Car window fell 'off track' ...

B

Barton Hills

1,000+ Posts
My wife's Navigator had the passenger side window fall off track over the weekend as she was rolling it down.

Anyone know of a cheap place in S Austin that could fix it, or will most places be able to handle this? First time I've encountered this issue with a car. Thanks.
 
I don't know who is "cheap" in south Austin, but this is how most windows work. There is a metal piece attached to the bottom of the glass. Nothing usually goes wrong with it.
This piece is bolted to the part that raises and lowers the window, called the window regulator. If you are lucky, maybe the bolts came loose and fell out, and someone can put it back together after removing the door panel.
But what usually happens is the regulator wears out and breaks. On some models the regulator is one piece with the motor attached, so the repair may not be really cheap. There usually isn't a lot of room inside the door to work with, just three or four holes made for the purpose of getting at the bolts in there.
 
accurate: I have a 2000 Saturn LS2 (4 door) with one rear window on driver side in the same situation. I am not sure it is "off track", but lowered about 4 - 5 inches from closed when I pressed the down switch and stuck there. All other windows are working. I was told once before something about contact points malfunctioning, don't know if this is the actual case. Would you have a best/worst case ballpark idea of the cost to diagnose and repair? Thanks very much.
 
It can be the switch in the rear door, which might not be too expensive. Or it could be the wiring that goes into the door, sometimes it breaks inside the harness where the door opens and closes all the time. Or it could be the same situation as the other car-the motor could have failed or the regulator broke. This can be up to about $300 on most cars we work on, which are Hondas and Toyotas. We could probably figure it out and fix it on a Saturn, we have a couple of Saturn customers.
Can you hear the motor "hum" or make any noise when you hit the switch? If so, the switch and wiring are functioning. If there is no noise, it will have to be tested to see which item has failed.
Or you could tape a trash bag to the side of the car.
 
There is no sound when I hit the switch. We have had this happen a couple years ago but eventually something seemed to happen and all of a sudden the switch was working and the window closed. Not this time, though. This is our son's old car and is parked in the garage. Trying to get this and a few other things -- like coolant fluid leak, brake check, etc. -- fixed to pass inspection and put it up for sale.
 
Still could be several things, but maybe a switch with corroded contacts inside. If it isn't the driver's door switch, it may be inexpensive. Actually, the driver's switch should still make the window work if it is just the door switch, so it probably isn't just the door switch.
 
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