DIY: Door sill rubber trim repair

[Converted1]

Most of the door sills on the mid 2000 BMW models are subject to the rubber trim rotting and disintegrating. The rest of the part is still in good shape and replacements are getting expensive, particularly for the M and M Sport models.

I decided to see how well I could repair it with some self adhesive rubber trim. Here’s what I did:

1.Removed the trim panels using a plastic pry tool. There are 6 clips per panel.
2. Removed the loose rubber trim from the entire surrounding sill
3. Used a guitar pick to scrape away remaining trim from the panel
4. Clean mating surface with 90% ipa
5. Installed trim on lower part carefully following the curve and applying pressure
6. Apply trim to the upper part mitering where the 2 pieces meet
7. Used a toothpick to apply CA glue to the miters of the upper and lower and any areas of the curve that were sticking up
8. Clean the underneath of the door sill and reinstall

I’m pretty satisfied with the results. Total cost is under $9 vs around $250 for replacement sills.

Here’s the link to the Amazon trim
https://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Flexib.../dp/B0D12DW5KR

And some pics of the finished product

[cblock406]

Wow thanks for posting this! Great work!

[jdt10768]

That's a nice workaround, good job

[freshbimmer]

Thanks I will be trying this on a new to me 2013 135i before coughing up $115 for a new part from FCP.

Converted1 just to confirm it was the 1/16“ trim that you used?

I‘d much rather keep said money in my pocket for actual maintenance items or upgrades!

[freshbimmer]

For others that come across this thread in the future just know that when removing the door sill it is likely many of the clip retention features holding the clips will snap even if being careful during removal. I then had to extract all of the clips from the frame.

On top of that that the adhesive used on the original weathers strip is extremely strong and difficult to remove even with a razor blade.

I purchased the 1/16“ trim in the Amazon link and it looks to be a good size if you do want to attempt this. However, in the end I have decided to simply purchase a new trim piece.

[Cptjoe]

Thanks for this.

What I was going to end up doing but I also think I murdered my clips.