GUIDE: Fix those squeaky door seals!

[alexaescht]

Do your door seals squeak as you drive over uneven bits of road? Mine did, but I fixed them.
Here's how:

Firstly, go to Bunnings (or rummage around your shed) and get yourself about 5 metres of ~6mm diameter irrigation tubing. If you have a choice, get the harder stuff, not the soft rubbery stuff.

Next, get one end of it and feed it down your top door seal, between the two strips of felt:

Run it all the way to the end of the seal, then cut it to length:


Make sure it all sits snugly, then close the door. You should notice that the door closes more tightly.


Repeat this process for all doors (not the boot).


People in other forums around Australia and the U.S have applied this fix and have noticed an improvement. I have applied this to my Megane (the Polo's seals weren't noisy) and it has made an improvement.
Hopefully this guide can help others too! (and maybe be stickied?)

Alex.

[danielv10]

To add to alexaescht's post:
Did this a few months ago and its worked well enough but the creaks are coming back. So 6mm may be the size to go, although the 4mm was a nice fit.

I got the 4mm irrigation tubing. Cost me around $5 for 25m.



And it was as simple as feeding the tubing through the gap between the felt and rubber.




It's pretty much fixed the 95% of the creaking. A few here and there, but definitely not as noticable and prominent as before.
Just felt like sharing in case anyone didn't know there was a fix out there for us Polo owners

[Dutch77]

People in other forums around Australia and the U.S have applied this fix and have noticed an improvement. I have applied this to my Megane (the Polo's seals weren't noisy) and it has made an improvement.
Hopefully this guide can help others too! (and maybe be stickied?)

Alex.

The Golf guys have been running this as well, particularly after inadvertently getting wax near the seals. I tried the rubbing alcohol technique which made a minor improvement, then went for the hose and bingo - solved in all but 'extreme' situations eg. driveways entries that 'twist' the car.

Over time the tubing may start to give a little, so it's a case of either replacing it, or some have sliced it open and slide a second piece through (this may become too tight on certain doors). Regardless, given the price of the tubing it's not a big deal.

It's a worry that garden tube fixes what VW couldn't be bothered dealing with in their seal material/design.

[Barracuda]

Awesome Guide! My front-left passenger door is so noisy so I'll be applying this fix soon! Cheers Alex!

[Wolfgang]

Applying this to the rubber seals helps as well

Car Care Products / Einszett 1Z / Exterior / Exterior Trim & Plastic / Rubber Care Stick Gummi Pfledge

[Guest001]

Has anyone given any thought to just adjusting the striker on the pillars to tighten up the door a bit.

[pontiff]

Has anyone given any thought to just adjusting the striker on the pillars to tighten up the door a bit.

i find that gumipfledge stuff is good also for short term reduction of the noise.. BMW used to make a great one, but alas thats long since gone, i have bought a myriad of replacements lately, the sontax stuff from germany is not bad, seemed to work quite well..

[Disciple]

Has anyone given any thought to just adjusting the striker on the pillars to tighten up the door a bit.

We had our doors and strikers adjusted by the dealer and it made no difference.

On another note, I got some of the tubing today. Bunnings had basically every size EXCEPT for 6mm in the black tubing, so I ended up getting some 6mm clear tubing. Gonna have a go tomorrow!

[alexaescht]

GUIDE: Fix those squeaky door seals!

Awesome Guide! My front-left passenger door is so noisy so I'll be applying this fix soon! Cheers Alex!

You're welcome


Sent from my iPhone 4 via Tapatalk 2.

[The_Hawk]

Applying this to the rubber seals helps as well

Car Care Products / Einszett 1Z / Exterior / Exterior Trim & Plastic / Rubber Care Stick Gummi Pfledge

i find that gumipfledge stuff is good also for short term reduction of the noise.. BMW used to make a great one, but alas thats long since gone, i have bought a myriad of replacements lately, the sontax stuff from germany is not bad, seemed to work quite well..

Define short term?

I have never noticed a squeeking issue in my Cab, but then I use the stuff almost every time I wash the car anyway

[DETROITCANDY]

I'm having the same problem on both front doors in my MY13 Gti, drives me nuts since it started doing it 4 months ago. It's a bit of a 'backyard' fix, has anyone asked a dealership to fix/replace seals under warranty with any success? Might try prepsol or trisol around the frames to remove any polish or wax in those areas first.

[Dutch77]

I'm having the same problem on both front doors in my MY13 Gti, drives me nuts since it started doing it 4 months ago. It's a bit of a 'backyard' fix, has anyone asked a dealership to fix/replace seals under warranty with any success? Might try prepsol or trisol around the frames to remove any polish or wax in those areas first.

It's possible in a few cases that the dealer did a fix, although that might be the result of similar but not identical issues. The general consensus, at least in the case of the Golf, is that it's just a poor seal design/material and is prone to it.

My initial flare up did occur post a wax so I can only guess it somehow got on the seals. After some stuffing around the tubing worked a treat, and is the cheapest/quickest fix.. I didn't have the time or inclination to try and get the dealer to work on it.

[gavs]

GUIDE: Fix those squeaky door seals!

i find that gumipfledge stuff is good also for short term reduction of the noise.. BMW used to make a great one, but alas thats long since gone, i have bought a myriad of replacements lately, the sontax stuff from germany is not bad, seemed to work quite well..

It's the same stuff supposedly, initially it was made specifically for BMW and then Einszett started selling it themselves. It's not the same as the ok paste stuff but better than pretty much anything else.

[gavs]

GUIDE: Fix those squeaky door seals!

Oh, and stickied

[alexaescht]

GUIDE: Fix those squeaky door seals!

Oh, and stickied

Thanks!