Dash wind noise for
BMW 5 Series (E39)

This may sound odd but there is a recognised issue of wind noise - that "seems" to come from around the windshield area.

The problem can be caused by a missing "jacking block". Look under the body at both ends of the sill - where you are supposed to place the jack when lifting the car. There should be small retangular plastic blocks where the jack goes. These are held onto the body with a part of the block that sticks up into a small hole in the body.

If one or more of those blocks is missing, the air rushing past the open hole in the body is heard as wind noise around the windshield.

Otherwise be suspicious of the sunroof - close the interior panel and see if the problem changes.

And of course make sure the windows are all the way up. Sometimes when unlocking the passenger doors you accidently activate the opening of the windows - for a fraction of a second. They do not look open but they are down just enough that you get a wind noise.