[328idogg]

I have a 2009 328i sedan w/sports package that has squeaky door seals when going over bumps or when the body flexes.

This is more apparent on the rear doors and the driver's door. At highway speeds (even on bumpy highways), it's completely silent, as if air pressure is keeping the door seals from shifting/rubbing. Before I take it to the dealer, I was just curious if anyone else has come across this?

It appears to be the door seals rubbing against the black shadowline trim. I'm not sure if this would happen on cars with chrome trim. I can completely eliminate it by placing blue painter's tape on the door seals where it contacts the trim. Another way to temporarily quieten it is by applying something like Meguiar's NXT Protectant to the rubber seals, but it returns after a few days. Note that this is just on the upper-most rubber seal, which touches the trim, not the main seal which goes all the way around the door and contacts the metal body frame.

I've searched the SIBs, but the closest fixes are for X3's and 5 Series (links below). You would have thought BMW would have completely gotten rid of those poor seals.

http://www.bmwtis.com/tsb/bulletins/...p/B512805g.htm
http://www.bmwtis.com/tsb/bulletins/...p/B510205g.htm

Thanks in advance.

[Bimmer Al]

Originally Posted by 328idogg

I have a 2009 328i sedan w/sports package that has squeaky door seals when going over bumps or when the body flexes.

This is more apparent on the rear doors and the driver's door. At highway speeds (even on bumpy highways), it's completely silent, as if air pressure is keeping the door seals from shifting/rubbing. Before I take it to the dealer, I was just curious if anyone else has come across this?

It appears to be the door seals rubbing against the black shadowline trim. I'm not sure if this would happen on cars with chrome trim. I can completely eliminate it by placing blue painter's tape on the door seals where it contacts the trim. Another way to temporarily quieten it is by applying something like Meguiar's NXT Protectant to the rubber seals, but it returns after a few days. Note that this is just on the upper-most rubber seal, which touches the trim, not the main seal which goes all the way around the door and contacts the metal body frame.

I've searched the SIBs, but the closest fixes are for X3's and 5 Series (links below). You would have thought BMW would have completely gotten rid of those poor seals.

http://www.bmwtis.com/tsb/bulletins/...p/B512805g.htm
http://www.bmwtis.com/tsb/bulletins/...p/B510205g.htm

Thanks in advance.

Yes I have. The dealer replaced all window seals......however the squeaks are still there but not as bad.....almost sounds like the rear seats. I may take the car in again before the 4 years 80,000kms is up......did you take your car in? If so what did the dealer do and what was the outcome?

[328idogg]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Al

Yes I have. The dealer replaced all window seals......however the squeaks are still there but not as bad.....almost sounds like the rear seats. I may take the car in again before the 4 years 80,000kms is up......did you take your car in? If so what did the dealer do and what was the outcome?

I haven't taken it in yet and will probably wait a few weeks before taking it in. I only have 500 miles on the car and wanted to see if anything else pops up in the meantime.

In doing more research, the following thread seems to suggest that Carbaflo might be the answer:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11810

[GregL]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Al

Yes I have. The dealer replaced all window seals......however the squeaks are still there but not as bad.....almost sounds like the rear seats. I may take the car in again before the 4 years 80,000kms is up......did you take your car in? If so what did the dealer do and what was the outcome?

What dealer in Ontario did you go to that they're so willing to try and address squeaking?

[328idogg]

Originally Posted by 328idogg

I haven't taken it in yet and will probably wait a few weeks before taking it in. I only have 500 miles on the car and wanted to see if anything else pops up in the meantime.

In doing more research, the following thread seems to suggest that Carbaflo might be the answer:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11810

Just a quick update on this. I applied RejeX to the shadowline trim and Vinylex to the door seals. A simple fix that seems to have done the trick - the door seals are quiet now.

[buckybadger]

I would highly recommend not to take it to the dealer to remove any of that stuff unless there's a proper TSB for it. It will lead to more problems generally speaking... just apply some lubricant which you can probably get from any auto store for seals.. It will do the trick. I had the same noise, dealer just applied 3M dry silica lubricant and now the noise is almost gone or minimal... Trust me, you don't want your car be taken apart unless there are proper guidelines from BMW..

[1FSTE90]

328idogg,

I have the exact same problem and before I begin duplicating your process..., I was wondering how's it going for you. Still no squeaky door seals? Thanks in advance for the reply....

[328idogg]

Originally Posted by 1FSTE90

328idogg,

I have the exact same problem and before I begin duplicating your process..., I was wondering how's it going for you. Still no squeaky door seals? Thanks in advance for the reply....

Yes, still working extremely well since I applied the products once on 2/19 - not a peep from the door seals. This is also after 1.5 weeks of rain and a wash this past weekend. BTW, it took less than 10 mins to apply it to 3 door seals (for some reason, I didn't have any squeaks from my front right/passenger door).

[1FSTE90]

Great..., I'll be doing it this weekend. Thanks for the reply...

[bulldog_yyc]

Is WD40 ok to use or would you recommend another product?

[328idogg]

Originally Posted by turkish335

Is WD40 ok to use or would you recommend another product?

I personally wouldn't use WD-40. The first fix I tried was just using Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Protectant by itself on the door seals (with nothing on the shadowline trim). The squeaks came back after a couple of days. I think what did the trick was the RejeX on the shadowline trim, but I'm guessing that a high quality auto wax would work as well. I switched to Vinylex on the door seals the second time around, but for no real reason other than to try something different.

[Bimmer Al]

Originally Posted by 328idogg

I personally wouldn't use WD-40. The first fix I tried was just using Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Protectant by itself on the door seals (with nothing on the shadowline trim). The squeaks came back after a couple of days. I think what did the trick was the RejeX on the shadowline trim, but I'm guessing that a high quality auto wax would work as well. I switched to Vinylex on the door seals the second time around, but for no real reason other than to try something different.

Can you post pics? What is the shadow line?

[328idogg]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Al

Can you post pics? What is the shadow line?

See pics below.

The Shadowline trim is the black trim around the frame of the door opening on the car body. Note that some models have chrome trim. Apply RejeX/wax to this part.

On the door side, there are 3 areas (shown in the arrows). I just applied Vinylex to the door seal shown with red arrows. That's the part that actually contacts the Shadowline trim and causes the squeaks. You don't have to apply anything to the felt flocking or the larger main rubber door seal.

Hope that helps.

[E90Brian]

Originally Posted by 328idogg

See pics below.

The Shadowline trim is the black trim around the frame of the door opening on the car body. Note that some models have chrome trim. Apply RejeX/wax to this part.

On the door side, there are 3 areas (shown in the arrows). I just applied Vinylex to the door seal shown with red arrows. That's the part that actually contacts the Shadowline trim and causes the squeaks. You don't have to apply anything to the felt flocking or the larger main rubber door seal.

Hope that helps.

328idogg--thanks for posting the link to this thread on my similar thread. And thanks for the tips and pictures here. I'm going to give this a try before turning to my dealer.

Brian

[Bimmer Al]

Originally Posted by 328idogg

See pics below.

The Shadowline trim is the black trim around the frame of the door opening on the car body. Note that some models have chrome trim. Apply RejeX/wax to this part.

On the door side, there are 3 areas (shown in the arrows). I just applied Vinylex to the door seal shown with red arrows. That's the part that actually contacts the Shadowline trim and causes the squeaks. You don't have to apply anything to the felt flocking or the larger main rubber door seal.

Hope that helps.

Much appreciated!

[Bimmer Al]

Originally Posted by 328idogg

See pics below.

The Shadowline trim is the black trim around the frame of the door opening on the car body. Note that some models have chrome trim. Apply RejeX/wax to this part.

On the door side, there are 3 areas (shown in the arrows). I just applied Vinylex to the door seal shown with red arrows. That's the part that actually contacts the Shadowline trim and causes the squeaks. You don't have to apply anything to the felt flocking or the larger main rubber door seal.

Hope that helps.

Could not find either product you mentioned however I used Gigaloo and the difference is huge. Virtually silent which suggest I may have missed a spot. Thanks for the advice

[335-115]

I'm having this problem too with my '09 335i sedan w/shadowline trim and it's making me nuts. I'm going to try the lube solution, but does anyone know the underlying problem causing this? Based on the on and off squeaking/creaking I'm experiencing when the weather changes temp. and/or humidity, it's got to result from weather, but what's the real problem? The seals, the paint, the combination of the two or unusually bad engineering by BMW? Just trying to pin it down so if the lube trick doesn't work I have some knowledge to drop on my dealer, because I'm certain they'll be clueless. Thanks a lot.

[328idogg]

Originally Posted by 335-115

I'm having this problem too with my '09 335i sedan w/shadowline trim and it's making me nuts. I'm going to try the lube solution, but does anyone know the underlying problem causing this? Based on the on and off squeaking/creaking I'm experiencing when the weather changes temp. and/or humidity, it's got to result from weather, but what's the real problem? The seals, the paint, the combination of the two or unusually bad engineering by BMW? Just trying to pin it down so if the lube trick doesn't work I have some knowledge to drop on my dealer, because I'm certain they'll be clueless. Thanks a lot.

I think the answer is a poor choice of materials or manufacturing tolerances (my front passenger door doesn't squeak, for instance).

The fact is that the doors do wiggle around a small amount even when shut. The basic problem then is that you have rubber on plastic rubbing, and stiction means that it won't glide smoothly against each other - hence the noise. Note that the part of the door seal (red arrows above) that contacts the shadowline trim is relatively hard, whereas the main door seal that contacts the metal body is soft, so the latter doesn't have to slide against anything. RejeX/wax on the shadowline trim reduces the stiction. It's been working well for 1.5 months now. If you just lube the seals without waxing the shadlowline, it probably won't last very long.

You could also ask the dealer to apply teflon tape to that contact area on the trim, but I'm not a fan of that approach and would only do it as a last resort.

[335-115]

Originally Posted by 328idogg

I think the answer is a poor choice of materials or manufacturing tolerances (my front passenger door doesn't squeak, for instance).

The fact is that the doors do wiggle around a small amount even when shut. The basic problem then is that you have rubber on plastic rubbing, and stiction means that it won't glide smoothly against each other - hence the noise. Note that the part of the door seal (red arrows above) that contacts the shadowline trim is relatively hard, whereas the main door seal that contacts the metal body is soft, so the latter doesn't have to slide against anything. RejeX/wax on the shadowline trim reduces the stiction. It's been working well for 1.5 months now. If you just lube the seals without waxing the shadlowline, it probably won't last very long.

You could also ask the dealer to apply teflon tape to that contact area on the trim, but I'm not a fan of that approach and would only do it as a last resort.

Makes sense. Just surprised this is an issue on a BMW. Seems like a pretty low-rent problem on a car made by such a quality oriented company. Also, I just had it detailed, but maybe he didn't hit the trim with wax since it's gotten worse since then. The most annoying thing is that I drove a Toyota 4Runner for three years before I got my 335 a few weeks ago and that thing was as quiet as a church mouse.

[Bimmer Al]

Originally Posted by 335-115

Makes sense. Just surprised this is an issue on a BMW. Seems like a pretty low-rent problem on a car made by such a quality oriented company. Also, I just had it detailed, but maybe he didn't hit the trim with wax since it's gotten worse since then. The most annoying thing is that I drove a Toyota 4Runner for three years before I got my 335 a few weeks ago and that thing was as quiet as a church mouse.

I have owned everything from a used Escort (in university LOL) to Audi's, Honda's and Bimmers. Never had a squeak until now......figures

[rodness]

Oh good, it's not just me. I have this same problem on my '09 335i sedan... and didn't really want to go back to the dealer with only 1k miles on the car.

I've never heard of any of the products you guys have mentioned (RejeX, Gigaloo, etc.) Is this the kind of thing I can find at a local auto parts store, or do I need to buy online?

Thanks...

-r

[335-115]

Does anyone have experience with solutions that might be permanent or long-term, such as replacing the seals or the teflon tape fix mentioned in other places? My dealer wants to go the carba-flo route but I have doubts that is a long-term solution. Any experience with fixes that aren't just treatments for the seals? Thanks a lot.