Ask an expert
I recently had my car repaired after someone damaged my door.
The entire door was replaced by the workshop, and they moved all the seals etc from the original door to the new door.
As a result the weather-strip no longer sits flat against the glass when the window is closed.
I have addressed this with the workshop, and the suggestion at this point is that the strip is not that important because it never stops all water anyway. I can see this being a matter of opinion as to whether the workmanship is acceptable or not.
I'd like to go into this informed - my opinion at this point is simply that the strip performs a task, and not being installed correctly risks the integrity of the door - but a reason as to why the strip is needed would be helpful. I can see that the strip has been generously glued in place, which is the reason it cannot sit flat.
A photographic comparison of the repair, and an original door can be seen here:
(open the link for a larger version of the image)
Hi there,
I know that these strips are made of steel with rubber on the outside and they bend out of shape very easy upon removal and ideally the only way to get it right is to fit a new one.
They do stop the weather, leaves ect getting down into the door and stop most of the rain getting inside too. Even though the door has drain holes if water does get down there. But if dirt and leaves block those holes, water could pool and the ultimate end is rust. Also these strips protect the door locking mechanisms from being easily accessed for those wanting to jimmy the door open for theft. So in my view these strips are not just cosmetic, they perform multiple functions.