Has anybody found a solution to the pillar creaks from the drivers side? If they have, is a diy solution?, as the garage doesnt seem to be willing to help? Also is anybody else having problems regulating the heaing system (i have manual +air con). I find it hard to get a small amount of heat as no reation from the system until the heat knob is up to half way. Thanks BigM

Has anybody found a solution to the pillar creaks from the drivers side? If they have, is a diy solution?, as the garage doesnt seem to be willing to help? Also is anybody else having problems regulating the heaing system (i have manual +air con). I find it hard to get a small amount of heat as no reation from the system until the heat knob is up to half way. Thanks BigM

Hello,

Yes I have completely cured my creaky pillars (the noise actually comes from the top rubber seal on each door and is the result of wax drying in the seal). I did start another thread about this but have yet to post that I had found a solution. Having said that, I only cured it last week and have just come back from a completely creak free week in Pembrokeshire.

To rid yourself of these deeply irritiating little creaks you need to clean the wax deposits from the first of the grooves in the seal on the top of the doors. Initially I only treated the main seals that sit on the car body but this did not fix it. You have to clean the groove nearest to the outside of the door that runs along the top. I used Gummi Pflege rubber cleaner which I ordered over the internet for less than £10. Having said that, you might find that another rubber cleaner / treatment such as Autoglym rubber and vinyl care will work fine. I am confident that if you do this then, as unlikely as it sounds, your creaks will disappear. If you use a car shampoo with a high wax content then you may need to repeat the above after washing.

Hope this helps,

Shrub.

I got some Gummi stuff off ebay.

Hello,

Yes I have completely cured my creaky pillars (the noise actually comes from the top rubber seal on each door and is the result of wax drying in the seal). I did start another thread about this but have yet to post that I had found a solution. Having said that, I only cured it last week and have just come back from a completely creak free week in Pembrokeshire.

To rid yourself of these deeply irritiating little creaks you need to clean the wax deposits from the first of the grooves in the seal on the top of the doors. Initially I only treated the main seals that sit on the car body but this did not fix it. You have to clean the groove nearest to the outside of the door that runs along the top. I used Gummi Pflege rubber cleaner which I ordered over the internet for less than £10. Having said that, you might find that another rubber cleaner / treatment such as Autoglym rubber and vinyl care will work fine. I am confident that if you do this then, as unlikely as it sounds, your creaks will disappear. If you use a car shampoo with a high wax content then you may need to repeat the above after washing.

Hope this helps,

Shrub.

I can endorse this.

John

Hello,

Yes I have completely cured my creaky pillars (the noise actually comes from the top rubber seal on each door and is the result of wax drying in the seal). I did start another thread about this but have yet to post that I had found a solution. Having said that, I only cured it last week and have just come back from a completely creak free week in Pembrokeshire.

To rid yourself of these deeply irritiating little creaks you need to clean the wax deposits from the first of the grooves in the seal on the top of the doors. Initially I only treated the main seals that sit on the car body but this did not fix it. You have to clean the groove nearest to the outside of the door that runs along the top. I used Gummi Pflege rubber cleaner which I ordered over the internet for less than £10. Having said that, you might find that another rubber cleaner / treatment such as Autoglym rubber and vinyl care will work fine. I am confident that if you do this then, as unlikely as it sounds, your creaks will disappear. If you use a car shampoo with a high wax content then you may need to repeat the above after washing.

Hope this helps,

Shrub.

Thanks Shrub, I will give it a try.

Just to be clear so that i dont do any unnecessary damage could you give me a few step by step guidelines to taking off the seals?... did you by any chance take any pictures??

Thanks,

BigM

Edited 21 August, 201015 yr by BigM

Thanks Shrub, I will give it a try.

Just to be clear so that i dont do any unnecessary damage could you give me a few step by step guidelines to taking off the seals?... did you by any chance take any pictures??

Thanks,

BigM

Hi BigM,

You don't need to remove any parts and so no real chance of damage. I ripped off a small piece of old sponge, soaked it in the rubber cleaner and then rubbed it thoroughly in the groove. If you don't get the right part of the seal the creak will not disappear. Look at the top of the door from the outside and the little groove in the seal immediately on top of the door as you open it is the one.

Incidentally, I discovered this seal as the culprit when I leaned against my door from the outside a couple of weeks ago and it made the exact creaking noise. If it doesn't work for you then I will try to find a picture of the upper door seal so that I can point it out. It really does work though.

Good luck,

Shrub

Hi Shrub,

I cleaned the area you were talking about ...i think but it hasnt solved the problem. I cleased the entire seal on top of the door and the seal on the inside of the car just to be sure with Autoglym rubber and vinyl care. Perhaps i am not getting the spot you refer to. The seal on the door just inside the outer part of the seal is quite big ...you refer to it as "the little groove" so perhaps i am not hitting the right spot.

When i lean up to the door i can hear a squeek but when driving allong it sounds like a creak (not a squeek) ....do you think i have a different problem?? Any other suggestions.

thanks

BigM

Edited 24 August, 201015 yr by BigM

Hi Shrub,

I cleaned the area you were talking about ...i think but it hasnt solved the problem. I cleased the entire seal on top of the door and the seal on the inside of the car just to be sure with Autoglym rubber and vinyl care. Perhaps i am not getting the spot you refer to. The seal on the door just inside the outer part of the seal is quite big ...you refer to it as "the little groove" so perhaps i am not hitting the right spot.

When i lean up to the door i can hear a squeek but when driving allong it sounds like a creak (not a squeek) ....do you think i have a different problem?? Any other suggestions.

thanks

BigM

I think that you have exactly the same problem from what your are saying. The first couple of times that I tried to fix it it did not work because I was not cleaning the area that the wax accumulates in. It is possible that the Autoglym product does not remove the wax and so you may need to get hold of some Gummi Pflege. I will try to find a diagram or picture of the top of the door seal and point the groove out to you. If anyone else reading this has one of those parts diagrams for the upper door seal I would be very grateful.......

Hi Shrub,

I have cleaned the rubbers with Gummi Pflege rubber three times now. The creak was driving me around the bend so i resorted (rightly or wrongly) to applying some white spirits to clean the rubbers and the paint surfaces they touch. Although i am not sure the white spirits would remove the polish, and then I re applied Gummi Pflege rubber cleaner. Unfortunately the pillar creak is still there and still driving me mad. Any suggestions to help me solve the creaking problem? , pictures etc.

I love the SM but this is driving me mad. Help please before the SM gets the better of me.

Thanks,

BigM

It sounds like you are suffering from the other cause of 'Pillar creak'. Whilst looking through some old threads a couple of weeks back there was a thread commenting on exactly your problem. The cause was the plastic clips that retain the windscreen, creaking against the painted surface that they touch when the car is moving . The clips are under the two black surrounds either side of the screen (the outside where the pillars are), when the surround is removed the clips are obvious I believe and the resolution is to put either fabric tape or electrician tape under the clips where they touch the painted surface. The thread I saw had plenty of photo's but sods law being what it is I cannot find it again easily. You could of course go back to the dealer under warranty and ask them to check the clips I refer to and get them to lay down some tape for you.