A lot of people have been running into a rapid deterioration of the black molding strip above the front windshield. Some of us E90 owners were able to get this issue fixed under warranty, but for those of us who are no longer under warranty, we run into the problem of getting charged in the upper $1

Tools:
Required
1. New “Cover Windshield Top” or “Reveal Molding” (name depends on where you buy it from) PN 51 31 7 061 967
2. Flathead screwdriver
3. Blade
4. Rubbing Alcohol
5. Compressed Air (you can use a can of PC dust off)
6. Dental Floss
Recommended:
7. Hair Dryer
8. Vacuum
9. Large Trash Bag (recommended)
10. Blue Painter’s Tape (optional)
11. Adhesive tape remover (if available)
12. Detailing cloth
13. Quick detailer or warm soap and water

The fix consists of three primary phases: Removal, Cleaning, and Installation

Preparation:
If your window molding is completely falling off as shown in the picture, I highly recommend getting a large trash bag and blue painter’s tape (this will save cleaning time exponentially). I did not do this step and it took me a long time cleaning up after I changed the strip as the old cracked pieces ended up all over the place.I would tape the large trash bag in front of the windshield, about halfway across the windshield around the middle section. This will act as a net that will catch all the falling pieces of molding.

Analyze the new strip. You will notice that the strip has an adhesive backing that attaches to the roof top and an aluminum spine that goes along the windshield.

Phase 1 – Removal:

Removing the old strip is quite intuitive. Make sure that you get every single chunk out. You will notice that the portion connected to the roof is connected by an adhesive while the portion connected to the windshield is held in place by a metal spine. The easiest way to remove the chunks is by placing a flathead screwdriver under the spine and prying it up. I used a hair dryer to heat up the strip so that the adhesive becomes much easier to work with. Start pulling chunks of the strip out. I slipped dental floss between the adhesive and the roof top whenever possible; carefully moving towards the center of the windshield. Start pulling the spine out while cutting away at the rubber chunks. You will notice that there’s still some adhesive stuck to the roof portion: this will get picked up at phase 2 of the installation.

Phase 2 – Cleaning:

If there are chunks stuck in the space between the windshield and the roof, start vacuuming and using compressed air. My old rubber strip was deteriorating into really small pieces so this can get pretty messy. Try to catch everything in the vacuum or a trash bag. Once the chunks are gone, it’s time to address the adhesive leftover. Some people like to skip this step but I wanted a really good stick onto the roof so I decided to clean it completely.

To make things a little easier, I used some adhesive tape remover and wiped it all over the old adhesive so that they came out easier. I then wrapped an alcohol pad around a box blade and starting scraping off the adhesive. After some hair drying, adhesive tape remover, and blade scraping action, your roof top should look quite clean.

At this point, I used a fresh pad of Adhesive tape remover and made sure that the roof top and windshield portion was nice and smooth. The adhesive tape remover gets the sections really oily so I used an alcohol pad to clean out all the oil. By the time the rubbing alcohol dries up, it should feel quite dry and less slick. I then used a quick detailer and a detailing cloth to clean the whole roof top. Once everything dries, it’s time to install the new rubber strip.

Phase 3 – Installation:

First of all, DO NOT remove the liner along the adhesive strip. This will be removed once the molding is put into place. To make installation easier, I coated the rubber frame and the gap with some water. We don’t want to soak the area, just use a damp cloth so that the portion you are working on is lubricated sufficiently. Once you get strip situated in its proper place, start on one edge and start pushing down on the rubber strip onto the roof top while peeling out the liner for the adhesive strip. Having a buddy will make this job a lot easier, but it CAN be done solo. Ensure that the adhesive sticks throughout the roof top and there are no gaps present.

After a few minutes your roof top will look brand new.