Hi,

I'm a new member and, at the end of January, took delivery of a 1.6 Focus Zetec automatic (petrol). Having got the car "run in" I find that, at speeds of 60-70 mph (less in windy weather) a loud and almost continuous penetrating whistle starts up and appears to be coming from behind the dashboard on the passenger side. The people at the dealership are completely at a loss as to what the cause might be (I'm taking the car back again in two days time!); can anyone suggest a possible solution to this? As it stands at present, taking the car on a long journey would be mental torture and there seems no end in sight to the problem. At present I am a very exasperated Ford-owner.

Andrew-k.

Does it go away if you hit the 'recirculate' button? I say that because the pollen filter housing is behind the dashboard on the passenger side.

Other suspects would include some issue with the airbox, or a split hose (though, extremely unlikely on a brand new motor).

Thank you for the suggestion about the recirculate button, I will try that when I get the chance or tell the garage. Problem can be finding the time to go out and find a road where I can do 70!

Are under the carpets wet ide say missing seam sealant if youre positive its behind the dash also adjust the heating knob see if that helps most mk2 have a wind whistle at speed but its just the design on the mk2.5 they used more insulation and thicker door seals

Get similar on my Mk2.5, although it's not that loud and I can only hear it when the radio is off.No sign of any water getting in.

Many thanks for the comments/suggestions. Unfortunately hitting the Recirculate button didn't make any difference; the car is with the dealership at present. There is no way that it is any sort of normal wind whistle - nobody who has heard it has suggested that - and anyone who has heard it thinks it is coming from behind the dash on the passenger side, as in my original post. The front wheel-arch, door seals etc. have been checked and are OK. Any further suggestions, please?

Andrew-k.

to be honest accept it i believe its from outside and due to the aerodynamics since so many focis have the same issue live with it most of us do i cant say its that bad

Artscot 79, you haven't heard it! And it seems, moreover, as if something is loose because the noise reacts sometimes to vibrations in the road.

Theres not much back there to be honest all i can think of is the pipework to the heater matrix wiring through the grommets or a faulty window seal without ripping the whole dash out its guess work you could take the glove box out and have a good look up behind the dash

Fingers crossed - the problem seems to have been solved. Eventually the dealership traced the noise to the door-mirror housing; it wasn't coming from behind the dash after all! There is nothing apparently wrong with the original housing but changing it stopped the noise and I had a brief run at speed last night and could detect no trace of it. Thanks again, anyway, for the suggestions and comments.

What exactly did they change, the entire mirror?

I believe so, or at least the entire housing.