E220d S213 Noisy Cabin?

[JPS7]

Hello. My car is a 2017 E220d Estate with 19 Inch wheels. I have it for almost 2 years and I always felt like it's too loud inside, louder than what I'd expect from an E Class. I'm having to turn up the music volume to suppress the noise. I took some measurements using an app which seem to confirm my concerns.

Engine is off - 34 dB
Engine idle - 55 dB
10 mph drive - 64 dB
20 mph drive - 70 dB
When I get out of the car and stick the microphone at the front grille when the engine is idling - 76 dB

I raised it to the dealer at the time, but they said they didn't find anything wrong with the doors or the sealants. My warranty is gonna be out in August so I'm thinking if I should keep pushing or am I nitpicking. Do you think there's something seriously wrong with this car's sound isolation or is this normal?

 

[PaulXC]

Same car with same wheels. I can't quite remember as I haven't driven it since mid March ..... but I do know it is quieter on the 17" winter wheels and tyres than the 19's.

 

[Gazwould]

Alot of makes have cut back on noise insulation materials to eek out efficiency .

Add panel damping etc .

 

[DITTRICH]

My 2016 s205 c200se is notiveably more noisy at speed than my 1999 w202 c230k or the ex 1994 s124 e300d.
The noise is pronounced when travelling through tunnels too. That's 20+ years of progress for you. Monowipers are sorely missed too, as they only failed if not properly greased and cleaned every few years. I used to keep a small tub of vaseline in the car for it

 

[DSM10000]

Hello. My car is a 2017 E220d Estate with 19 Inch wheels. I have it for almost 2 years and I always felt like it's too loud inside, louder than what I'd expect from an E Class. I'm having to turn up the music volume to suppress the noise. I took some measurements using an app which seem to confirm my concerns.

Engine is off - 34 dB
Engine idle - 55 dB
10 mph drive - 64 dB
20 mph drive - 70 dB
When I get out of the car and stick the microphone at the front grille when the engine is idling - 76 dB

I raised it to the dealer at the time, but they said they didn't find anything wrong with the doors or the sealants. My warranty is gonna be out in August so I'm thinking if I should keep pushing or am I nitpicking. Do you think there's something seriously wrong with this car's sound isolation or is this normal?

The app you are using is pretty pointless as it will not be using calibrated equipment to produce the result. The fact that there is a significant difference in engine "noise" inside and outside shows that there is soundproofing in place and working.

As said, the 19 inch wheels and low profile tyres will add to noise and harshness and can cause an increase in interior cabin noise. Different types tyres can have a quite a range of characteristics including noise profiles What tyres are fitted?

An increase of 3dB doubles the sound intensity but a 10dB increase is required before a sound is perceived to be twice as loud. Therefore a small increase in decibels represents a large increase in intensity. For example - 10dB is 10 times more intense than 1dB, while 20dB is 100 times more intense than 1dB.

See here for a brief explanation of decibels and the relative scale : What is a decibel, and how is it measured?

 

[Larkone]

Found on my CLS the biggest individual change I made when I upgraded the sound deadening and damping was putting sound deadening around and over the plastic spare wheel tray - a massive amount of the noise came in through that.