[philc]

My wifes's 2006 330i with only 32,000 miles on it has recently had a curious deteriation of the rubber molding on the upper side of the windshield.

It is completely checked, probably by the sun, and small cubes of the black rubber or plastic gasket/molding material have fallen off.

I have had many old cars in my 73 years, and never seen such rapid deterioration the window rubber of a newer car. I was just wondering if others have had this experience, and if maybe BMW has recognized it as a defect in the gasket/molding material and made a recall to replace it. I think our warranty ran out in January of this year. If you have experience with this problem please email me at jphilipc@cox.net.

[wasup1357]

holy shit you are 73 years old and ur on e90post!!!

[axztx]

There was a previous post a few weeks ago where someone was looking at buying a CPO with the same problem.

[spdy330]

Originally Posted by wasup1357

holy shit you are 73 years old and ur on e90post!!!

[MrDummy]

Originally Posted by philc

My wifes's 2006 330i with only 32,000 miles on it has recently had a curious deteriation of the rubber molding on the upper side of the windshield.

It is completely checked, probably by the sun, and small cubes of the black rubber or plastic gasket/molding material have fallen off.

I have had many old cars in my 73 years, and never seen such rapid deterioration the window rubber of a newer car. I was just wondering if others have had this experience, and if maybe BMW has recognized it as a defect in the gasket/molding material and made a recall to replace it. I think our warranty ran out in January of this year. If you have experience with this problem please email me at jphilipc@cox.net.

I will try and email you, BUT I had this SAME issue, they had to re-align the whole windshield and replace the rubber seal and put chim like pieces on the upper top inside corners to angle the windshield to fit properly. Also see pic, because the windshield also causes the Cowl to get misaligned as well.

So far so good, its been about 6 months since fix.

PS I have a 325xi 2006

[richeerich03]

I had this same problem with my 06 330. My service advisor told me that it was a very common problem that they see everyday.. Shit was almost $100 to replace..

[Alan@PYSpeed.com[retired]]

same problem here. did it myself. quick fix.

[mike3000fl]

Originally Posted by MrDummy

I will try and email you, BUT I had this SAME issue, they had to re-align the whole windshield and replace the rubber seal and put chim like pieces on the upper top inside corners to angle the windshield to fit properly. Also see pic, because the windshield also causes the Cowl to get misaligned as well.

So far so good, its been about 6 months since fix.

PS I have a 325xi 2006

if you had a gap like that on the lower cowling, it is possible water leaked down past the seal and entered the space below, it will usually run into the vent for the ac blower fan, which is directly in front of the passenger (under the right duct for the microfilter cowling). did you ever have wet passenger carpet? does your fan squeal at low speeds?

[MrDummy]

^^^ YES 2 both, I had to PAY my $50 CPO deductable for a Blower motor fan assembly about 2 months or so after the windshield was fixed, they also cracked the passenger side painted water splash insert, I dont know the real name, as well.

I am going to mention that to them when I go in for my oil change.

They told me it was a Factory defect with some windshields on my make and model.

I have all BMW OEM Glass as well, the Plinkerton (sp) brand.

So Yes the loose top seal will lead to some major issues in time, so get it in right away.

I think I am going to complain about getting them to replace a whole new cowl assm. as mine is still not sealed to the windshied tight.

[mike3000fl]

Originally Posted by MrDummy

I think I am going to complain about getting them to replace a whole new cowl assm. as mine is still not sealed to the windshied tight.

apologize for the highjack

that cowl is somewhat flexible where it makes contact with the windshield, not sure if a new one would help, it's just not seated right.

on the back of the cowl is a 1/4 inch plastic lip with grooves on it, it runs horizontally the entire length of the cowl.

just below the bottom edge of the windshield is a slot, that the lip is designed to pop into, it too runs horizontally the entire length of the windshield.

your lip is not pushed completely into that slot. the trick is to push the cowl lower than you would think, not up top where the rubber meets the glass. the lip is exactly 1 and 1/4 inches down from the top rubber edge, same distance as the width of your key fob, you should be able to see a faint line in the plastic running left to right, the lip is behind that and thats where you apply pressure. if you work it from the center out in both directions it should seal. if pushing hard doesn't do it, a gentle tap from a rubber mallet will get it in but beware because the bottom edge of the windshield sits just above that lip.

if it doesnt work you can remove the microfilter cowl, then the covers from the CPU and Brake fluid on the left and right, then the cowl the microfilter attaches to, then you have to pop the caps off the wipers to reveal a nut (first mark the wipers position on the glass with tape for repositioning later), then you can pull that rubber windshield cowl straight off and reposition it, working from the center out. easier than it sounds.

[MrDummy]

^^ Thanks thats the BEST explination I have ever read for cowl DYI, you should Make a DYI of it. Seriously, maybe add a pic with a few arrows. You could help a ton of people.

They fixed my cowl so it sealed a lot better than that pic now, but on the 2 far edges where the hard plastic lift points are it is kinda easy to lift up on the edges, and they tried using silicone to hold them down but no go. So now the silicone is preventing it from sealing on the edges.

I think I have had every issue on these cars so far...

1. Ticking Clicking steering wheel
2. Top rubber seal issue, windshield and cowl issue
3. blower motor squeeling and seizing up at low speeds
4. starter grinding (still have)
5. engine ticking once in a while (still have)
6. shifter peeling
7. washer jets leaking
8. mis aligned drivers door

Those are just the ones off the top of my head

[fdriller9]

Originally Posted by mike3000fl

if you had a gap like that on the lower cowling, it is possible water leaked down past the seal and entered the space below, it will usually run into the vent for the ac blower fan, which is directly in front of the passenger (under the right duct for the microfilter cowling). did you ever have wet passenger carpet? does your fan squeal at low speeds?

I noticed this yesterday while washing my car. My AC blower was replaced awhile ago. I just came out of my warranty, do you think my dealer will replace it?

[mike3000fl]

worth a shot, they can do stuff after warranty ends under goodwill or if you showed earlier you had that issue and they didn't fix it. if they won't repair or replace talk to bmwna, explain the issue was while under warranty, never got fixed right and ask will they authorize it so that dealer will get reimbursed for repair.

[MrDummy]

^^ Ditto

[hoopvillian]

I bought the replacement from the parts dept for like $20 and it took 20 mins to remove the old cracked one and install the new one. Top strip not the bottom, right?

[BK]

Holy crap that looks bad! No such issue with my 2006, but now I have something to watch for.

[lux.sh]

what the hell.. there must be some other variable that caused this.
It can't be just defective rubber molding. My 06's exterior rubber moldings hold up fine.

[Oulixes]

Originally Posted by BK

Holy crap that looks bad! No such issue with my 2006, but now I have something to watch for.

+1, my car is 330xi MY2006 - having read the thread, I am already inspecting the car more carefully.

[philc]

Here's the post-mortem. Alan of pyspeed thanks---I ordered the "reveal molding" from the site you recommended http://www.trademotion.com and they sent it to me for $24. My wife and I removed the old one---it has a metal core so most of it comes out as one piece---then had to clean up all the little pieces of rubber. I then used gasoline on a paper towel to remove bits of rubber and glue that had stuck to the car. The new one had an upper side with a sticky glue protected by an orange plastic strip to be removed. I started on one side and removed the orange strip a few inches at a time--working to the other side. The only problems were the ends. Despite all my hand pressure, the ends would not seat properly with the glue provided. They popped up 1/8-1/4 inch. I tried some "goop" glue---but it did no good. After removing that glue, I got some "one-minute" epoxy and a wooden match and put a few drops of it on each side---duct-taping it down until it dried. So it cost $24 and was done in an hour---saving two days and $100+ of taking it (with 2 cars) to the BMW place once to leave it and another time to pick it up---a lot of unpaid labor cost.

[hoopvillian]

Originally Posted by philc

Here's the post-mortem. Alan of pyspeed thanks---I ordered the "reveal molding" from the site you recommended http://www.trademotion.com and they sent it to me for $24. My wife and I removed the old one---it has a metal core so most of it comes out as one piece---then had to clean up all the little pieces of rubber. I then used gasoline on a paper towel to remove bits of rubber and glue that had stuck to the car. The new one had an upper side with a sticky glue protected by an orange plastic strip to be removed. I started on one side and removed the orange strip a few inches at a time--working to the other side. The only problems were the ends. Despite all my hand pressure, the ends would not seat properly with the glue provided. They popped up 1/8-1/4 inch. I tried some "goop" glue---but it did no good. After removing that glue, I got some "one-minute" epoxy and a wooden match and put a few drops of it on each side---duct-taping it down until it dried. So it cost $24 and was done in an hour---saving two days and $100+ of taking it (with 2 cars) to the BMW place once to leave it and another time to pick it up---a lot of unpaid labor cost.

Just for future reference or for other people having the same issue. You can leave the orange adhesive strip cover on until you get the entire molding seated, then pull on the drivers side tab and remove the strip to expose the adhesive once everything is properly positioned. Push on it with some pressure to stick it down to the car afterwards.

[MrDummy]

good info on this thread, thanks

[Casca]

Thanks, my "reveal molding" is still all one pice, but there are a bunch of cracks on it. Ordered a replacement from tischer for $17.