Felt Tape for Squeak's/Rattles

[Oneofthegreats]

I'm posting this up to inform you all about felt tape. This is one of the greatest combatant's of dreaded rattles & squeak's in most new car's. incl. the mk5's onward's. The earlier car's didn't really have that much of a problem as the later car's.

I've posted up the two different types of felt tape I know of. VW tape on the left & BMW tape on the right.

Both different material's, but both very effective in silencing the painful noise's! Both can be used to repair wiring loom's also for that factory look.

The VW tape can be purchased from your local VW part's department for a cost of approx $20-30.

The BMW tape, I honestly can't remember how much it cost, but as you can see will last alot longer than what you get with the VW tape.

Up close pic's make them look very abrasive, but this isn't the case, as both are very spongy & soft to feel.

[JustCruisn]

I found that Spotlight has sticky felt squares. 40x40cm for a few bucks. Just cut it to the size you want and stick it on. Heaps cheaper than VW or BMW tape.

Also hardware stores carry rolls of door/window sealing sticky foam. It comes in different widths and thickness too.

These are good for squeaks but not for wiring looms.

[Oneofthegreats]

I've tried all sorts of fixes for these sorts of noises & the felt tape wins hands down.

One of my main jobs is fixing noises, water leaks (eos) & problem cars, so I do have alittle bit of experience in this field.

The felt tape may seem expensive (far from it), but it also can fit in between tight plastic trims that rub together.

I've used the foam squares & other foam products for other application's & the main problem is they just can't fit in between a gap of 1mm without trying to push the trim back out or when it gets hot ( & dashboards get extremely hot sitting out in the sun!) it pop's the trim out.

Some trims actually come with this fitted on the edges from factory for the same reasons we fit it to stop noise.

IMHO I don't think its expensive. Some of you own $50+K cars & if they are out of warranty, to fix an annoying noise for $20-$30 is sfa.

Your choice at the end of the day.

[DubSteve]

Wise words there Tim! Exactly right people that have expensive cars and then they cry when there car rattles!

[Mrk_Mickey]

Post this up in the mk5 section haha.

I've used a few different things like this before, and it's all worked fine haha. I've never come across the bmw or vw tape though...seems pretty cool

[funkamedic]

wicked! i could do with some of this stuff for my A3. i hate rattles. aaarrgh.

i think i have more or less pinpointed the rattles/squeaks, ie. "if i apply pressure here the rattle stops". but if i was gonna use some of this tape, some trial and error still might be involved ... which is ok except, to get to one squeak in particular, i reckon i'd have to partly uninstall my dash.

sounds like another job for jmac

so beamer spare parts eh??

cheers for the tip!!

[Preen59]

It's Tesa tape, and most of the foam and adhesive manufacturers all make the same stuff. I'd go and speak to a packaging wholesaler. They'd either have it or could (possibly tell you where to) get it for much cheaper.

[Tim]

It's Tesa tape, and most of the foam and adhesive manufacturers all make the same stuff. I'd go and speak to a packaging wholesaler. They'd either have it or could (possibly tell you where to) get it for much cheaper.

Are you really gonna run around in circles to try and save $10? Time is money!

[Preen59]

Are you really gonna run around in circles to try and save $10? Time is money!

Depends on the price difference. Most VW owners are complete tight arses, as you know.


Some smart cookie should source some and start selling it.. Hmmm.

[Jmac]

Used the stuff golfworx is talking about on 997s and Boxters, unreal for behind clusters, cant remember how much it was, was pretty much the same as the dubstuff, Porsche badge on the bag will make it dearer That and crytox gel were best tools in my toolbox back in dealerland
Cheers
Jmac

[Treza360]

One of the first squeaks I noticed in my car when I got it was the seatbelt buckle rubbing on the leather bolsters. I don't know how the previous owner lived with the noise but it was very annoying. Putting some felt tape on the buckle stopped this easy. They put this on a lot of cars as standard, I don't know why VW didn't do this on my car.
Cheers,
Trent

[Oneofthegreats]

They put this on a lot of cars as standard, I don't know why VW didn't do this on my car.
Cheers,
Trent

I've often though the exact same thing Trent.

They do it on mk5s, as the seat belt buckle rubs on the leather/material seats sides.

Maybe they just didn't think about it on Mk4's or it wasn't a big enough problem.

[Manaz]

If you had to recommend the BMW or VAG tape over the other, which way would you go? I'm not fussed on the amount of tape in a roll (I'll just buy more rolls of VAG tape if that's best), but which you think is the most effective/kindest on trim/longest lasting/etc.

Cheers!

[noone]

This would be a good item for someone to carry, I'd be interested.

I tried finding a generic version, but other than spending lots to get it from the USA, there was only commercial information from manufacturers.

[16v_kid]

That BMW tape is amazing, i just used it not long ago when i was sorting out the wiring in the 124

A mate gave me a roll for free but I'm pretty sure he said it was like $5...and the guy that supply's it has stacks!