Door Seals

[mclovin]

The door seals on my car are peeling away from the door, both sides are affected but it is very bad on one area on the drivers door. These are the seals that are stuck onto the door itself with some sort of adhesive. My car was built in December 2005 and as I understand it, this is a known issue with VW Golfs of this vintage. My question is, as a known issue, was this ever rectified as part of any soft recall campaign (ie repaired when damaged when the car was in for regular servicing) or was work on this issue only carried out under warranty if it was brought to the attention of a VW dealer?

As my car is now out of warranty, I guess I have to pay to have this fixed, but it bugs me that I should have to pay for what is clearly a well known manufacturing fault on VWs part.

[ub7rm]

Not had the issue on the golf but my finacee's polo of a similar vintage had it.  The approved used warranty excludes seals as they are considered perishable 

Replacement seal cost around £30 and took half an hour to fit myself.  The replacement seems exactly the same as what was on it so I don't think the design or materials have moved forward.  Most of the half an hour was scraping the old adhesive of the door frame.

Apart from the length, they seem exactly the same as whats on my golf so I think its a valid comparison.

[mclovin]

I was quoted £131 +VAT per side to replace these by Windrush VW in Maidenhead, but so far they have proven to be VERY expensive. If it is simple enough to remove and refit then I'm happy to do it myself. From what you're saying, it sounds like most of the labour time is due to removing the old adhesive?

[ub7rm]

Yeah, its pi$$ easy (or at least was on a polo door).  I just used my fingers and an old AA card to scrape it off, if I'd had access to some tar remover it would have been a lot quicker.  I managed to get most of the old seal off without leaving any residue but there were some bits left behind.

The only tricky thing about is that the tape you peel off to expose the adhesive strip 'starts' at the bottom of the door (there are drainage holes in the seal at the bottom) so you need either an assistant or some masking tape to hold the rest of the seal in place while you work your way round. 

There is an inboard side and outboard side to the seal, a top and a bottom.  Its pretty much self explanatory once you study the new seal and the old one.

Deffo not worth that money for the stealers to do IMO.

When you ask for the part its the 'outer door seal' rather than the 'inner door seal'.

HTH

[mclovin]

Really? I would have thought it was the "inner" door seal?

[ub7rm]

I have to admit you've got me doubting myself now but IIRC the inner door seal is what goes around the door frame as it were and the outer one around the door itself ...

Like http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Genuine-VW-Golf-Outer-Door-Seal-2-Door-Left_W0QQitemZ130353863094QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item1e59b219b6


Damn, wish it had been on ebay when I did the girlies car  

[Boothy]

Mines an 05 model and the door seal came away on the passenger side. It was the one that runs down the side of the door by the door latch. I just bought some decent glue and stuck it back on as the rubber was fine. Did that a year ago and its still stuck and not leaking. Cheap fix but it works so maybe give it a try?

[mclovin]

I thought about doing that, but my seals have come away at the bottom of both doors and the seal on the drivers door has come away loads near the door latch. Given how many points have come away I figured I'd just put new ones on and be done with it. Apparently the new seals have a better adhesive (according to the VW dealer) so they shouldn't peel away again. For the sake £60 and a couple of hours work I think it's a worthwhile job, no way I was going to pay the dealer to do it though!

[em2evol]

Mines an 05 model and the door seal came away on the passenger side. It was the one that runs down the side of the door by the door latch. I just bought some decent glue and stuck it back on as the rubber was fine. Did that a year ago and its still stuck and not leaking. Cheap fix but it works so maybe give it a try?

Ahh, was going to ask if it's possible to just glue them back on... will try this I think! 

[no golf clubs at all]

My mates Golf plus has been in for replacement door seals under warranty twice I think....the garage said it was a known issue. Luckily, as I am out of warranty havent had any issues.

[mclovin]

I replaced my drivers door seal today, what a horrible job! Putting the new seal on only takes five minutes, but getting the old one off is a nightmare, I spent hours cleaning off the old adhesive residue with an old credit card and a bottle of tar remover, it was a massive PITA.

I'm really not looking forward to doing the passenger side one tomorrow, I'm going to have to distract myself by replacing the leaky rear air vents on my girlfriend's mk4 first...

[DanoGTI]

FWIW, mine started to come off (frozen door + very eager  child = riiiiiiipppppppp)

I've got some silicone-based adhesive. Stuck it back on and has been fine since 


MUCH cheaper!!

Dan

[MattPoss]

Seems to be a common thing, mine had them replaced under warrenty and touch wood i've had no problems so far

Matt

[mclovin]

Apparently the new seals have a better adhesive so it is less likely to happen again if you replace them. My Driver's side seal had come away in four places which is why I chose to replace rather than re-stick. However, the passenger side seal has only come away in one small areas so I might just stick that one back to save the hassle of removing and replacing.