fixing the noisy side mirror

A common problem that plagues the Toyota MR2 (SW20) is the leaky side mirror mounting that results in a lot of wind noise when cruising at high speed. This is rather annoying, especially when you try to have a decent conversation with your passenger, not to mention it dampens the sweet turbo spooling sound that we all love to hear.

The procedure described below is for Toyota MR2, but I assume the same should be able to applied to other make and models facing with the same problem.

To determine if the noise is from a leaky side window mounting, place your finger near the tweater when travelling over 80 km/h. If you can feel a tiny stream of air coming out of the tweater, you’ve got an air leak that needs fixing, unless you have a very loud stereo.

I first read about this procedure from the Japanese MR2 FAQ site, and decided to do it myself. This is what I did:

fixing the noisy side mirror

First, take off the tweater mounting by prying it off with a flat screw driver. It is mounted much like cell phone covers, should come off with relative ease. Proceed with unscrewing the 3 screws that are holding both the tweater and the side mirror together. If the screws are too tight, use a hair dryer to melt the thread locking glue that are covering the screws. I did not face with this problem.

fixing the noisy side mirror

After the screws are undone, the side mirror should be left dangling on the power cord that powers the motor for adjusting the mirror.

fixing the noisy side mirror

Other than screw drivers (both philip and flat), all you need is some thick double sided tapes, and a pair of scissors.

fixing the noisy side mirror

Apply generous layers of double sided tape around the mounting of the side mirror. Make sure you do not leave any holes for any chance of air seepage. I applied about 3 layers of double sided tape.

fixing the noisy side mirror

Put everything back together, the screws might be a little tougher to get in this time since the 3 layers of double sided tape are rather thick. Just push the mirror closer to the door and give it a good squeeze.

After putting everyting together, give it a test run. The wind noise should be gone, you’ll be able to enjoy the turbo spooling sound even at relative high speed now.

DIY sound proofing leaky side mirror for Toyota MR2
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2 thoughts on “DIY sound proofing leaky side mirror for Toyota MR2

  • December 14, 2005 at 9:06 am
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    Ahah?

    If you can feel a tiny stream of hair coming out of the tweater, you’ve got an air leak that needs fixing

    Reply
  • December 14, 2005 at 9:36 am
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    hehe. thanks for spotting the mistake

    Reply

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