Power Window Question

No answer to your question, but an observation...

My '98 Corolla's driver's side window did that - I'd roll it down & then it'd sometimes refuse to go all the way back up again. Eventually, it'd always roll up, but was not exactly ultra-reliable, & I assumed it'd eventually quit altogether & would have to be fixed. (Maybe interior door taken apart to fix whatever electrical problem there was?) I mentioned this intermittent problem to the person to whom I later sold that car, & they've had absolutely no problem with it since they bought it 2 years ago. How come, I have no idea. So... maybe yours isn't not doomed, after all, either.

Cathy

When this happens, does the window work in the down direction? If so, I doubt if the switch is the cause of the problem, unless you drive with the window cracked open when it is raining.

The switch is relatively easy to replace. Basically, you remove the inner door panel, which is probably held on by a couple of screws under plugs in the arm rest and a bunch of clips on the side and lower edge of the panel. Once the panel is free, unplug the wire harness for the courtesy light and master switch, swap the switch, and reverse the process to get it together. The master switch is probably going to cost a fair amount.

Another possible cause of the problem is a binding regulator. Remove the inner door panel and the plastic sheet behind the panel and give the moving and pivoting parts of the regulator a good shot of lithium grease.

My experience with 'problems' with cars is that they do NOT fix themselves.

The wrong time to have it fail is in a big rainstorm or in New England in the winter after you have rolled down your window to pay a toll....

Fix the 'problem'.

Would be my advice....

"Ray O" wrote >

When it fails, there is no movement in either direction. When it works, it works great in both directions.

Thanks for the information, I guess I will just wait to see when and if I get a hard failure.

-- wingnut "of no ilk"

Intermittent problems are difficult to diagnose, and just changing parts can get very expensive without actually fixing the problem. Just for grins, the next time that happens, try opening the door and see if the window works. If it does, check for chafed wires where they pass from the body into the door.

If it does not work in either direction but starts to work later, the regulator is low on the list of suspects.

Mice. Definitely. ;-)

Doesn't that have something to do with part of the second law of thermodynamics?

No, no no, it's gremlins man, gremlins I tell ya!

This one did - how or why, I don't know, since I never knew what the source of the problem was, to begin with.

That's when it did happen to me - in the winter, in upstate NY.

There no longer *is* a problem - it's now been over 2 years since it last didn't want to roll all of the way back up.

Cathy

I had the same problem with my last 99 Sienna. Dealer quoted me $230 to fix it. I traded-in to the same dealer without disclosing it. Apparently, their sales dept does not talk to their service dept.