Does anyone know just how the trim strips on the roof are held in place, these are the ones that are located each side of the car just above the doors, in the gutter? Are these just a simple press fit or are the glued into place?  I'm looking to replace one that a car wash recently yanked out and the operators have only offered my 50% of the dealers price to supply and fit a new replacement.  they are claiming that they cannot be certain that the trim wasn't already hanging off prior to going through wash. The wash is an attended one where at 2 or sometimes 3 people walk round the car with soapy brooms and scrub the panels with them and also apply high pressure jet washer to bad spots prior to entering the drive through section. I would have thought that if the trip was sticking up before going into the washer, that someone would have spotted it and pointed it out to me.

 

Had it been one of the older style machines where you drove into the wash and then it started with no attendants what's so ever, I'd say fair enough, down to me but surely not when they do the prewash by hand, they should accept liability for the damage in full?

They just push into place: there are rubber 'fins' on the side (a bit like wiper blades) that hold them in place.

But be careful as they curl up when you start to remove them. I tried to refit on a previous car and gave up, I just kept pushing it down rather than pull it all out and it be a pain

They are a really poor design. Mine are constantly working their way out if their grooves and need pushing back down.

30 minutes ago, Shaunieboy said:

They are a really poor design. Mine are constantly working their way out if their grooves and need pushing back down.

I've found that's more likely to happen if the front end is proud of the windscreen trim: the wind catches it and lifts it. Pop them out and refit them with the front end tucked under the rubber trim that rises along the side of the windscreen and see how you get on.

Top tip, cheers 🤜

What do they do?

apart from trap soapy water when trying to rinse.

Reduce wind noise and drag.

6 hours ago, superbdreams said:

What do they do?

apart from trap soapy water when trying to rinse.

My guess is that that channel is an inevitable feature of the construction of the body shell and that the strips are there, as @TheRobinK said, to reduce noise and drag.

On 06/08/2019 at 10:54, Shaunieboy said:

They are a really poor design. Mine are constantly working their way out if their grooves and need pushing back down.

The design is a huge blunder from a mechanical point of view.
These strips are mounted under a slight bending tension. That should be fine, until some idiot decided that it was a good idea to make them from aluminum, which has twice thermal expansion than the steel roof. So every time the roof heats (in the sun), the strips become a little longer than the roof. Combine this with the compression set of the plastic extruded material which is supposed to hold the strips in place, and it is obvious that the strips come loose one day. Which they do at every S2.

 

My fix (already years ago) was to completely glue these strips with 3M car window glue (3M 08603).

1. Remove the strips completely. Do this with a lot of patience, and very carefully, or you will bend them.
2. Straighten them. (Mine got very slightly bent)
3. Clean the groove and the strips carefully.
4. Degrease the groove and the strips
5. Apply the glue in the groove .
6. Carefully press the strips in the groove and let it cure.

Do not use silicon glue, since that seams to be bad for your paint.

 

My strips haven't moved since.

Edited 9 August, 20196 yr by andrehj

OK, an update on the trim problem, after a very long time of trying to find one in car salvage yards, I have finally located one and will driving around 200 miles in a round trip to collect next week. It only cost £24 but sadly not in colour, so I have to source the matching paint still, but I'm looking forward to fitting this as I'm getting fed up with the ugly look of old trip after it was ripped out by one of those American style car washes. I don't appear to have posted a photo of the poor trim piece, so I'll post below now.

 

If it all goes well, I'll lift out the O/S one and fit it closer to the windscreen as that one is now slowly being lifted out of the channel with the wind hitting it.

 

Thanks for the useful tips and comments already posted here.

I know this is an old thread, but does anyone happen to have the part number for these?

Hatchback
Left: 3T5 853 701
Right: 3T5 853 702

Combi/Estate
Left: 3T9 853 701
Right: 3T9 853 702