Report: Chevy comes up with Volt mirror modification to stop wind thumping

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Manufacturing/Plants, Chevrolet

If you're getting annoyed by a 'thumping' noise caused by driving your Chevy Volt with the windows down, there is a fix kit available. One Volt owner in San Diego, CA, was pleased to have the problem solved, allowing him to go back to being a "fresh air fanatic."

Dan Wolfson, who writes under the pseudonym "San Diego Vectrix Guy" for EV World, loves his Volt. One of the few nitpicks he's had has been loud wind noise when the driver's windows is down, even while driving at low speeds. He'd heard it was caused by the Volt's aerodynamic design, which was obviously intended to minimize wind resistance. You can see the original mirror design here.

The dealer replaced both mirrors and modified wind deflectors on the window trim.

Wolfson did some research and read about another Volt owner receiving a fix kit to solve the problem. He contacted his dealer and found out the fix kit was available for no charge since the car was brand new, but the work would need to be done by the dealer. The dealer replaced both mirrors and modified wind deflectors on the window trim. It took a bit of extra time to finish the job since the new mirrors have small wings that redirect air flow, and these need to be painted to match each car. Wolfson is now happy to report that it did solve the problem, and he can live with the minimal increase in the car's wind resistance, according to GM.

Chevrolet's Michelle Malcho told AutoblogGreen the company has been aware of the aerodynamics and windows up/down difficulty reported by a few customers for a while. "Some customers would prefer to drive with the windows down regardless of a loss of efficiency, but may find the wind buffeting annoying. Chevrolet has developed a dealer installed package that causes a disruption in the air flow around the car and minimizes wind buffeting when the windows are down," Malcho wrote in an email. While Wolfson got his work done for free, the official Chevrolet policy is different. "These parts and installation can be purchased through the Chevrolet dealer," Malcho wrote. Perhaps it's up to the Chevrolet dealer to decide who pays for it?

Chevy comes up with Volt mirror modification to stop wind thumping originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 22 Dec 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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