Noisy cabin during heavy downpour

[Sinner108]

Hi all E-Class Kakis

I drive a W212FL E-class bought brand-new from C&C in 2015.   I realised that whenever we have heavy downpours in Singapore, when I drive on the road, the pattering sound of the rain is very loud against the roof of the car.   Now, I used to drive BMW 5 series, 3 Series and even Volvo XC90 and I never had this experience before.  It sounds like the large rain drops hitting on empty zinc roof or tin-cans.  I didn't expect to experience this as I expect Merc to be quite quiet in the cabin be it rain or shine.   It's really noisy and even my wife felt that its the rain pattering is noisier than the BMWs or Volvo or even the Jap car we had yons back.    Does anyone experience the same?  What did you do to ratify it?

Thanks in advance, all kakis for reading and responding.

[keltanky]

maybe lately rain has too much chemical rain... hence maybe the composite of the rain drops diff from previous years.

 

even my tank lately with the crazy rain, it does sounds different..

 

[catfish]

Hi

I had the same experience when I switched from Volvo V50 to W204PFL a year back .. My kids was complaining, why daddy car so noisy, can hear the rain drop so CLEAR  ... My own conclusion is, Merc(at least W204) is quite ungenerous in noise damping material on roof ... during the switch over period, I owned the two cars for a short while .. just by simple tapping/ knocking the car roof alone, I can hear the different ..one is thud thud, the other is Ting Ting ..    

[CH_OldMerc]

My W211 FL does not have this issue. The cabin sound insulation especially during heavy downpour seems to be better than most cars I have riden🙄

Any W211 fellow owner here would like to share?

 

 

[Sinner108]

1 hour ago, catfish said:

Hi

I had the same experience when I switched from Volvo V50 to W204PFL a year back .. My kids was complaining, why daddy car so noisy, can hear the rain drop so CLEAR  ... My own conclusion is, Merc(at least W204) is quite ungenerous in noise damping material on roof ... during the switch over period, I owned the two cars for a short while .. just by simple tapping/ knocking the car roof alone, I can hear the different ..one is thud thud, the other is Ting Ting ..    

Hi Catfish

Wonder if the Merc is thiner at the roof?  Its quite irritating especially during heavy rain, its so noisy I had hard time trying to maintain a conversation.   Wife or not is not the matter here..... haha

[Sinner108]

2 hours ago, keltanky said:

maybe lately rain has too much chemical rain... hence maybe the composite of the rain drops diff from previous years.

 

even my tank lately with the crazy rain, it does sounds different..

 

Hi Keltanky

This did not occur only lately.  Been observing since I collected the car 2 yrs back and noticed the difference in noise insulation.   You see, noise insulation during normal driving on sunny days or slight drizzle is good and quiet.  Just surprised that when it rains hard, its like driving in a tin-can!!?!  Not sure if this is common in our W212 models be it pre-FL or FL model.    Did this "feature" get carried over to the new W213?  Any bros here with similar experience in W213 also?  

 

[catfish]

Hi,

Raining indeed very busy affair in my W204 .. have to look-out for traffic ... low visibility ..  withstand to the noisy roof .. &  the wiper judder.. luckily all my passenger are quietly 'enjoying' the rain drop attap noise   .. 

I would think, Merc metal is thinner than my previous car .. in my previous ride, I hardly get any ding on the door/body panel  .. but this W204.. ding everywhere... 

[lks328]

I notice this noisy rain too on ky W212FL since day one. 

Very loud and noisy and clear..lol... wat to do but live with it...

Worse case is when a call comes in and i answer, the other party cant hear wat i am saying

[Sinner108]

2 hours ago, lks328 said:

I notice this noisy rain too on ky W212FL since day one. 

Very loud and noisy and clear..lol... wat to do but live with it...

Worse case is when a call comes in and i answer, the other party cant hear wat i am saying

Haha, I have the same problem when people call me on the phone.  I had to shout and the other party asked me why am I so agitated!