2001 Camry loud wind noise from passenger mirror assembly

[im1knight]

I have a 2001 Camry gallery edition. The car drives very well, and was pretty quiet for its age. Until one day, some @ss decided they are going to break my passenger side mirror...

Since the car is old, I just went to a junk yard and paid about 10 bucks for another mirror that matched my color, and the guy at the junk yard kindly installed it for me. While it looked fine, I noticed as soon as i hit speeds 40mph+, wind starts to rush in...

Initially i thought I did not close one of my windows all the way, but i soon realized it's coming from the mirror assembly..near the little speaker on the mirror(IDK what's that called ). I took a closer look when I got home, and i realized that there seems to be a tiny gap between the mirror and the rubber from the chrome strip running down the outside of the car. I thought that was the problem, and I just applied some silicone gel hoping it would fix it...and it failed. I took down the mirror, and did not find anything out of place.. so I put it back on, same problem occurred again.

it's been a year since this happened, but it's just really getting on my nerves..I don't feel like paying couple hundred bucks to get it fixed at bodyshop or dealer..anyone else had this problem and can maybe tell me what might be wrong? Thanks

[Yuko]

When you removed the mirror, did you notice if there was a black foam gasket? It could have been left out when the mirror was replaced.

Also, kinda jealous that you have a "Gallery Edition"

[im1knight]

Originally Posted by Yuko

When you removed the mirror, did you notice if there was a black foam gasket? It could have been left out when the mirror was replaced.

Also, kinda jealous that you have a "Gallery Edition"

Yup, i checked and it was there. Maybe its not doing its job? Since it's from a junk yard..i guess anything can happen..how do I tell if its not doing its job? and where can i possibly get a replacement for that?

I got the car second handed off a personal lease back in 2004, the gallery edition was just a bonus that comes with the car :P Nothing really "Gallery" special tho other than the 2 toned paint and gallery floor mat..But i must admit i like the white/gray combo paint job a lot

[Yuko]

How tight is the gap between the door and the mirror? Mine is almost none. If the gap is large, there is a chance that when the mirror was broken off, the bolts could have pulled the sheet metal out a bit. If so, then just simply tap the metal back in with a small hammer to make the mirror sit flush. As a note, there is a slight different in design with the mirror between the US built Camry and the Japan built version. But if it fit perfectly, that shouldn't be the problem. The gasket can only be brought new from the dealership but it shouldn't be too costly. I would also check for tear on the rubber weather-strip that run around the door and the gasket that the window slides on. You can also pop off the little black speaker on the door to pin-point the hole and plug it.

One thing I like about the Gallery Edition is the carbon fiber styled center dash trim. I was lucky and found one at a salvage yard but couldn't find the shift plate to go with it.

[im1knight]

I got the Japan built version, and I think the only different between US and Japan built is the plug for power mirrors? But anyway, i think mine works ok. The gap between the seals is not that big, just a tiny little gap compared to the original one from the left side, and I already sealed it with silicone gel, but apparently that's not the problem..the weather strip also appears to be fine. But the little foam things around the small speaker did seem a bit damaged, sort of missing or ripped in several places most likely from replacement of the mirror and removing the black plastic part..But it's pretty weak to begin with, and I don't think that's the cause of the problem?(highly doubt those tiny foams are supposed to block out wind noise..)

Is it even possible to buy the black foam gasket alone? I mean I don't think dealerships will still have parts for 4th gen vehicles...maybe i'm wrong?

I have never really realized the carbon fiber style is special with Gallery edition...This is the only Gen 4.5 Camry I ever been in, I know the Gen4.0 did not have it, and just assumed it's part of the upgrade for Gen 4.5...guess not xD. Learning something everyday here

[adalex]

i actually helped toyotareference update the gen4s since they had a note about the collector edition but no pain code etc

if only i had 2600$

http://www.adsinusa.com/c/4121/4121o3457.htm
the vin is in the ad incase anybody was curious about the trim/paint code etc