Now I know that the trucks are quiet, but one thing I've noticed is at freeway speeds I hear a lot of wind noise. Any other '04 owners notice this? Or do I have one that is noisier than normal?

Or is the truck so quiet that just hearing wind noise is a good thing?

 

My truck is quiet but I do hear some wind noise. I am overall very impressed with how quiet the truck is at any speed so it doesn't bother me. I did see the commercial with the black/beige supercrew in the noise chamber and thought, my truck is not THAT quiet. The commercial leads you to believe that it is absolutely silent under any and all circumstances.

 

Yep, I noticed the commercial myself. That's what made me wonder in the 1st place. The truck we bought was the only '04 we drove. It still is way quieter than the '03 we test drove the same day.

Thanks for the reply.

 

I'm not an expert by any means, and I did not see the commercial, but I did dirve a 04 fx4 on the interstate highway at about 85 MPH recently. I did notice the wind noise and I think that the source of it is the side mirrors. I owned a 1997 F150 Lariat previously and I thought that it was a good ride and fairly quiet. The 2004 is at least twice as quiet as the 1997. The wind noise is not noticable at lower speeds and the truck is extremely quiet. Maybe a different design of the side mirrors would stop this noise problem. The 1997 mirrors were of a more aerodynamic design. By the way, my 2004 "Blazing Yellow" FX4 Flareside should be in next week.

 

I think the fact you were driving 85 contributed to the wind noise you were hearing. This truck is by far the most quiet truck I have ever owned, and perhaps quieter than most cars, too. Wind noise is a problem in any car.

 

Wolfman064 I totally agree with you. Don't get me wrong, this truck is very quiet and rides smoothly. No other truck on the market today can compete with the quietness and comfort of this truck.

 

The '04 is much quieter than my '02 FX4...There is a little wind noise on the highway but very minimal...I have had to tighten the jack under the back seat a couple times, it would rattle a little bit and drive me nuts. The only other noise I've noticed is from the compressor when the air conditioner is running...It's got a definate clickwhen it turns on and off...Overall I'm happy with the new design!!!
Sierra One

 

The '04 I test drove had very little road and engine noise, but a lot more wind noise than my '97. It was an XLT SCab, the same trim as my '97. I only got the test truck up to 65 (rural roads, small town dealer) compared to the 75 I drive on the freeways. With my '97 I don't have to turn the radio up on the freeway or talk louder to overcome road noise. I know my '04 Lariat will have auto volume to overcome the road noise, but I'm afraid those big honkin' mirrors are going to make the ride a little less pleasurable. They do offer great visibility though. Life is about compromises.

 

This truck is so quiet that I think it makes you more sensitive to noise once you get used to it.

Anyone who needs to can fly next to the props on one of my airline's ATR72's to get their hearing re-calibrated to proper decible resistance.

~~~^~~~

 

well, coming from a 95 xlt I can't wait to test drive one of these bad boys. You think wind noise is bad in 97-03's...

 

You get a good appreciation of how quiet it is if you drive it every day for a week, then get behind the wheel of something else ....

 

exactly. i think lots of vehicles have loud wind noise but you don't hear it because the rest of the vehicle is making all kinds of other noises from the road and what not.

there is one problem with the quiet cab though. i can barely hear emergency vehicles until they are very close. last night a fire truck passed me and luckily i was in the right lane because i didn't hear him until he was all up on me. and the radio was at a resonable level, for once...

and by the way, you can find the ad for the quietness of the cab at this link. scroll down about half way on the right side to the video called "Quiet Time."