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Infamous B Pillar Tick/Squeak(FIXED! -- SEE PAGE 4)
Having scoured the forums and interwebs -- and with the help of a few PMs -- I've determined that my B pillar area tick/squeak that I've had since day 1 of owning my new Q5 is definitely caused by the "applique" gloss black trim on the outside of the doors. Happens pretty much exclusively when parked in the sun and all but stops when the sun sets and/or with highway driving for more than a few minutes. When hot I can push on them from outside along the back edge of the door and they, well, squeak and tick.
My question is this... how many that have taken their vehicles in and specifically had these black trim pieces addressed are STILL noise free?
Appreciate the help!
Last edited by cruzinaround; 08-15-2016 at 07:12 PM.
You seemed to be focused on the A pillar in this video. The noise is similar but I can't say with certainly it's the same just judging from the video. Mine definitely comes from the B pillar right next to you rear... which is the really frustrating part about it. It's so apparent while you're driving.
This video that someone randomly posted to YouTube captures it exactly. Someone even commented on it, helping to narrow down the cause...
I'm just curious if anyone has gone in to have this addressed and was it successful? If so, what did your fix consist of? Just trying to arm myself with as much information as possible!
It sounds like mine is coming from the A pillar but perhaps i am just hearing the sound focus in the corner. I will do a little more hunting when i hear it again. At least i know im not alone in these wierd rattles that the dealer can never ever replicate.
Well I got a really simple fix for this creak from a Bimmer forum and it absolutely works. I had thought about trying this -- since it seems to be the exact spot the squeak was coming from -- but hadn't yet since I wasn't sure it would work.
Basically the "creak" comes from the plastic on the applique trim on the outside of the door rubbing the door where it wraps around the edge. For the front door, this is the back edge of the door. For the rear door, this is the front edge of the door.
I simply sprayed silicone spray up and down the edge on the back of the door where the plastic and the door meets. I sprayed up and down multiple times and caught the runoff at the bottom. Afterwards I just wiped everything down to remove the excess. There's just a very, very thin gap -- probably no more than the thickness of a sheet of paper or so -- that you spray along. The spray will wick into that thin opening easily though.
After I completed this I pressed on that exact area up and down the length of the trim again and no more creaks, no more squeaks. And it didn't require any disassembly -- best reason for trying it.
This photo is complements of the Bimmer forum. BTW, the OP from that forum said straight WD-40 was used. I chose to use WD-40 Silicone Spray instead. Same results.
I have the standard chrome trim too. The trim that causes this is this piece on the doors. Notice the lip on the one side that wraps around the door. That's where the picture above is taken.
Originally Posted by Speedooooo
I have this tick coming from the B pillar but I have chrome trim (not black optics). I'll try the fix you're talking about.
Just a final follow-up on this! The first steps above got rid of the majority of the creaks however the back driver door trim was still creaking near the top and i knew it was coming from between the back of the trim and the door underneath. I just opened the door with the windows down and pushed on the back piece of the black trim near the top of the door and flexed it just enough to briefly expose a slight gap and get the tip of my silicone spray straw down in. I then gave a quick shot or two directed to both edges of the trim -- leading and trailing. Immediately after that the creak/tick was 100% gone forever. It's been days and days of close to 100 degree temps parked in the sun for hours and there's not a door creak/tick to be heard after getting underway.
The main thing here is NO PITA disassembly of the door's rubber molding to remove the trim either or taking it in to have the dealer pull off all your trim to "fix" the problem. It's even been through rain(as evident by the dust and pollen on the trim in the photo) with no recurrence of the noise whatsoever.
BTW this picture is looking down the trim on the exterior of the door while pushing on the back edge of the trim that wraps around the door near the top. It "flexes" the area just enough to do the job mentioned above. Sorry for the blurry photo.
Last edited by cruzinaround; 07-25-2016 at 06:02 PM.
07-19-2016, 03:06 PM
Infamous B Pillar Tick/Squeak(FIXED! -- SEE PAGE 4)
