MkVI GTI - replacing squeaking door rubbers

Hi forum.

I have posted before about my squaeking/creaking door rubbers and had various advice from people (many thanks) to try Krytox and Gummi Pflege. I have religiously tried both in varying applications over the 2 years of owning my GTI and they have been nothing but a very short term fix. I am so, so, so frustrated and fed up with this car. I can't drive over a speed hump, in and out of driveways or even change lanes quickly without hearing squeaking door rubbers. I have never known of a car like this in my life! Nothing fixes it. So I am at the stage of asking VW to replace them under warranty.

First question(s): Has anyone else had any luck with this? Are my chances good? Will replacing them even work?
Second question: Does anyone else have this issue or is my Golf alone?
Third question: Any other suggestions !!!?? :-)

Thanks for your help.

Had it for the summer months when i first got mine but just used some graphite powder , old trick to stop squeeky fan belts , seems to have worked , for some it appears to be an on going issue .

I have a squeak when i go over bumps etc. wondering if this is the cause? I've been trying to track it down with no luck :(

My door rubbers started squeaking after a month. Took it back to the dealer recently and they applied some oil to the rubber that seemed to have solved the problem for now. They have also thrown in a couple of VW rubber wipes (can't recall what they are called but they seemed to be developed for the EOS).

I will see how long this last. But at the moment, the car is blissfully quiet :)

See this from vwgolf.net.au
Door and other Plastics Vibrate over rough roads - Page 3

The dry lube doesn't interfere with the water tight sealing of the car I assume?

Kaanage, I am going to thank you in advance and confirm back later if it works, but after reading through those threads and then the US ones liked to it it sounds like using 6mm irrigation tubing from Bunnings to beef up the felt lining on the doors solves the issue. The American posts were incredible. I actually feel less alone with the outpouring of hatred for this car I was reading due to the creaking door seals. I pray this works because as with those posters on those sites, I am never buying a VW again due to this issue. It's unforgiveable. Here's hoping the tubing solves it!

Make sure you have no wax, sealant, or anything like that on the door frames were the seals close onto. I use Gummi Pledge on my 3 door and it helps a lot but doesn't get rid of it entirely. Just turn the radio up. :P

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Originally Posted by fryad

Kaanage, I am going to thank you in advance and confirm back later if it works, but after reading through those threads and then the US ones liked to it it sounds like using 6mm irrigation tubing from Bunnings to beef up the felt lining on the doors solves the issue. The American posts were incredible. I actually feel less alone with the outpouring of hatred for this car I was reading due to the creaking door seals. I pray this works because as with those posters on those sites, I am never buying a VW again due to this issue. It's unforgiveable. Here's hoping the tubing solves it!

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yeh, i think ur sense of entitlement is way overboard. saying u wont buy another vw because of the creak just reeks of a spoiled child having a tanty and having a sook. every car will develop a squeak somewhere, keys will rattle, coins move about, stuff in the glovebox will knock. doors are moving parts and the door seals will cause a noise when the chassis flexes. the gti isnt built out of a solid block of metal, thats why it creaks.
i have an issue with the doors squeaking, and i usually drive with my stereo off. i used drylube to good effect.
i also have an issue with the passenger door making a creaking noise, ive solved it by opening the passenger window side just a fraction and the noise is gone.
if u think the creaking is bad, then try owning an older car or a japanese car. or, as mentioned, turn the music up, or see a shrink to get over ur disorder, cos most people can get over it

Anyone got pics of where exactly they applied the dry lube?

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Originally Posted by Pullstarter

Anyone got pics of where exactly they applied the dry lube?

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open the door, either door, see the felt strip that runs along the top part of the door? run the dry lube stick along it from one end to the other, and thats it. close the door

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Originally Posted by walbjj

open the door, either door, see the felt strip that runs along the top part of the door? run the dry lube stick along it from one end to the other, and thats it. close the door

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Cheers :)

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Originally Posted by fryad

Third question: Any other suggestions !!!?? :-)

Thanks for your help.

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The issue is due to the car wash and/or polish/wax you're using :)
Some Gummi Pflege will remove the squeaks for months on end (as in 6 to 12 months) if you're not using a wash/polish/wax which is prone to causing squeaks against the felt and rubber used in the VW and Audis.

Also from the OP:

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Originally Posted by fryad

to try Krytox and Gummi Pflege. I have religiously tried both in varying applications over the 2 years of owning my GTI and they have been nothing but a very short term fix.

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Thanks Corey_R but sadly Gummi Pflege didn't help for long in my case, a week at best and I haven't bothered to wax/polish the inside paint on my door frames as it just gets filthy again with Gummi Pflege! Seems all of our cars have this issue in different amounts!

Anyway, I am pleased to say that I installed the plastic irrigation tubing last night (could only get 4mm from my local Bunnings) and the creaking noise is gone. It's such a dramatic difference that it felt like driving a new car today. I am elated. Kaanage thanks again for directing me to the fix. I hope it lasts! So easy and only $4.

Cool. Looks like I'll be taking a trip to bunnings at the weekend then. Do you know how much is required in terms of meters?

They only had 10m rolls of the 4mm diameter stuff so I bought it. $4. I used about half of it so ~5m. The guys in the US forums were using 6mm diameter tubing from Lowes stores. Anyway seems 4mm was enough, but if it compresses over time I will split the remaining 5m I have down one side with a Stanley knife and wrap it around the 4mm lengths I have already installed to bulk out the diameter a bit. It'll take you less than 10 minutes to install - just lift the inner flap of the felt along the upper door trims and push it in. Hope you are as successful jords.

Thanks for that. $4 for 10m isn't going to the bank. If 6mm is the preferred option then I might try and get some of that. Wonder if Masters do the 6mm? They're closer to me than Bunnings, so I'll them first. Looking forward to a creak free car.

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Originally Posted by jords

Thanks for that. $4 for 10m isn't going to the bank. If 6mm is the preferred option then I might try and get some of that. Wonder if Masters do the 6mm? They're closer to me than Bunnings, so I'll them first. Looking forward to a creak free car.

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I bought a roll of 6mm and the doors just wouldn't shut with it in the seals. I then presumed the US guys were referring to a Outer Diameter of 6mm, so bought some of the 4mm (Internal Diameter) irrigation tubing from bunnings which is actually 6mm (Outer Diameter) and it fits like a dream. Doors are a little harder to shut but the car is dead quiet now and doesn't rattle/clatter on bumpy roads or creak when braking.

Cheers Whitegti11, I didn't get round to going last weekend, which is a good thing, otherwise I would have bought 6mm.

So 4mm is the way to go. A job for this weekend.

4mm tubing purchased and installed. Sure seems a lot quieter now. Doesn't creak while driving down the road. Still creaks a little when pulling into the drive, but the gutter/pavement is on such an angle, I actually have one rear wheel in the air when I'm half way in. But overall I'm happy with the fix. Just one word of caution, there are two types of tubing, one called 'flex' and one normal. Get the normal. It's made of stiffer plastic. I bought the flex stuff, but it's too flimsy, and just doesn't seem to stay inbetween the door rubber. I the went back and got the stiff stuff. Oh well, $3.60 wasted, but it might come in handy for something else.

So pleased to hear it has worked guys. Jords I had a slight recurrence in my rear drivers side door in the first week so got another length of 4mm, sliced it open all the way down one side and inserted the previous bit of tubing inside it then put it back in the door. Again a bit hard to shut the door the first time but a day later no issue and now every door is silent. This is THE fix! I hope it stays sorted for you guys.

hmmm. its only my rears that still creak a little, so i might try what you did. I have plenty left of the 5 meter roll I bought.

I got Gummy Pflege and thought that had solved it, but after a week, it was noisy again :(

I'm going to try the 4mm tubing.
Thanks heaps for the efforts guys.

Yeh, gummi phledge is pretty rubbish. Needs to applied weekly. The tubing fix is permanent.

.......silence.........

The 4mm tubing was just the ticket.
thanks for the suggestion, people.

Tried the tubing method on the driver's door side on my Tiguan...Took it for a quick drive this morning, haven't heard the squeaky noise. Hopefully this will hold. Thanks for the suggestion.

Well....
After some weeks of having the 4mm tubing in, the door did squeak abit.
Now it sounds like the tubing isnt even there...
I dont know if anyone else has had this happen, but I might start looking around for 6mm tubing.

Hey, try using Isocol Rubbing Alcohol (you can buy from a chemist):

Use it around the the painted areas around the door jams first.
Try also using it on the felted rubbers on the doors.

Use gummi fledge as well if you need to - but from memory (it's a long time ago now) when I re-applied this after cleaning with the alcohol it actually made it worse. Just do one door at a time and give it a try.

This was a huge problem for my car ages ago and since using this and gummi fledge I have not had to re-apply now for a long time.

I believe the problem will be to do with the polish/wax on your car. I was using a Meguiars Ultimate Quick Wax and I reckon this was contributing to the squeaks. It's so easy to spray on that you would get some on the door rubbers. Now I'm ultra-careful how close to the rubbers I go with the wax.

After cleaning etc. you don't need to drive the car to hear if the squeaks are gone. Just gently push in the top of the door against the door jam to hear if the squeaking is gone. Hopefully it will be as quiet as a mouse!

Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by vwsp

Hey, try using Isocol Rubbing Alcohol (you can buy from a chemist):

Use it around the the painted areas around the door jams first.
Try also using it on the felted rubbers on the doors.

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Seems like I fell victim to this wax issue as well, creaking was driving me insane until reading up on it. I can vouch the Isocol worked a dream.. the seal creak is gone and now I can once again hear the other rattles in the car. :-)

FWIW I also bought a bag of small foam wedges used for make-up which were the perfect size to rub over the frame and seal areas.