MPG because the windows down created more wind resistance.
I agree with the others and according to my fuzzy memory I have never held a job position with either a Toyota dealer or Toyota corporate.
One of my SAABs had a sunroof and with it open there was a lot of buffeting. At least until I added an aftermarket wind deflector.
All you have to do is crack one or both front windows. Buffeting over.
I believe he was referring to new vehicle having better mileage than older vehicle. So he could put up with the buffetting on the newer vehicle.
Jimmy Buffetting.