Why Can Bug Deflectors Make Wind Noise

Picture this – once again you take your beloved truck out there for a drive, except this time something is different – there is now some annoying wind noise coming out of nowhere.

You start thinking about all of the modifications you made in the recent past, and it suddenly dawns on you – it’s the new bug shield you installed.

Why is this happening? How could a simple strip of plastic make those irritating noises? This is the topic of today’s blog post.

Needs to be stuffed

The most probable reason why i think such thing would produce wind noise when, let’s say, you are driving around at highway speeds, is because of the product’s design.

I think it has something to do with the fact that there can be a lot of empty space right where the deflector connects to the hood, as it is one of those accessories that have quite a bit of flex to them.

Certainly every result depends on who made the actual item, and even the pickup truck, as all of them work a bit different when it comes to this, but the thing that should work regardless of what you have is adding some weatherstripping tape in that crevice.

I can’t explain exactly how does a method like this help with the noise, though one thing for sure, given that now there is some material stuffed up in there, that seems to do the trick.

If all of the above didn’t help with the sound, try taking the deflector out and reinstalling. Retightening all of the bolts and seals again could make the bug shield seat better, hence eliminating any sort of noise.

The windshield?

Now i know this can sound weird, but all of the irritating sounds you hear may not be coming directly from the bug shield at all – the culprit might just be the windshield!

How could that be the case, you might ask. Well, given that a bug deflector changes the trajectory of any incoming insect, or some harder objects for that matter, it also changes the way the air hits the vehicle.

Essentially what this means is that the incoming wind now could start to pick up a bit of looser rubber molding that is on the sides of the windshield, causing the wind noise.

If that is the cause of the issue, what you can try to do is make sure all of the trim is seated properly. Make sure it doesn’t move around too much, and if you think it does, you can always apply some silicone to seal it all properly.

The molding could also be rather old, or just hard to mess with, so in that instance it’s probably best to get the truck checked out by professionals.

In Conclusion

Thinking of ways to get rid of the wind noise (that may come from any place for that matter) is really only a personal preference – people definitely exist who really do not care much about it, and for example, just continue listening to the radio like they did before without much issue.

At the end of the day, should you or not tackle this topic really boils down to you, however, all of the practical things i mentioned could still not be the solution in your case, and you will need to get the pickup serviced to figure out what is going on.