Glass rubber cover, windshield & rear window (E39)

NO!

As I stated EARLY on in this thread, the cover is NOT the weather seal! The adhesive that glues the glass into the body opening is the actual water and air seal. The cover DOES DIVERT a lot of the air and water away from the glass/body bond but IT IS NOT THE SEAL.

Very few vehicles today actually use a gasket/seal to hold the windshield and rear window into the body openings. Heck, even my 68 Chevelle windshield and rear window are glued in. The stainless trim around the edge is just that, trim. It MIGHT have helped hold the glass in back when the car was built and adhesives weren't so good but since then both pieces have been removed and replaced using modern adhesives so I doubt that they do much but sit there and look pretty.

Thank god for this thread.

My 01 530i has the same problem, huge chips of the molding are gone and the Pacific BMW dealership was telling me that the window has to be removed for the molding to be changed.

This really aggravates me that the dealerships are giving out false information on a simple and easy fix.

I JUST CHANGED THE WINDSHIELD MOLDINGS ON MY 97 528i !
IT TOOK ME ONE HOUR TO DO IT WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF A LONG NOSED PLIERS FOR THE INITIAL REMOVAL OF THE TOP SECTION.WITH FINGER AND PALM PRESSURE I DID AN EXCELENT JOB. THE STEALERSHIP WOULD HAVE RAPED ME FOR THAT REPLACEMENT!

i found this forum a while ago and i figure what the heck, join!

good info here. just like everyone else i have the same problem. i drive a 2000 528i and the molding on mine is horrible. it seems like the 2000yr modle is the only one where the entire windshield has to come out. is that so? going buy what everyone else is going through here it seems like its not so. i've call sooooo many places out here and they all say there is a 50/50 chance they might break the glass. then why do i have to pay for it? (just a little mad). anywho, i'm about to give it a go and see what comes of it. wish me luck! ;-)

Guys:

Please answer the following:

1.My E39 windshield molding has cracked/rotted Y/N
2.Model + year.( mileage immaterial).
3.I live in a high UV area with lots of sun and ozone Y/N
4.I live within 20 miles of the coast Y/N
5.Car is frequently parked outside DURING THE DAY, and exposed to the sun Y/N.
6.I use Black Magic, Mother's Back to Black or some other UV trim protectant 3 or 4 times a year when I detail the car. Y/N

Until someone says I am wrong, I suspect this is another example of the German mania for recycled materials. German car manufacturers are under immense pressure from the Deutsche Green Party, thus water-based paints etc. Thus the famous exploding embrittled plastic radiator problem.

Yeah, I know BMW tests prototypes in Death Valley and in Norwegian winters, but I doubt the test vehicles sit out in the sun for 3 or 4 years. Surprise!

uncle ken
1. N
2. 2003 540i
3. Y (Houston)
4. N
5. N
6. Y

Well I sent an email to BMWNA and after a few days I got a phone call today,
He said he thinks he can get it replaced for me, he was going to look into it. For whats its worh he sounded like he was going to make it hapen? He ased for the nearest delor and day and time I could bring it??

He also stated that he had never heard of this problem and it seamed odd and incorect to be doing it.

Im sure that since my replacement strip came in today from Pelican, NMWNA will replace mine??

Originally Posted by B.Boyd64

Well I sent an email to BMWNA and after a few days I got a phone call today,
He said he thinks he can get it replaced for me, he was going to look into it. For whats its worh he sounded like he was going to make it hapen? He ased for the nearest delor and day and time I could bring it??

He also stated that he had never heard of this problem and it seamed odd and incorect to be doing it.

Im sure that since my replacement strip came in today from Pelican, NMWNA will replace mine??

Can you include the email your wrote and what address you sent it to? This is the first time I've heard of someone receiving a positive response from them about this!!

Thanks,

Aaron

I sent it to this address posted on the first page also is a copy of the email I sent. I took some of the talking points from several other on this board.

mailto:Leonora.Vlaovich@bmwna.com

Hello I am having am issue with my windshield trim rubber, or cover. It covers the gap between the body and the glass, we need to have this issue addressed. It is breaking off and chipping, cracks and missing chunks. Their should be No excuse for a BMW that is 6 years old to have this problem. This should never be an issue, not even if this were a first year production vehicle not a 99 528i. This is NOT consistent with a manufacturer that prides itself on quality and craftsmanship, is it? I'm afraid if more chunks start to fall out the windshield may become unstable.

This is my 7th BMW that I have owned and this seams to be a pretty big problem from what I have seen on some forms.

Is there is any BMWNA repair/replacement program in place for issues such as this?

Originally Posted by adisman

Can you include the email your wrote and what address you sent it to? This is the first time I've heard of someone receiving a positive response from them about this!!

Thanks,

Aaron

Look at my post #138.

I just mentioned the issue to my SA when the car was in for service. He went out and looked at it. Then he checked to insure that they had a windshield in stock"just in case" they broke it during the replacement of the cover. One half hour later, they pulled out my car with a new brand new windshield cover on it.

That's good info there B.Boyd64. I'll put that to use also. It's ridiculous that one should go through all this red tape to get a problem fixed that shouldn't have to be done by the consumer. I'll try it and see where it goes.

Thanks again.

I ust sent that email out to BMWNA, so i hope to get some kind of good feed back. I'll keep everyone in the loop aswell.

It took about a week to get any response.

Well Well Well,

Got another call from BMWNA today and he said to pick up the part at my stealership "Be sure to call ahead to make sure they have the part in stock" And I could check with them to see wich glass company they recomend for instalation, Or I could have it done at any shop at my own expence.

But At least I got them to cough up the free parts!

And seeing I have already purchased one??
Any one need a front cover rubber set??

1992 325i 4 dr. before it was mine it was my bros and he told me he had it replaced once and i have to do it again. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

That's good news!

B.Boyd, did they say if you went with the glass company of their choice that they would pay for it? I already bought the molding for my 2000 528i and I'll be down in TX in the next few days. If they'll pay for it I'd take mine to that same shop.

No Instilation is at my expence. So I will do it myself

I can only say "Thank God I saw This Posting".
I had the same problem like everyone else, my front windshield rubber was a mess, I have a 2001 525i. I took my car to 3 different Glass Shops, and they all told me that they had to remove the Glass, and that there is a chance that it can brake (No Guarantee), bunch of pricks......

I saw this thread and went and bought the rubber from a BMW Dealer, it cost me $43 dollars, it took me 30 minutes to remove the old rubber, it was very sticky, the most difficult part was the upper portion, but as soon as the edge comes out the rest is a piece of cake.

In other words I did it myself, after cleaning the sticky edges with Go-Goone, I tried fitting the upper portion with my pal, and it fitted perfectly.

WatchOut: Do not use a metalic object to remove the old rubber, use plastic, if not you may brake the Glass.

DO NOT LISTEN TO NOBODY, DO IT YOURSELF.

Did this fix yesterday... took all of about 45minutes, and that was only because I had to literally pull the old rubber out with pliers...

Anyways, I'm getting some windnoise now from about 40mph on up. Anybody else get windnoise after doing this? I gotta figure out how to get rid of the windnoise, as it gets a little annoying after while.

2000 528i same problem, just sold my 1997 528i it also had the same problem...emailing BMWNA

My '97 540i's front windshield gasket is completely dried out and crumbling. I'm certain there is no recourse, wonder about replacement cost (seal only).

i have the same problem its crcking in the corner but only in the front is there anyway i could fix it ?? let me know guys


98 528I acs exhaust system
7 series 20" chrome wheels

soon to come h&r suspension kit

I joined this group because I have this problem and have learned a lot here. This is a manufacturer's problem. I want to be counted. The front cover of my 1999 528I is almost completely gone. I have emailed BMWNA. I'll let you know what happens.

Originally Posted by Georgia BMW

I joined this group because I have this problem and have learned a lot here. This is a manufacturer's problem. I want to be counted. The front cover of my 1999 528I is almost completely gone. I have emailed BMWNA. I'll let you know what happens.

Have you even read this thread?

Your car is over seven years old. The part cost $37, and it takes about 30 min to replace it yourself. Most owners haven't been able to get a dealer to replace it, even under the original 4 year/ 50k warranty. So, why are you even bothering to contact BMWNA?

Just did this last night. Purchased new cover via Pelican Parts on 3-day delivery and got it in 2 days. Follow McCandless & Gcaspelich's instructions and have plenty of patience. About 30 min. to remove the crumbling existing cover and clean the channel, and another 15 min. to install the new.

That's what I get for not hanging around this forum often enough, the one thing I should have learned about E39s by now is that something that breaks on one breaks on all.

Two E39s, '98 540iA and '00 M5. The exterior rubber around the windshield in the '98 started cracking in '01 (I always figured it was an emotional response to being demoted to Second Banana by the purchase of the M5) and is now leaving in big chunks, on the M5 it's still in the cracking phase. Rear-window rubber on both is cracking, actually seems to be going bad faster on the M5. Suspect it has to do with the M5 being parked with the front end shaded more than the 540i.

This is SF Peninsula five minutes from the bay, sunny but not exactly the tropics, 540i has been parked outside pretty much all its life and the M5 80 percent of the time; of the time (unfortunately...maybe to change soon.)

The only protectant I ever used on those strips was BMW Gummi-Pflege and (obviously) I haven't done that in a while.

The 540i needs a new windshield anyway, since my wife thinks the '02 S6 Avant I just bought feels "too heavy" the 540i's going to stay around. The M5's glass is in good shape. Looks like I'll go ahead and try changing the strips on the M5 first.