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Sticking power windows in winter weather

6K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  HowJay 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

For those that live in snowy winter climates, do your power windows get stuck often? My windows seem much more prone to sticking than any of my other vehicles in Buffalo NY winters.

Even if it hasn't snowed and no ice accumulated on the window, sometimes the window won't free itself until later in the day when temps creep up a little.

Kind of annoying having to open the door at a drive thru in the morning in a brand new vehicle, lol.

I tried some silicone spray but it only helped a little. Thinking of asking the dealership about it.

Just a minor annoyance I would like to try to fix if I can. :)
 
#2 ·
Mine haven't been sticking very much yet, but I don't try to open the windows until the car warms up for 15-20 mins. I think you could eventually loosen things up with the mechanism in the door when it tries to pull the window down and the freezing causes extra stress on components.

Just an idea - if you want them to work consistently every time, you need to give it time to melt the moisture that collects and freezes in the door frame.
 
#3 ·
i've noticed the same thing. When the temperature was in the lower 20s all four windows would stick and they did not loosen even after driving with a warmed car for 20-30 minutes. And we had a minimal amount of moisture. I did spray the rubber at the bottom of the window with silicon. Maybe it helped some. Other ideas?
 
#4 ·
My brand new limted, v-6, 4wd also has the same problem. The gasket at the bottom of the power windows freezed to the window and won't work. I wait until the car warms up and them clean it with my fingers. I spoke to the dealership and they said it is a problem. I don't think it can be fixed because the seal is so tight.
 
#5 ·
I'm afraid I have similar problems with my side windows freezing up. So much fun at Tim Horton's drive-thrus. And it doesn't even have to be that cold either. Mind you the interior of my RAV4 heats up so fast the the windows free up within 10 minutes or so.

Other cars I owned were not like this. Oh well.
 
#6 ·
Stuck windows

Hello all,

Something you might want to try for this problem. Get some good quality spray silicon (make sure it says safe on plastics!) and spray the rubber seal at the bottom letting it penetrate a minute before wiping excess off.

Then spray the top where the glass goes into with the window down. let dry a minute and wipe excess. This should help quite a bit as any ice won't stick nearly as well. May have to repeat couple times a year as silicon get wiped off.

Probably have to clean the windows when done but they clean up fine from silicon.

See what you think.

Greg
 
#7 ·
Mine hasn't done this, but then I haven't washed it for quite a while, for this very reason.
 
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