Window issues
 

Wondering what my Canadian friends are doing to try to rectify the annoying window malfunctions each morning?

Hopefully by now everyone realizes that when your two window buttons are flashing and the windows aren't cooperating one needs to roll down the window halfway, then roll it back up and continue to hold up for ten seconds. This will accomplish a reset.

I've tried silicone lubricant on the seals and window area to no avail. They seem to stick no matter what with this colder temperature. Any ideas or solutions you've come across?

Thanks in advance.
On another note loving the FRS in winter!

does this only happen because of the cold weather? havent had any window problems, but then its pretty mild in van.

I think we will have to deal with that crap until the temperature settles below zero permanently. You could always park your car with the windows 4-5mm, just to clean the double seal and see if that makes a difference.

No sticking issues yet - although not quite sub zero yet

Yes, the windows freezes against the rubbers seals, the doors also sometimes. You have to tugs the door a few times to get it open.

Ah, being Canadian :bonk:

Yea the slightest hint of resistance to the automatic down prompts the flashing lights and lack of auto up down. Even with scraping the top and bottom before using the handle, the top edge has a tendency to stick slightly..

this has happened with every car I have owned

Im surprised the silicone spray didnt work. You have to leave a significant residue on the rubber. Spray a liberal amount on a microfibre cloth and smear it along...

Glad I'm garaging my baby.

Alberta has the weirdest weather. As I recall there was a blizzard in June in either Calgary or Edmonton 1 or 2 years ago?

petroleum jelly (Vaseline) works on my Accord windows in the winter. The trick was to get enough in the seals that you didn't have to reapply it every couple of days.


- plus unlike a silicone spray, there's no odour.

I think anything petroleum based is going to damage the rubber, just be careful folks!

Rob

There is always a risk.

Silicone is pretty inert wrt rubbers/plastics AFAIK. Perhaps there is a gel textured silicone product in the market.

Here I found this product...http://www.autopia-carcare.com/w-8930128.html

And this...[ame="http://www.amazon.com/einszett-914806-Gummi-Pflege-Rubber/dp/B004B8GTQG/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1351351024&sr= 1-1&keywords=wurth+rubber+care+gel+stick"]Amazon.com: einszett 914806 'Gummi Pflege Stift' Rubber Care Stick - 3.4 fl. oz: Automotive[/ame]

The xB tends to get frozen windows too.

Windows have not stuck yet! Still not cold enough in Toronto!

Someone from Calgary posted pics of his car already covered in a foot of snow :P

This.

Gummipflege is great for restoring dried or cracked rubber, or preventing that in the first place. It won't help a whole lot with the window problem, though. For that you really want to use de-icer. Get it at Canadian Tire or even the corner drugstore or convenience store.

Funny, a guy from northern Cali recommending Canadian Tire.

Don't Judge! :lol: Maybe he likes our Crappy Tire selections...

:bellyroll: People have been known to relocate in the course of a lifetime you know :P ;) I just said Canadian Tire because they carry pretty much everything.

The thought I had was maybe investing in the rain guards that go along the outside of the window. I'm thinking it might help keep the snow off the edge of the window's at the top.

Thoughts?

The issue, atleast in my case, hasn't been the door rubber seals at the top of the glass. Its the window track getting frozen against the top of the door when the window is all the way up. If you stick a thin card down you can feel that the window clamps are right at the top of the door when closed. Most other cars I've owned there is actually 3inches or so of glass inside the door at all times,this car seems to maybe have an inch tops.

Will probably try a couple drops of lock deicer/methanol down the window where the clamps are before trying to open the door.

So when the windows get frozen to the rubber seals, how did you get your door to open? Did you just scrape the ice off and then tug hard on the door? Or is that bad for the windows?

my windows havent frozen to my rubber seals once.
its been -20 here with freeze/thaw as well, the door opens fine, just the window doesnt drop down its normal 1/2 inch into the door. There really arent any clearance issues with that not happening, I just dont close my door hard not close it by pushing on the glass.

This morning it was only -1 and dry, I had difficulty opening the driver's door, and I experienced the same issue with the windows. I got back to my car after work (0 degrees) and the same thing: two window buttons flashing on the driver's side, the windows would not auto-up when the doors closed, and you can't make the passenger window go up or down from the drivers side (you have to use the passenger side switch). I can't wait to see what real winter weather will do.

I picked up some Kleen-Flo Rubber Care at Crappy Tire. There wasn't much to choose from in this category, but it is silicone (and petroleum) free, so hopefully it will do no harm.

I guess I'll find out in the morning if it works or not. My last car had frameless windows as well (Genesis coupe), but I only had issues with the windows once, and that was forgiveable as it was during an ice storm.

Same as RoryTate here: no ice at all at the bottom of the window nor around the rubber seals and the window jammed while auto-lowering. Later up, when the driver side window eventually agreed to go fully down (and then fully up), it looked like the problem was around the rolls guiding the window inside the door. I could physically feel that there was some ice deposit on them (they spinned irregularly) and there were two large watery prints on the glass, with bits of ice in them. It looks like the occurrence of the problem will be quite unpredictable and difficult to relate to weather.

Is there any pro or con to having tinted windows? The tint film might prevent a bit of freezing/stiction?

I recall seeing the moisture on the glass as well. I'm hoping that the trigger was moisture freezing on the weather seal around the top of the window, but only time will tell.

FWIW, I didn't have the issue today after applying the product to the weather seal last night, but it didn't snow or rain in the meantime either.

The most annoying thing for me was that water and ice came from the inside of the door and not from any part of the outside window frame. My feeling is that in addition to an eventual accumulation of ice between the window and the seals, there is a good chance that water freezes in the area of the mechanism itself, with no obvious possibility to get access to it.

Ughhh... Hope mine doesn't do this in the cold now that winter weather has arrived.

is there any solution to switch OFF this "auto -up-down for an inch " window feature?

when the doors are covered with ice, sure they need time to melt it, while you are heating the cabin... so why harsh them with forcing the window to "comfortly"scroll up&down automatically when you open and close the door to start the car?

to keep the windows away from sticking to the cabin rubbers I always used silicone spray and it solved any frameless doors problems in the winter

but in BRZ the windows live their own lifes, scrolling when you havent asked them to

this feature should be ON\OFF-able imho

I have had two new occurrences of windows not going down during the last week and fortunately the glass does not scrape the rubber of the frame of the door. I think that next time I will leave them stuck in that position for the whole winter and not bother with that issue any more.

I would like to point out that every time the window refused to move, it was because of a problem inside the door (probably around the components of the mechanism), never because of glass sticking to rubber. I spent the last five winters with a NC MX-5 and never did the window stick to rubber so I do not expect anything different with the FR-S.

had this issue today, but found the solution in the manual. worked like a charm, thankfully.

I haven't had any window stick issues, but Alaskan winters are VERY dry. A lot of you guys in the Lower 48 get a lot of humidity, so I'm sure that plays a large factor into why your windows stick. I would definitely consider some kind of anti-freeze to spray on the rubber every once in a while.

Sometimes it doesn't have to be humid to make things stick. I remember when my 05 STI's trunk wouldn't latch. I had to blast it with an ice melt spray until it finally unlatched. PITA. Never had that issue with my 01 Impreza RS, 08 Forester or 2011 WRX.

Pretty much all frameless window cars do this now, and none have the ability to turn the feature off that I've seen. There's TONS of mini's on the road, and they all do it so I'm sure there's a solid solution out there if it does become a problem.

Glad you found a solution.Thanks for the info. Are you willing to offer a page number or other hints?

cheers

Well... the solution in the case of the Mini is that it doesn't become a problem. Had a Mini for several years in TO which lived outside year round with never any problems whatsoever in winter.

i don't recall the page off hand, but it's a pretty simple procedure. also the manual confused me a bit as to what exactly it was instructing me to do, but this is eventually what did the trick for me based on what it said:

1. get inside car and close all of the doors
2. turn car to "on" position so you can use the power window controls
3. hold down the window down button (in auto position) until the window comes all the way down and continue holding for an additional 3 or 4 seconds
4. pull up the same button (in auto position) to bring the window up all the way and continue holding for an additional 3 or 4 seconds again after it's reached the top

the window mechanism should have reset itself now and the flashing "auto" lights should have gone away. if not, just try it again, but this worked for me on my first attempt.

What I meant was that if the Mini doesn't have an issue they either have a different material for the seal, or apply a coating that works. If the FR-S/BRZ turns into a bigger issue then Toyota can fix it since other companies have obviously figured it out.

Auto-Up/Down and Passenger Window Not Working

Just to let you know that there's an on-going thread solution for the windows. I've had to reset mine several times this winter, usually after I've left the car running for a long while or have been driving around in the cold for a bit. It bewilders me since it's not like it happens when the car is at it's coldest, so I'm assuming something is thawing and dripping on the controls or something?

remote start, let it warm up. I've never had an issue with the driver's side.

Are there decent remote starts for manuals now? I got one years ago and it sucked horribly. Had to jump through hoops before shutting the car off to make sure it started up when you pushed the button.

Starting to get colder around these parts. Looks like it's gonna dip below freezing in about a week. :(

I'm getting an Aerostar installed on Monday, hopefully. I had to wait for them to release the module for engine start/stop. It'll be an extra $100 because of that tech, and another $100 because of the BRZ being a manual. Grrrr... It'll be worth it, though. It's been ridiculously cold this month, hardly any snow, just ice and frost.

Anyways, I'll let you know how all that works out. I like the quality of work these guys are known for, I've known them for a while. They installed the units on my mom's Envoy and Silverado earlier this year. This'll be my first one after several failed attempts at getting them for my previous 5 Subies!

d'oh! :bonk: