rear window goes up super slow when cold

rockwind1

New member
update,, got back home,, pretty warm in the garage,, and now it won't go down very well,, and wont' go up hardly at all. hmmmm

has anyone else encountered this. it only seems to do it when it is pretty cold outside, like below freezing. it will go down fine but not back up. i am not sure if it motor related or dirt related. i have gone down a lot of dusty roads that is for sure. and i don't normal roll it down but a few times the button has been accidently pressed.

when i try to bring it back up,, it goes up very slow for a couple inches and then stops. if i wait a few minutes, it will go up again the same way. sometimes i go back and move it gently or pull up on it. i am not sure if this works.

i am still under warranty but the warranty people said if they find dirt in there , they won't cover the repair.
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
what you are experiencing is likely normal. electronics don't really like the cold. rear window takes a lot of juice and when it's well below freezing the battery just doesn't deliver as much juice as if it were warm, plus that juice has to go a long way back. when it's below freezing, the grease will thicken, adding resistance, if you have a buildup of frost/ice on the window, it will add resistance. the weather stripping will contract and become less pliable, adding resistance. bad news for that heavy rear window. you are more likely to notice this on the rear window because it's heavy, probably 2x as heavy as the others and I THINK uses the same motor assembly.

if your window works fine when it's warmer out and slow in the winter I wouldn't worry about it. in warm weather (freezing or above) my window is about 3.5 seconds down and maybe 4.5 seconds. in really cold weather add about .5-1 second to each of those times, maybe +1.5 seconds on the up. some people might suggest to replace the motor or regulator. sure a new motor and regulator might help. but your vehicle is new, I doubt it's the motor.

try running the rear window deicer for a while to heat that glass and perhaps the weather stripping around it and melt any ice. you should have better performance. but when it's really cold like -40F there's only so much you can do. mother nature and science takes over. it will also be slower when you operate the window from the liftgate with the window off

what you can do when it's warmer is take a long flathead screw driver or something similar, microfibre cloth and clean out deep inside channels along the weather stripping with the cloth over the screw driver. you'd be surprised how much gunk is in there just be careful. then use some silicone dry lube and spray the tracks, run the window a few times and it should be ok. any extra silicone lube will just drip out the drain holes in the liftgate so you can be liberal

edit: If the window is stopping repeatedly and it really isn't that cold out, then something might be up. the reason the window stops is because I think the motor is timing out, maybe it's overheating because of the resistance. cools down, and then starts working again. I would try cleaning and lubing and see if that helps in colder weather first before a motor replacement
 
Last edited:
Seems like a BS excuse from the dealer. It's marketed as an off road SUV and if dirt gets in there and causes a malfunction from "normal" driving (not burying the car in sand) then that's a design issue.
 
I would check your rear window fluid reservoir it may be low....its located right next to the blinker fluid reservoir.
 
what you are experiencing is likely normal. electronics don't really like the cold. rear window takes a lot of juice and when it's well below freezing the battery just doesn't deliver as much juice as if it were warm, plus that juice has to go a long way back. when it's below freezing, the grease will thicken, adding resistance, if you have a buildup of frost/ice on the window, it will add resistance. the weather stripping will contract and become less pliable, adding resistance. bad news for that heavy rear window. you are more likely to notice this on the rear window because it's heavy, probably 2x as heavy as the others and I THINK uses the same motor assembly.

if your window works fine when it's warmer out and slow in the winter I wouldn't worry about it. in warm weather (freezing or above) my window is about 3.5 seconds down and maybe 4.5 seconds. in really cold weather add about .5-1 second to each of those times, maybe +1.5 seconds on the up. some people might suggest to replace the motor or regulator. sure a new motor and regulator might help. but your vehicle is new, I doubt it's the motor.

try running the rear window deicer for a while to heat that glass and perhaps the weather stripping around it and melt any ice. you should have better performance. but when it's really cold like -40F there's only so much you can do. mother nature and science takes over. it will also be slower when you operate the window from the liftgate with the window off

what you can do when it's warmer is take a long flathead screw driver or something similar, microfibre cloth and clean out deep inside channels along the weather stripping with the cloth over the screw driver. you'd be surprised how much gunk is in there just be careful. then use some silicone dry lube and spray the tracks, run the window a few times and it should be ok. any extra silicone lube will just drip out the drain holes in the liftgate so you can be liberal

edit: If the window is stopping repeatedly and it really isn't that cold out, then something might be up. the reason the window stops is because I think the motor is timing out, maybe it's overheating because of the resistance. cools down, and then starts working again. I would try cleaning and lubing and see if that helps in colder weather first before a motor replacement

one thing i found out, is that if the window is down, you can't turn on the side mirror/rear window de-icer
 
one thing i found out, is that if the window is down, you can't turn on the side mirror/rear window de-icer

ya you can't turn them on when the window is engaged. same with rear wiper. if you have them on they will turn off automatically when you open the window. so defrost when the window is up don't try when it's down

I don't think the dirt roads are causing an issue so I don't think you need to worry about that
 
h
i am still under warranty but the warranty people said if they find dirt in there , they won't cover the repair.

How can they tell the difference between trail dirt and street dirt? I'd go to a different dealership. I've encountered some real nasty service writers at Toyota dealerships, so I don't go there anymore.

Check the rubber seal around the window. See if there is any unusual wear anywhere. If so, let the dealership know. The window may not be installed correctly.

There is powdered Teflon you can get or maybe powdered graphite. You can rub that on the seal to smooth it for the sliding glass.
 
How can they tell the difference between trail dirt and street dirt? I'd go to a different dealership. I've encountered some real nasty service writers at Toyota dealerships, so I don't go there anymore.

Check the rubber seal around the window. See if there is any unusual wear anywhere. If so, let the dealership know. The window may not be installed correctly.

There is powdered Teflon you can get or maybe powdered graphite. You can rub that on the seal to smooth it for the sliding glass.

in this case, i only got as far as the extended warranty people, didn't even make it to the stealership. but no doubt the service writers would try something. my local dealership, centennial toyota in las vegas, absolutely ****ed me over last time i went there.

i totally agree with you on the nasty and slimy service writers. they have really taken what used to be an honorable profession and turned it into something really scummy
 
Seems like a BS excuse from the dealer. It's marketed as an off road SUV and if dirt gets in there and causes a malfunction from "normal" driving (not burying the car in sand) then that's a design issue.

i think they tried to scare me off from using the warranty,, i just knew if i took it to the stealership and they found dust, the ext warranty people would try not to cover it and then i would have a huge stealership bill.

in this case, i only got as far as the extended warranty people, didn't even make it to the stealership. but no doubt the service writers would try something. my local dealership, centennial toyota in las vegas, absolutely ****ed me over last time i went there.

i've bought 2 brand new vehicles from those jerks. never again.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
278,312
Messages
3,554,089
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Trending content

Back
Top