[Al Star]

Hi Folks.. I've got a 2005 E90 320D with 44k and only had it for 2 weeks.
In the time I've had it I've discovered when going over uneven road surfaces I'm getting creaking and noises coming from inside the drivers door. Anyone on here got any suggestions as to what could be moving about inside the door or is it the door itself moving about slightly and needing adjustment..?

Ideas or clues appreciated... Cheers

[bmw330dconv]

has the window ever been broken or replaced? maybe its shattered glass bits still left inside the door...not sure if it would cause creaking though

[davea300]

Just got mine a week ago and noticed a bit of noise like that as well. Gave the rubber door seals a spray of silcone lubricant and it improved.

Nice to see someone local to me on here!

[Dr Dave]

Yeah, the rubber closing seals can get dry - a light smear of silicone grease cures creaks.

This is not just applicable to BMW, all sorts of cars can be affected.

[Al Star]

I'll be getting myself a can of silicone grease then..!

Sounds like that may cure it hopefully.. The windows are original I believe. I've got a complete service/warranty history from Peter Vardy Edinburgh and found out it's covered till 06/2010 with a 'BMW Service inclusive plus' for service issues... Won a watch..!!!

[Al Star]

Well I got myself a can of silicone spray and gave all the door seals a good sray over with the stuff. Now a week or two has passed and all 4 drs are damn well creeking now..!! What the.....!!

Any ideas again now it's only at low speeds and over uneven road surfaces and the usual speed bumps.. it's now doing my head in.. turned the music up to drown it out but I'll be deaf in a couple of months..!

Rgds Al Star

[COLSEN]

Do you have the puddle lights in the bottom of your doors?? mine were rattling and it was driving me mad it took me a while to work out what it was though. I've wedged little folded pieces of card around the puddle light and no noises since!

I always find my door rattles by opening the door (when you're parked up lol) and gently bang on the door panels until you can replicate the sound, if you can't try it with the door closed and see how you go.

[Al Star]

Hi Folks...! Thanks for the tips and help.. I've given my door seals another go with the silicone spray but this time left the doors open till it dried off. Now a week on nearly no creeking from the doors.. Result..!

I have however now found a click coming through my steering at low speeds...! Oh Nooo.. What next..??? I've had a troll through the forum and I believe it's a common fault with the steering column..? Is this correct..? I've booked it into the stealers to have it checked...

Rgds...
Al Star

[jjjacksonjjj]

I have had this same small rattle from my drivers door from time to time - it seems to have stopped for now.

Honestly though, I have had more creaks and rattles from my 325D than any other car I have ever owned.

Squeaky rear suspension when going over speed bumps - Dealer said they greased something on the suspension - now sorted

Squeaky sound coming from the rear when I got out - Dealer said it was the hand brake that needed adjustment. - still does this now and again

Rattle from drivers door - Not doing it at the moment so don't know what it was. - still does this now and again

Rear passenger seatbelt/pillar tapping sound - It has been in three times for this and it is still there. On the last one the mechanic came out in the car to hear it and said the only way to cure it was to take off and replace all the trims in that area, and to be fair to him it wasn't doing it when I got it back, but it started again after a couple of days!

Center dash/vent rattle - Don't know what this is but it is another intermittent rattle that has started recently.

I am not a loon, and I am not imagining these things, at first I tried to ignore them, but over time they are starting to drive me insane

[vod74]

can someone recommend a particular product / silicon grease that you use and you know is good?

last time i took it to BMW for this i got the car back with oil all over the place!! i'll DIY it now.
thx

[lawwailok]

i have some weird noise from the door area, it is not squeaking but more of "knocking" when the car is turning left and right. not sure if that's the same symptom...

[NFS]

BMW had big problems with creaking door seals a few years ago. The early e60 5-series cars were particularly bad.

The worst possible thing you can do is apply silicon. That dries the rubber and makes the creaking worse.

You need to clean the seals really thoroughly to get rid of as much silicon as possible. Afterwards a wipe down with WD40 works a treat.

The creaking will come back if you use cheap silicon based waxes in that area.

[karimsha]

Originally Posted by lawwailok

i have some weird noise from the door area, it is not squeaking but more of "knocking" when the car is turning left and right. not sure if that's the same symptom...

Hi There, I have that knocking noise too.. But not with turns, it comes with bumps... Special ones, maybe very light ones, and maybe when i pass over quiet a tough one nothing happens.. I sometimes feels that it may come from the dashboard ,,, It sounds like plastic friction .. I wish to know what it is cuz am really going LOCO LOCO

[lunar524]

NFS is absolutely correct, this is how I fixed mine.

Firstly for those with older vehicles should note that BMW changed the type of top window seals around 2005, mine is a E90 318i auto.(Late 07)

The seals have a layer of a felt type material across the top edge, this flocking material was again changed from a Poly Amid (PA) material to a Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) material in June 2005, and this has been used since.

Most door window creaking noises are caused by the top strip where it pushes against the side of the roof water channel.

DO NOT apply any form of silicone based or any other form of polishes to these felt strips, it only makes the problem worse. I did just that myself, I applied a rubber treatment which had silicone in it around all the door trims and the problem became much worse. I then decided to book the car in under warranty, and the service guy I was talking to said you need to remove all traces of the silicone polish and other crud that builds up over time and let the felt trim dry out.

I had a few days before the car was due to go in, so I decided to have another go myself. This time however, I used some methylated Spirits on a cloth to remove all the crud and polish from the trims, in particular with speciall attention to the top felt one. I carefully cleaned it several times with meths and then finished of with a wipe of Isopropol. I then left it to dry, and while I was waiting I also cleaned any silicone that may be left on the bodywork where it came into contact, and gave it a polish with Autoglym.

My creaking from the windows was very noticable, and going over the slightest uneven road was sufficient to cause the crackling noise.
If I wound down the window a touch it would stop... sound familiar.

After getting rid of all the silicone which I had previously added, I was amazed to find that all the windows/doors were dead silent even over really rough road surfaces.

The important bit is that strip at the top with the felt on it, and BMW state that products like 'Carbaflow' or the earlier used Gummi-Pflege should not be applied to this felt. Though personally I dont think a wipe with Gummi-Pflege down the side rubber trims or window guides would do any harm. JMO
but keep it well away from the felt strip at the top.

Over time due to car washing etc. the felt strip gets contaminated with waxes and silicones and other crud, and its this thats causing much of the creaking on rough roads.

Earlier cars can be fitted with the later felted trims, or users can continue to use Carbaflow or Gummi-Pflege as a lubricant on the seals, but the best cure is the later seals (warranty rework fix) Fronts (RA 51 32 211) and rears (RA 51 34 211)

After 2 weeks now since I cleaned those window seals and felt strips, I've not had a single peep from them, so all this silicone stuff we apply to effect a cure just makes matters worse.
HTH someone.

[lunar524]

Duplicate post... so can be deleted.

[Al Star]

Na Silicone hasn't worked much.. Still getting these creeking doors at low speeds over uneven surfaces. I'll wait till the weather improves after the new year and clean the window seals and door seals and strip off all the silicone etc and see how I get on.

Rgds Al Star