I drove a new 2005 forester and heard a wind moan that started at about 40 mph and got louder the faster I went. Could it be the roof top rack? Any fixes?

All the doors and windows were tightly closed.

 

Also has anyone checked the gas mileage? I want to buy the 2.5 XS with AT. I am at about 75 feet above sea level and live in florida.

 

Any advice berfore I buy in late May?

I drove a new 2005 forester and heard a wind moan that started at about 40 mph and got louder the faster I went. Could it be the roof top rack? Any fixes?

All the doors and windows were tightly closed.

 

Also has anyone checked the gas mileage? I want to buy the 2.5 XS with AT. I am at about 75 feet above sea level and live in florida.

 

Any advice berfore I buy in late May?

 

I don't own a Forester but when you mentioned "roof rack" you may be on to something: vehicles equipped with factory roof racks must have the cross bars installed with the correct side facing forward (One side is narrower than the other). Some manufacturers label the side of the bar that's supposed to face forward. Installed incorrectly, the bars will cause nasty turbulence.

my thule bars are wicked loud i think i've narrowed the sound down the the rain gutter mounts. I'm thinking of poping them off tonight and seeing how much of a difference it makes... but... it could also be the ghetto CB antenna mount

I took the cross bars off of my roof rack, it made a big difference in the noise level.

I took the cross bars off of my roof rack, it made a big difference in the noise level.

 

And after reading your post, it dawned on me that I removed the crossbars from our 1-week old Outback Limited wagon because of "wind whistle" ---that was back in October of 1997 and the crossbars are still up in the attic...........

If you don't need the cross bars, remove them. They do make an annoying whistle right over your head. Not sure about a "moan" though. Our '01 makes some noise around the side-view mirros as well.

 

You should get upper 20's mpg-wise on an '05 N/A and I wouldn't be surprised if you hit 30. Providing you keep it at 70mph or less. Our's get's 20 around town and 25-26 on the highway. I think I need to replace an o2 sensor though. Seems like when you breach 3000rpm's, fuel economy starts going downhill.

 

You will be happy with your purchase!

If I have the sunroof open my crossbars really moan. This is a Home Depot car so they have to stay though.

Ditto on the roof rack making some noise... and... I've noticed with the frameless windows on Subies a little trick that works for us. Sometimes the window doesn't "seal" tightly when you pull the door shut... you have to lower the window an inch or so, then raise it back up... the wind noise is reduced a lot when we've tried this. It works much better in my wife's car (TS) though... probably a difference in cars plus the 2 year old still spongy seal vs. mine at 8 years old.

 

Steve

Whats the easiest fix for the wind noise in a 2003 forester 2.5x?

Ditto on the roof rack making some noise... and... I've noticed with the frameless windows on Subies a little trick that works for us. Sometimes the window doesn't "seal" tightly when you pull the door shut... you have to lower the window an inch or so, then raise it back up... the wind noise is reduced a lot when we've tried this. It works much better in my wife's car (TS) though... probably a difference in cars plus the 2 year old still spongy seal vs. mine at 8 years old.

 

Steve