[chums]

It's been raining on and off here and noticed lots of water/dirt stains in the door sill and then heard the squeeky noises. It eventually went away as the day got warmer and things dried up.

[kplo]

in the OP picture the tape was listed as 3M 5425 0.6" wide. I found the following on amazon. $30 for 5 yard, I think 2 rolls should be enough to do one car with some spare.

http://www.amazon.com/TapeCase-0-625...ywords=3M+5425

There are other UHMW polyethylene tape that are cheaper. Anyone tried one of these "non BMW" tape?

[chiefneil]

I asked my dealer to apply SIB 51 28 10 last year and they said it didn't apply to the F30 so they refused. This wasn't my regular SA, although my regular SA just has them clean the seals when I complain about squeaking (I haven't asked him to apply the SIB yet).

Anybody else get turned down when requesting it?

[gomichaelkgo]

I'm dumbfounded this issue hasn't been solved. Our 1998 E39 528i had the same issue. I have never heard of creaky door seals being such a problem on any make of car BUT a BMW. Why haven't the engineers figured this out after almost 20 years?!

[JustinC_87]

I have the same creaking noise coming from the door seals on my 340. Taking it in to the dealership Friday.

[andrew 330i]

~ I have had zero noises since I installed the tape. Ahhh

[CntryClub007]

Sorry to ask, but what does the sound defect actually sound like? Does it happen when moving or still?

Cheers,

[chiefneil]

Originally Posted by CntryClub007

Sorry to ask, but what does the sound defect actually sound like? Does it happen when moving or still?

Cheers,

It sounds like you're driving a '71 Olds Cutlass that hasn't had the doors lubed since it left the factory over a series of diagonal speed bumps. Creak, creak, creak, creak...... It happens when driving slowly over any road imperfection, dip, or rise that causes chassis flex.

[andrew 330i]

Originally Posted by chiefneil

It sounds like you're driving a '71 Olds Cutlass that hasn't had the doors lubed since it left the factory over a series of diagonal speed bumps. Creak, creak, creak, creak...... It happens when driving slowly over any road imperfection, dip, or rise that causes chassis flex.

~ that sums it up.

[kplo]

I bought the tape from Amazon and applied it just like the OP. Viola, the noise is gone! $30, 10 min, well worth it. I suggest everyone with the creaking noise to try it, and I think it should be DIY considering the cost and time. Not worth a trip to the dealer.

[casualDIYer]

Originally Posted by gomichaelkgo

I'm dumbfounded this issue hasn't been solved. Our 1998 E39 528i had the same issue. I have never heard of creaky door seals being such a problem on any make of car BUT a BMW. Why haven't the engineers figured this out after almost 20 years?!

I wonder if the problem is the a tight door water seal (the chunky rubber seal around the entire door) combined with a tight trim seal. Initially, when the car is brand new, water seal is really tight. As time goes the seal expands and contracts due to heat, cold, humidity etc. 'play' develops whereby the door may now move tiny bits due to the slightly looser seal. The outer trim material (which BMW calls the 'flocking' material) now starts to move a bit. Since the seal is so tight (unlike other brands) it actually causes a noise rubbing against the shadowline.

To the best of my knowledge the chrome trim line does not have this problem so the sound may be related to the formulation of the paint in the gloss black shadowline and what happens when it get dirty. In other words, the sound is not coming from the door but the shadowline. The problem isn't widespread because not all BMWs use the same trimline. BMW changed the door 'flocking' material during e90 production and it seems the problem remains. That makes me suspect it's the shadowline itself, not the seal.

An interesting idea would be to see how small a piece of tape is required to fix the problem. Would one or two small pieces work as well as coating then entire shadowline?

[goj]

Originally Posted by JustinC_87

I have the same creaking noise coming from the door seals on my 340. Taking it in to the dealership Friday.

Have you tried cleaning the door seals? Rubber treatment works best...that's all they will do at the dealer

[tboooe]

I have a 4 series with this same creaking/squeezing issue. Since my door is frameless its the glass rubbing against the seals causing the sound. I wonder if my window tint is making things worse? As posted by menncars, I don't think the entire length of seal needs to be covered with the tape. My concern though is how the tape will hold up long term. Will it yellow or rip? Can it be removed from the seals for replacement?

[NightWriter]

Thanks to JamesNoBrakes, I ordered two rolls of http://amzn.com/B00823JEUO (5 yards wasn't quite long enough for both sides), and sure enough the squeaks are gone for $10. Thanks!

[andrew 330i]

Originally Posted by tboooe

I have a 4 series with this same creaking/squeezing issue. Since my door is frameless its the glass rubbing against the seals causing the sound. I wonder if my window tint is making things worse? As posted by menncars, I don't think the entire length of seal needs to be covered with the tape. My concern though is how the tape will hold up long term. Will it yellow or rip? Can it be removed from the seals for replacement?

~ To have it look uniform, I would suggest covering the entire trim. I believe the tape will hold up well considering it's a 3M product, however the tape will remove easily if heated with a blow dryer or heat gun. Hope this is helpful.

[JustinC_87]

Originally Posted by goj

Have you tried cleaning the door seals? Rubber treatment works best...that's all they will do at the dealer

The dealer ended up cleaning the seals, and that worked for about a week with no issues. Just a few days ago the creaking came back. I did some research, and ordered some products that I can use to hopefully permanently fix the issue (at least longer than a week).

[AP]

had that noise on my present 5 and the 5 before it, just put gummiflegge (think that is spelled correctly!) on the rubber seals.
it is bmw branded and is purposely for rubber.
do not put silicon on the seals , it will make it worse.

solves the issue.

also avoid washing the seals or polishing the oaintwork that is flush against the rubber.

[snowghost]

Originally Posted by chiefneil

I asked my dealer to apply SIB 51 28 10 last year and they said it didn't apply to the F30 so they refused. This wasn't my regular SA, although my regular SA just has them clean the seals when I complain about squeaking (I haven't asked him to apply the SIB yet).

Anybody else get turned down when requesting it?

I did. I cleaned the areas and put Gummi Pflege and it's holding up well so far.

[chiefneil]

Gummi Pflege only lasts about 2-3 months for me. Cleaning the seals every few months gets old pretty quickly.

[AP]

Odd, I've only just reapplied gummifledge to my seals after 4 years.

It does do the job though. I would certainly recommend it.

[Jagamov]

Just wanted to say thanks to the OP!!

Took my '15 in last week for the dealer to fix it. Right rear door creaking like an old mattress. I told them about the bulletin, but they said it didn't apply to my car.

They said they "adjusted" the doors/latches, but when I drove it the next day, they actually made it worse. Now all 4 doors were creaking...

So I went ahead and ordered 2 rolls of the tape from Amazon. It came yesterday and I got it installed last night. Totally got rid of all the noises!! So simple and stupid. Can't image why BMW can't figure this out especially when it was an issue on the E90's.

Anyway, thanks again for the pics and the DIY...super easy. Best $10 mod ever.

[bimmernole]

I've had my 340 for a week and noticed this after the 3rd day. I'm guessing the dealer won't do anything based on what people are writing.