This is a known problem with this car. At another forum several members are planning to take the car to a garage specializing in cars noise reduction. What they do is:
- fill in the original door seals (weatherstrip) with some kind of rubber foam which greatly increases its noise blocking properties
- acoustically isolate the wheel wells
The company that does it in my city is in fact an authorized Mazda repair center and they have done it several times to the new Mazda 6, they claim it helps the wind noise issue.
I am going to do that and I'll report here how much it helped.

 

interesting.. I would like to see about getting this done in the states, but I don't know of any such companies... Right now I just want my rear weatherstripping replace where it keeps tearing loose, the wind noise back there is driving me nuts and progressively getting worse (somewhat due to cooler weather I'm sure)!!! ';..;'

 

My rear weather-stripping has also torn, hopefully it's not too much of a hassle to get replaced. The wind noise is noticeable but I've gotten used to it. And I don't really notice road noise, possibly because I have 17" wheels.

 

In my corner of the woods plenty of shops offer such services, usually for car hi-fi enthusiasts, but also just to lower the road noise etc.

The noise issue has not been widely discussed at this forum and I think it's because most members are in the USA, where the speed limits are very low by European standards... In my experience, the noise becomes annoying above 75mph (in my country it's legal to drive up to 95mph on highways, and next door - in Germany - there is no limit at all on most highways, you are welcome to try Mazda's top advertised speed of almost 140mph).

Here, in Poland, many GJ owners complain about the noise on a local forum where I'm the moderator of GJ technical section. One of those owners already had the weatherstipping replaced in a specialized car "quieting" shop, but only in one door - the driver's. Not much improvement apparently. He says that the door sounds much more expensive when slammed shut, that's all The shop I mentioned in the previous post told me that I must fill in the weatherstripping in all doors and, preferably, deaden all wheel wells to really make the difference.

Some shops do not fill the existing weatherstripping with foam, but replace it completely or even replace it with a double seal.

Anyway, four more GJ owners from my forum are going to do it in near future, we'll see what are their experiences. I'll be happy to report it here.

Also, I'm just about to hit the road on a business trip to another city and I intend to measure the noise spectrum inside Mazda 6 at various speeds. Just for fun and out of curiosity. I planned to borrow an AC power inverter and actually take some professional sound recording equipment from my home recording studio, but I run out of time - I'm leaving soon. So I'll just record the noise on a portable recorder and analyze it in Reaper after my return next week. It should give us a clue as to what type of noise it is - more like wind noise (wide spectrum, white-noise like) or with a strong component of the tyres noise (lower spectrum, more peaky).

I will write here what I found

 

The road noise doesn't have much to do with your wheel size, more with your tire thread In Europe all tires must have the noise level in dB displayed on a sticker - EU law. The original tires my Mazda came on had a quite high noise rating, so I arranged with the dealer to sell me the car without tires and got my own - one of the quietest ones on the market.

 

The wind noise doesn't bother me at all. At first, I too thought one of my windows was open. But after 2 weeks I have already gottn used to it apparently and I don't notice it. I am also quite focused on the great drive.

Honestly, it's not that much of an issue once you become acclimated to it. All my Mazda vehicles have had wind noise at a higher level than the snoozemobiles like Camry and Altima.

Mazda tends to prioritize handling and performance over mitigating road bumps and wind/road nose.

 

The wind noise doesn't bother me at all

You know, it doesn't bother me too much, either... getting used to it. And I don't often drive on a highway.

However: do you often drive at around 95mph? That's the standard, legal speed on the highways where I live, and believe me, the noise is much higher at 95mph than at 65mph, which is more typical for the USA...

 

I notice the wind noise also. It is the worst in a cross-wind situation when I climb a 6% grade parallel to the ocean on my commute home. I believe that the noise comes from a poor design of the mirrors. The shape and distance from the car need to be tested in a wind tunnel.

 

I thought it came from the mirrors, too. But no Simple test: fold the mirrors while driving at a high speed on a highway. The noise level will not change.

I believe it's overall body shape plus very poor isolation (weatherstripping etc.) resulting from Mazda having to cut every spare pound on this model. We can't change the body shape, but we can change isolation - look for auto tuning shops that specialize in silencing cars for hi-fi enthusiasts. I can't believe there aren't some in the USA... For every type of auto service in Europe there are 10 in the States, as a rule

But again - if you don't drive a lot on highways with speed in excess of 75mph I don't think this is a serious issue. Some of my local forum members do travel a lot on highways and with speeds of at least 95mph. They are the ones who really got interested in having the car acustically isolated.

 

I thought it came from the mirrors, too. But no Simple test: fold the mirrors while driving at a high speed on a highway. The noise level will not change.

I don't believe the mirrors on the U.S. cars will fold. There is no electric switch that I can find, and manual folding does not seem to work either.

 

I hear a wind noise in any seat in the car. My work car is a 2006 Ford Crown Vic (which is the noisiest car I've ever been in) so the wind noise doesn't bother me that much. I've listened closely at each door and the wind noise does not seem to be coming from around the doors but from above.

While washing the car by hand, I have noticed that it is very difficult to get soap rinsed out of the drip channels on each side of the roof. When looking at them closely, there is a rubber seal on the outside of the rail. On the inside though, is is open and allows the soap to get trapped under the rails. There are also tabs every few inches that hold up the rail a few millimeters off of the roof.

Could this be the cause of the wind noise?

 

Could you please take a photo of the said part/trim?
It is difficult for me to get a grasp, because I don't own the car yet.. lol

 

I just saw your request. I tried to take a cell phone pic but it won't show the tabs. It'll have to wait until tomorrow when I can get my camera out.

 

Previously, on my current car (2012 GLI)
I did some work on the door in an attempt to fix the wind noise in the car.
(although later I found out that the wind noise was actually coming from misalinged sunroof, which was an easy DIY fix)

The link below has the explanation to the fix.
Basically, you put electrical tape around the door striker to make the door pull in further when shut.
This was a fix for the GTI, and a lot of the people confirmed that it fixes the wind noise from the door.

I'm not sure if this will work for the 2014 Mazda 6, because it is impossible for me to try it on the dealer's car.. lol

If anyone is interested, please refer to the following link.

VWVortex.com - Driver's door rattle: fixed. Driver's door wind noise: fixed.

 

I test drove a 2013 GLI AutoBahn and I didn't notice any road noise at all.

I'm thinking if this is such a big issue for you, you may be better off considering a new G37 or 2014 Lexus IS-250. Those will be much more isolated from wind or road noise. The G37 especially can be had for an excellent price since the new Q50 is out.

 

Thank you for the useful link!

The wind noise is not caused by a misaligned sunroof in this case, because most GJ owners who reported this issue did not have a sunroof. Here, it is only available with the largest engine (2.5i) and the highest trim.

 

Maybe it depends on the trim? My GJ has electrically folding mirrors, although you won't find the switch, either What you need to do is turn the window adjustment knob until the white dot points up. The knob has 4 positions, clockwise:
- right mirror adjustment
- neutral position
- left mirror adjustment
- mirrors folded

What irritates the owners here, esp. former Mazda 6 (GH) owners is that there's no way to fold the mirrors (and close the windows/sunroof) from the outside, e.g. using the key FOB, but that's another story

Back to the topic, though: I recorded the cabin noise at various speeds, now I need a few days to find some time and move the files to my PC with Reaper software, cut them up and check them with a spectrum analyzer VST plug-in.

 

Hi, any news here? I'm also owner of new Mazda 6 GJ and the wind noise is only serious problem I have with my car. I had all the previous models of Mazda 6 (GG, GH) and I have to state the last one is the loudest one. I cannot understand how Mazda can produce (in respect to the wind noise) the worse car then previous model. In GH I could not notice any wind noise at all.

I have tried to add additional sealant next to the existing one around the door, between the front and rear doors etc. I have tried even to make the existing rubber sealant thicker by sticking the additional rubber on the top of the original one. Only effect was I was almost unable to close the door.
Any of that "improvement" did not lead to any wind noise level change. It seems that there is no problem with weatherstripping at all.

What I did not try yet is to stick a rubber sealant at the bottom of the door - there is a pretty thick hole and the noise could maybe transfer to the top of the door. But I doubt it helps.
Does anybody here have a idea or real experience what could help? Asking the Mazda dealer makes not sense as they have no clue what to do until they do not get any official guide what to do from the producer.

 

I'm afraid it needs to be done a bit more professionally than sticking additional rubber on top of the old one I've seen the shop where they do that - two men were working on one door for 6 hours and literally took it apart and put back together during that time.

Remember that the noise is a bit like water: no amount of isolation will help if you leave one small break in isolation somewhere - the sound will "leak" through that very break.

Then you have the acoustic bridges which your additional rubber might have caused. Avoiding acoustic bridges is half the art when e.g. building a recording studio.

I would really recommend leaving it to experts...

 

I know you are right but I cannot find any experts around who could help with that. Sticking additional rubber on top of the old one was just one try out of the many. I'm convinced that my non-professional experiments would lead at least to change of the wind noise level (to be better or worse or simply different), but NOTHING has changed.
That is why I stated that very probably the weatherstripping is not a problem.

It would be nice to find a TSB from Mazda (if they care at all) to know what to do to get rid of that issue. One way is to get to use this behavior but to be honest it is very irritating. Any solution would be appreciated.

 

It would be nice to find a TSB from Mazda (if they care at all) to know what to do to get rid of that issue.

The only way is to hammer them with requests - I already logged a formal issue complaint with my Mazda Dealer and they reported it to Mazda... If enough owners do that, they will realize it's an issue, not just one person's over-sensitive hearing

 

The mirrors on the US Mazda 6 fold manually. They take a decent push, but they will fold.

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

I'm afraid this way we will wait forever

 

That MAY be true. But if we don't complain, there's even no point waiting - we can be 100% certain that nothing will improve.

 

Yes that is clear. Btw, do you already have any results from a company which should make an improvements leading to better insulation of Mazda 6? How helpful were the changes and what did it cost?

 

I'm afraid you'll have to give us more time. At a forum where I'm the moderator of GJ section several members are considering getting that noise isolation installed, but it is a very expensive operation. A group of them is now approaching one company asking for a group discount. One member did try this isolation, but only on one door. He says it didn't noticeably decrease the noise inside the cabin, however, the door makes a much more "expensive" sound now when shut He is planning to get the remaining 3 doors done when the budget allows.

As to myself, I'm just too busy these days to take my car to a sound isolating treatment that requires leaving it in a garage for 3 days... And the price is steep, we are talking ca. $4000 for the entire package (which doubles as rust isolation for the undercarriage). I can't afford that, so I'll probably go for just the doors and maybe the front wheel wells, which should cost about $1500. I know it sounds very expensive, but remember, our Mazdas cost some 35% than in the USA, too European taxes and all.

So give me a few months to collect more experiences from my forum members and I'll definitely post a report here, you have my commitment. Maybe some "before and after" sound samples as well.

 

I cannot believe there is no simpler and cheaper solution to get rid of that noise. Hopefully Mazda technicians are aware of this problem and will be able to provide a solution in e.g. model year 2015 that could be applied also for cars produced before.

Looking at cars not having these problems we can see different approach to insulate the doors with more layers of weatherstripping. E.g. VW Passat uses 4 seal layers comparing to two ones at Mazda 6. I can understand it also has something to do with door design, but perhaps applying more sophisticated seals would be sufficient.

Looking at the weatherstripping on our cars we can find e.g. leaking seal on the upper corner of the front/rear doors what could make troubles. There are surely more places that would require some improvements.

To be honest I cannot understand how the car was tested before going to production. I cannot believe that nobody has recognized this problem, especially when there were serious concerns reported by journalists testing the pre-production cars.
What is really annoying is the fact that previous model of Mazda 6 (GH) did not have this issue at all. Question is how could Mazda produce the successor that is in this aspect worse that previous model.

 

The wind noise doesnt bother me too much, it would be nice if things were quieter at high speeds but I depend on sound to know how fast I'm going.

Even in reviews like on car and driver the ambient noise is only a little higher in this car vs the accord, and the accord got better reviews than the fusion.

I think there may just be something like an opening that once air goes over at high speed... causes excess noise. I'm going to try looking at the window cover in the corner on the outside and the inside sometime this weekend.

 

I also have seen the decibel measurements of the cabin noise.
However, there is a big difference between measured noise and perceived noise by human.
In this case, the wind noise from the driver's window stands out and is very distinguished from other overall cabin noise.
Honestly, I do not expect perfect insulation on these economy mid-size sedans.

I expect to hear little wind noise and road noise when I am on the freeway, but this 2014 Mazda 6's wind noise is different. It makes the car seem really cheaper than it actually is.

I rent cars for my business trips--mostly mid-size sedans--and none of them had this problem.

I admit that this Mazda is an awsome car, but I don't see myself in it stressing over the wind noise of a brand new car.
I probably won't buy this Mazda6, but I sure hope that Mazda will do something for the owners.

 

See while the car size-wise does fall into mid-size sedans, that is not what its sold as. It has been touted as a sport sedan, and everyone who has commented on my car tell people "he got himself a sleek sports car". While it doesn't justify wind noise, the car's designed to be a larger sport car, and as such it has a lower ride height and seems to have a more aggressively sloped windshield as compared to something like the accord or fusion(which is still quite sloped).

I continue to think its a aerodynamic oversight because more noise would be apparent overall rather than just wind at high speed.

I hope someone can pinpoint the areas where air travels and knock it out.

Another thing, this 6 may have been a rushed product to make up for that spider incident in the last model. Design and everything may have been in place but not overall complete, yet complete enough to work.


PS Just a random small idea:
Could it just be air travelling along the car frame internally through some opening maybe under the hood, there's a lot of space behind the engine.

 

The noise problem is complex. In Mazdas case it goes back to the basic design philosophy of the 2014 Mazda6, which is sporting and fuel efficient, not real quiet at speed. Most all previous Mazda6s are not quiet. The 2014 is new , many in process changes have already been made. Maybe the 2015 model will be quieter. We are lucky to have Gajdzin doing testing and helping us with this problem. He has been a high contributor. OLDVET

 

Are parts of the skyactiv frame hollow?
See the yellow line on the right image? Imagine if air traveled along that?

Anyone go higher than 70 notice noise in the back too?

 

The 2014 is much quieter than my previous '03.

 

How fast do you drive it?