Problem: Door Bottom Weather Strip gets Torn in Winter Climate

4430 Views 8 Replies 8 Participants Last post by BobInPa, Jan 11, 2019

JMRC

Discussion Starter · Jan 11, 2019

Hi. I own a 2018 CR-V EX-L purchased back in March 2018. I live in a serious winter climate and do not have a garage. The weather strip on the bottom of Both the driver's side doors has torn- these are the doors i use regularly to load myself and my dog into the car. One occurred in November, the other in December. Dealer has replaced one under warranty and the second replacement is scheduled. Cause is "unknown" but now I regularly inspect the bottom of my doors on opening.

Two theories about this so far:
1. water from above: due to specific leaks above the door bottom weather strip water ends up between the weather strip and the door and freezes. This causes tears when opening the door. I don't know where the water I have observed is coming from, but it is certainly finding the low point.
2. water from below: the weather strip was not installed correctly at the factory or there is a design or door fit flaw and it is not moisture from above but from below coming between the door and the strip in the form of slush/snow when driving on unplowed pavement and gravel roads. This then freezes and causes the tear upon opening the door.

Has anyone had a similar problem or observed either of these possible causes: rivulets of moisture above the strip or slush kicked up between the strip the the door?? I certainly don't want to end up spending 100/door per season to repair the weather strip once outside of my warranty! (my estimate based on part cost plus labor time) And winters are not exactly short here.

I've documented this with Honda North America with an email and accompanying photos.

Thank you in advance

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toofast68

· #2 · Jan 11, 2019

Our weather strips on both sides of the passenger and driver side door leak and is a tremendous amount of mud inside of the weather strip area.

I park in a garage so I haven't had it freezing and tearing but if I suspected if I parked outside I would.

I think there's a defect somewhere

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Breaultk

· #3 · Jan 11, 2019

Comparing my 2019 CRV to my 2016 civic. The weather stripping seems to be a lot lower. Seems like it's just more prone to mud and snow getting up there. But I don't understand why the mud shoots past the outside seal.

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FASTFJR

· #4 · Jan 11, 2019

Sonax Gummipfleger Rubber Care is a great product, a little expensive but great. https://www.amazon.com/Sonax-034010...ocphy=9007331&hvtargid=pla-493071330193&psc=1

You can also simply spray on some Silicon. This will keep the rubber from sticking / freezing to the car

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S2k_Dude

· #5 · Jan 11, 2019 (Edited)

toofast68 said:
Our weather strips on both sides of the passenger and driver side door leak and is a tremendous amount of mud inside of the weather strip area.

I park in a garage so I haven't had it freezing and tearing but if I suspected if I parked outside I would.

I think there's a defect somewhere

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

The outer weatherstripping is secondary, not the primary seal. I believe it's there more to keep out road noise than anything, otherwise I'm not sure why the gasket material is there, it doesn't seem to serve any other purpose. I always clean the area above the lower weatherstripping when I wash the CR-V as it always collects road grime, this is the same for everyone. It's the first Honda vehicle I've owned that has any weatherstripping that far down on the door. So, it's not really "leaking" as it's not a complete seal in the first place. If you are getting water inside the cabin, then I would agree that you have a problem.

For the OP that is having the gasket tear, I agree with the previous post that applying some silicone to the gasket will most likely fix the problem if the gasket is getting frozen and stuck to the other surface. Honda recommends Shin-Etsu silicone grease. A tube of that will last you for years. It's something that everyone should apply every few years to their vehicles to prevent the seals and weatherstripping from aging.

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toofast68

· #6 · Jan 11, 2019

Wow thank you for the details

I feel a bit better now I didn't notice any water inside but I just thought it was weird so now it all makes sense appreciate it

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dstein

· #7 · Jan 11, 2019

I noticed this problem also. I did three things that seemed to help somewhat:

1) Got rid of the OEM front mudflaps and switched to WT. They seem to help reduce the slush that was coming the from the door vertical gap esp as higher speeds. I think this helped the most.
2) Got Honda's weatherstrip paste (probably others just as good) and apply it to all the rubber trim. Main purpose- longer life, maybe a little better sealing. And possible could help on freezing damage. I have not experiened a tear yet, FWIW.
3) Apply a EDPM weatherstrip at the very edge of the horizion door frame. Probably not much help and I also did it mostly to help reduce wind/road noise.

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r crv

· #8 · Jan 11, 2019

https://www.amazon.com/Nextzett-914...protection&dpPl=1&dpID=41hyUiwxu9L&ref=plSrch

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BobInPa

· #9 · Jan 11, 2019

FASTFJR said:
Sonax Gummipfleger Rubber Care is a great product, a little expensive but great.

You must own a European cabriolet with windows that squeak when they rub against the roof weather seals.
I know that I never heard of Gummipfleger before I bought my BMW E46 330Cic 6 speed about a decade ago.
The best solution is to always keep the top down but today even I wouldn't do that.

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