Creaky Door\Window Seals (the curse of)

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cdb2

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Well, was ok all over the summer. However since washing my car 2 weeks ago and the onset of the colder weather, the driver's side creaks like anything again!!!

Usual thing, if you dab the window switch to lower the window by about 1mm it all stops - but that is about as effective a fix as not using the car!

Has anyone got a definitive fix for this problem which affects so many of us - is it the rubber where the window goes in or the rubber seals on the door opening frame on the car body?

Presumably more of you will be experiencing it again now due to the weather etc?
 
Haven't noticed it to be honest mate. Maybe this is just a sportback thing.

You could always just turn up the stereo!! Sorry!:blahblah1:
 
I have the same problem and so will be watching this thread closely. I have read this is a problem for a number of us and some say it is the door that needs adjusting ?!?!!? eh?
Ironically, mine only started doing it after it had been in the dealers for 2 weeks because the previous owner had the coolant leak option fitted.... now I am not saying 1+1=2 BUT it never rattled before...

anyway, same symptoms, drop the window a tad and it improves <although it is now less effective than it was.>
I will take it to the dealers when I have the energy but staring into my crystal ball I can already hear the " we took it out for a drive and could not hear any rattle sir" or "we will need to order a new door / window seal so you will have to book it in again sir"

Grrrrrrrrrrr
 
You guys should try the search function. There's been many threads on this subject and I myself have posted a fix numerous times.

Mine was fixed by the dealers adjusting the whole door
 
Mark - I've used the search function and read the threads - seems to be many views of the cause and the fix, I was hoping for a definitive answer or an update.
 
That is the answer. Get your dealer to adjust the doors.

Forget sprays or whatever else because the sqeaks will just come back. Once I had my doors adjusted no more squeals and I haven't had creaking windows in my car now for almost a year.
 
Do you know how much of an adjustment it is? My door gaps look good at the moment, presumanly the adjustment is only minor and wouldn't affect the lines?

Seems there must be a lot of cars with badly adjusted doors leaving the factory though?
 
i had a problem like that too it drove me flipping crazy, after so so much messing around i got it to stop (touch wood) the felt around the frame when you open the door rub some dry soap on it, try the clear sort so it does show the soap colour, , trust me it will work, and hopfully it will never come back
 
My car has been doing this for months, but i spoke to an audi mechanic and he told me the cure with the a4 b6 he said there is no adjusting of doors.The reason this happens is the door comes as two seperate parts the top of the door (the black bit holding the window)is bolted to the main door and from closing it gets pushed or strained away from the car.But the glass cant bend so thats why it squeeks when you drop the window but doesn;t when its down.So to fix it you open the door drop the window fully and put you knee against the door just above where the red light flashes to tell the car is locked and pull the top of window frame slightly ,so now the window will not be up against the door squeeking and will not be strained i did this 3 months ago and its silent now so im delighted as when chatting to ppl it sounds terrible hope this helps any one with this problem:sm4:
 
Replace seal under warrenty my cure.
 
I thought I'd revive this one.

I've had squeaky door seals more or less from day one and it's annoyed the hell out of me. I haven't had it back to the stealers mainly because they're a bit *****. Now I'm 8 months in and the first service is looming but I thought I'd have a go at sorting this myself. I got myself some Autoglym 'Vinyl And Rubber Care' from Halfords and applied it to the 'fat' door seal that sits around the car body and also to the seal on the top half of the door around the window frame. I've been squeak free all day and I hope it will last :) The product is silicon based so I'm hoping it will work into the rubber and stop the squeak from coming back. We'll see...
 
Most rubber sprays last about 1 - 2 weeks, but BMW sell a product which solves the problem for 6 months or so call Carboflo. You clean the seals (both door and window) with a silicon remover (again another BMW product) then apply Carboflo. It's not a permanent fix but it does last. It's also a bit expensive at &#163;30 or so, from the BMW parts department but I have had mine for 3 years, and its no where near running out.

Chris.
 
Forgot to say BMW say silicon is the problem, and thats why the procedure includes a silicon remover step.

Chris.
 
cdb2 said:
Let us know how u get on Rich, mine comes and goes....
Click to expand...

I will but yours sounds more like it's window related. I know my problem is the the door seal. Dropping the window makes no difference.

This will be a warranty claim come service time if the Autoglym thing doesn't work. And from what HeliChris is saying, it won't. It's just that I have better things to do than argue the toss with 'technicians'.
 
Window seals replaced & not 1 creak 2/3 months on, all under warrenty, mine was the creak that stopped when window dropped a mm.
 
Back from the ashes again...

Well as predicted it lasted about two weeks and then the squeaking came back. However, I have pinned down which seal it is. I re-applied the stuff to the seal which goes all around the door frame and I still got squeaks. Then I put it on the one around the top of the window frame and it stopped. I suppose that's progress...
 
Rich,

Any chance of you please taking a photo and putting some arrows on it to show where you applied the stuff.

Cheers mate.
 
cdb2 said:
Rich,

Any chance of you please taking a photo and putting some arrows on it to show where you applied the stuff.

Cheers mate.
Click to expand...

Right then. As i said, a few weeks ago I did all the seals (door and frame). Then the squeaks came back and I did this one on the frame...

Seal001Small.jpg


The squeaks were still there so I did these on the actual door.

Seal002Small.jpg


And it stopped.

Hope this helps.
 
Nice one Rich, thanks v much.

So you used Autoglym 'Vinyl And Rubber Care' ?

Let us know if it comes back or not.

Haven't put anything on mine yet, it comes and goes with the weather. Mine was ok for about 2 weeks until I washed the car at the weekend.
 
I have an A4 B6 and was interested to read this article. I've cured mine by doing both, pulling the top of the window frame frame out as mentioned earlier in this thread (both rear and front off side) and also applying some Diamondbrite vinyl and rubber to the exact spot Rich mentioned. Not sure whether it was the pulling of the frame or the Diamondbrite that has cured it. I guess a few weeks will tell.
 
cdb2 said:
So you used Autoglym 'Vinyl And Rubber Care' ?
Click to expand...

Yes.

To clarify, I did these seals (frame and door) last time but after a couple of weeks the sqeaks came back. This time I did one seal at a time and narrowed it down to the ones in the second picture. I'm not holding my breath though.
 
rich1068 said:
Seal002Small.jpg
Click to expand...

I had the squeeks something terrible almost from day one on my 2.5 year old '04 A3.

Six months ago I tried the Soap fix and haven't had a single squeek since. Just found an old bar of white soap in the cupboard and rubbed it along the seals on Rich's pic above. Worked like a charm, Has lasted the course, didn't have to get physical with the car/window frame and it didn't cost me a penny.

Give it a go.
 
This used to happen on my 8L A3 1.8T, but not on my 8L S3.

The solution back then was similar: firstly, try Krytox from the Audi dealer. Its a clear lubricant, but costs a fortune (&#163;35 ish) for a tiny little bottle. But I remember people trying a combination of new seals, krytox and having the doors adjusted.

I'd try Krytox first. It worked on my 8L A3.

AL
 
More on this.

As predicted by others the squeaks came back.

A couple of discoveries though. It turns out that mine does indeed stop if I drop the window a smidge. It never used to but it does now. So that confirms that it's the door mounted seal around the top of the window. Obviously once the window is 'home' the seal is shifting on the door frame.

Also I gave some thought to what HeliChris said and wondered if in fact the original rubber treatment and my subsequent applications were in fact worsening the problem. In warmer weather the noise is louder, this makes me think that any silicon/whatever on the rubber is loosening up and allowing more movement. So I went the other way and tried to make the rubber as 'dry' as possible by cleaning the seal with Fairy. Obviously a degreaser such as washing up liquid will break down anything on the rubber. Again I can report so far, so good.

I really do have too much time on my hands don't I? :(
 
Mine got sorted in late December by the stealers and touching wood its not come back yet. Or at least I can't hear it over the other rattles and squeaks ;)
 
Mine is in the dealers right now supposed to being sorted. Second time they have had it now. getting really fed up with it. the build quality of the latest generation Audi is crap to be honest.

Mine has been in the dealers for :-

Drivers seat frame as it was bent and rattled
Drivers side seat base collapsed which they said they cured
Rear seat rattled in two different places.
And of course the drivers door.

I have a Vauxhall Signum 3.0 Elite CDTi and it is much better built to be honest. I hate to say this as I love the Audi but it' is a joke, how can they call it a premium brand?
 
Once bitten twice shy... doubt Audi will be getting any more money from me. (but never say never)
 
My windows also make this horrid noise and its mostly after washing the car, i just lower the window a wee bit and then after a few days i raise it up again and the noise goes until the next time i wash the car.
 
Porsche had a similar problem with windscreen seals on the 993 model, they first tried a different seal which was furry or felt backed, they then went to a special transparant tape which was applied under the screen insert rubber to allow the said rubber to slide or move around slightly.
My latest A3 is just starting to squeek at 20,000 miles, later cars have different seals to early one's which suggests Audi know about it and are trying to cure it.
I would suggest that lowering the window slightly allows the frame to move about a little, the glass appears to make the frame rigid when it's all the way up
 
Well the door appears now to be sorted, something to do with the window regulators apparently, but time will tell.
 
Noticed yesterday mine has now started to creak again. Its going back in next month for them to look at all the creaks and rattles, the folding mirrors that have failed again (4th time), and some very squeaky breaks
 
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