Drivers side window dropped into frame while offroading: window regulator bolt vibrated itself loose

Has anyone ever heard of or experienced a window track failure on their 3rd generation due to the front door side window regulator bolt having been vibrated loose from off roading? Truck has 14K on it, is 2 years old built in Jan 2018 and the door panel was never removed.

Had a hard time removing the electrical connector block for the window switches as well. What is the trick in removing that? How does the release work?

While removing the door panel on the trail the 10mm bolt from the front track of the window regulator had vibrated itself loose as it fell out.

Ended up accidentally putting the window down again after the fix during the rain and it popped out again. Need a dry day to check it out but I assume it also won't under warranty since the truck is older than 2 years.

Anyone have any insight?

Also; in case someone ever comes across a loose rubber mold after removing the door panels: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...re-from-the-door-panels.490333/#post-16943564

 

Isn’t the warranty 3 yr 36k?

 

Dealer trip ... since u messed with it hopefully they don’t notice it . Otherwise money out of your pocket .

 

Had to pull the interior moisture door guard so the seal is disturbed and will be noticed. No clue what the warranty is; if its 3years I might get lucky.

It was pouring rain so window had to be put back together and in line.

 

If you take it to dealer just say it was raining and I couldn’t leave it down and damaged the interior. They should be fine with that.

 

Definitely take it to the dealer. Doesn’t matter that you “messed with it.” You we’re trying to get the window back up when it was raining - you didn’t cause the failure. They’d have to claim what you did caused the failure to deny warranty on it, and clearly you didn’t do anything before it broke if the door panel had never been removed.

 

Don't tell them the bolt vibrated out while you were off roading, just say the window fell and you had to fix it.

 

Quoted for emphasis.

 

Yeah this! Don't be stupid!!

 

truck went in today and everything should be covered under warranty. Also noticed a wobble on the idler pulley so we will see. This truck went into the shop at 300miles for some major electrical issue that needed Toyota TAC assistance and got some showroom floor Taco's stripped. So who know which Mexican (Vin:3) Holiday it was built around; will update accordingly tomorrow afternoon.

 

I had that happen to three windows on a Jeep after five years... I figured that was just a Chrysler problem?

 

Apparently Toyota has that issue now as well. Especially since the truck gets barely driven; pretty sure the tech will figure out that this rig gets taken offroad plenty of times also: pinstripes, mobtown skid plate with trail scars, mudd in places only the doctor would look etc.. So offroad or not that thing vibrated loose while driving during a monsoon storm sadly.



At least I had preplanned by having a tarp in the bed of the truck.

 

Watch out they might try to say your in channel vent shades caused it

 

yeah had thought about that channel vent but forgot to remove them all; the rears had 3m tape.

 

Hmmm.. I also have a 18, same color, similar mods, similar mileage, similar pin stripes.. Hasn't fallen down yet. Funny though, I do hear the window "click" when it's partially down. Makes me want to check the window track. But do I have to? It's a Texas truck, not sure if it was built around a Mexican holiday though.

 

That funny click might be the front track bolt being loose. Didn't recall hearing anything click but the truck sits mostly and even had a dead battery some weeks ago. Didn't take any pics as it was pouring down when we found the bolt had dropped after removing the lower panel clips.

 

Update from the dealer was to keep the rental for the weekend as they order parts for the window. Not sure what busted exactly yet; one of the local Taco guys has a rattle in his door which now has him worried its a loose bolt as well.

 

Grabbed the Taco from the dealer today:

They had seen the front window regulator bolt vibrate loose before and affix locktite on every 3rd gen that gets their panels removed. When the bolt vibrated itself loose and dropped the window regular bent itself. So the entire regulator lift assembly had to be replaced under warranty. He had seen two tacomas with that issue so far.

 

This is the only thread I’ve seen with this issue so far. This past Saturday my Tacoma experienced a similar issue. I was leaving my storage unit and rolled down my window, and heard a CLUNK near the end of it being rolled down. Then tried to roll it back up and it is giving me a clanking stutter with no movement from the window. I figured it had popped off the track as well. Finally was able to get an appointment for tomorrow morning, and hopefully it’s covered under warranty as well. It’s brand new 2021 that only has 8,000 miles on it, hard to believe this was a quality control issue from the factory!

 

It's a machine bolted together by humans...and you expect them to build millions of these, with thousands of bolts, rivets, welds, plastic connectors on each unit and never have a single one fail?

One of the best things about owning a Tacoma isn't that it's completely bulletproof and shit never breaks, it's that there are a lot of people that post regularly on enthusiasts forums about issues. These become well known issues and you have the opportunity to take preventative measures. Some misinterpret the information as; these trucks are shit look at all the issues!

Not perfect, not shit. Somewhere in the middle with a very good source for finding and solving known issues.

TLDR: It's a mass produced vehicle bolted together by people that really don't give a shit and are only doing it because they get paid to. You should be surprised that they don't fail more often.