As the weather warms here in the Southern Part of Heaven, we have taken to opening the windows as we drive. Our habit is to open the rear windows for fresh air w/o it blowing on us. However, when the windows are open the air vibrates so strongly inside the car that it actually hurts our ear drums. Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon?

Yes ! Lot's of buffeting especially over 40 MPH.<br>I to like to drive with the rear windows open.<br>Try experimenting with one rear window open an inch or so & try opening either front windows a 1/2 inch or so.<br>Eventually you will be able to balance out some of the resonance.<br>I believe it's caused by the airflow spliting from the front to the sides. Some of us noticed the airflow during snowstorms. You could see the airflow split and roll off the sides of the windshield. If you look at some of the winter pictures posted here & at YAHOO's Group you'll see the back window loads up with snow because the airflow over the roof is slower.<br><br>Pete Morrison<br>PA plate HIGH EMF<br>A PA DEP AFIG recipient.

Resonance when just a rear window is open is a fairly common phenomenon in many models of cars. It's kinda like blowing on a coke bottle. In my Prius, one rear window down resonates really bad above around 30 MPH. Opening any other window makes it stop.<br><br>Robert Snyder<br>NJ-PIKACHU

Yeah, I've noticed this with just the left rear open at highway speeds. I discovered that cracking the right front about an inch seems to eliminate the problem.<br><br>--gc

Yes, in fact we have to open one window in the front and an opposite one in the back to cut down on the reverberation. Several times we close all windows and just use the fresh air intact and forget about windows. The aerodynameic of the car are really interrupted by the windows being down.

Definitely not a Prius-specific thing. My Saturn SW1 acts very similarly, and the cure is the same: Leave the windows all closed, or open windows on both sides, not just one.<br><br>Burns