[328idogg]

Originally Posted by 335-115

I'm having this problem too with my '09 335i sedan w/shadowline trim and it's making me nuts. I'm going to try the lube solution, but does anyone know the underlying problem causing this? Based on the on and off squeaking/creaking I'm experiencing when the weather changes temp. and/or humidity, it's got to result from weather, but what's the real problem? The seals, the paint, the combination of the two or unusually bad engineering by BMW? Just trying to pin it down so if the lube trick doesn't work I have some knowledge to drop on my dealer, because I'm certain they'll be clueless. Thanks a lot.

I think the answer is a poor choice of materials or manufacturing tolerances (my front passenger door doesn't squeak, for instance).

The fact is that the doors do wiggle around a small amount even when shut. The basic problem then is that you have rubber on plastic rubbing, and stiction means that it won't glide smoothly against each other - hence the noise. Note that the part of the door seal (red arrows above) that contacts the shadowline trim is relatively hard, whereas the main door seal that contacts the metal body is soft, so the latter doesn't have to slide against anything. RejeX/wax on the shadowline trim reduces the stiction. It's been working well for 1.5 months now. If you just lube the seals without waxing the shadlowline, it probably won't last very long.

You could also ask the dealer to apply teflon tape to that contact area on the trim, but I'm not a fan of that approach and would only do it as a last resort.