Help with diagnosing automatic window problem.

Hi all,

I have a 2001 Tacoma, and both of the windows have recently stopped working properly. On the passenger side, it was slowing down and getting shaky over time, and then stopped going down all together. When I push the button, there isn't even a clicking sound. Is this the motor? How difficult is it to replace something like this? I have only had my truck for one year, and am brand new to doing repairs.

The driver's side is a different story. A few months ago, I locked my keys in my car and when AAA came to help me out, the technician got his metal rod caught beneath the window down inside the door. It took about 20 mins of violent wriggling and yanking to get it out. I thought about getting his information in case anything was damaged, but it seemed to work alright and I was in a hurry. However, now there is a huge issues. It makes an awful grinding/clicking sound (think a baseball card on a bike wheel, but with the intensity of metal on glass) when it goes up and down. When it is all the way up, I can press the button and it tries to go up father and makes that horrible sound. I can also pry the window down very easily using just my hands.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thank you!

 

Check the switches first. They may have gunk in them and need to be cleaned.

You will need to remove the door panel to figure out what is wrong with the window track / regulator.

 

on my 02 DCSB both of the rear glass guides were broken where the mounting tab is tack welded on the the track frame. The card in spokes sound like the drive motor is skipping on the teeth of the lower/raise mechanism. My advice is to take it all apart, it isnt that difficult. The biggest problem is going to be with the clips that hold the door panel on... Harbor freight sells some plastic pry bars and panel removal tools... if you damage the door panel you are going to be mad, they are not cheap.
At the same time take the outer door handle off and the latch portion that actually keeps the door closed, clean it with a dry chip brush and oil all the moving parts then grease them. Do the same for the horizontal track that the "X" mechanism slides on. While everything is out you can test the motor opperation and if bad you already have it apart. When you are all done and everything is cleaned and lubed you should notice that the outer door handle opens the door really, really easy and the window is much faster up and down. A little silicon lube on the rubber glass guides is a good idea also.

 

CAREFULLY take the door panels off and you should be able to see fairly easily what is going on with the crunch/crack side.. the other door that is silent probably needs a motor. Get your hands on a power probe or multimeter, learn how to use it and then you can check for power and ground at the motor and switches (at both doors)

 

+1 to just removing the panel and taking a look. you'll probably need to buy some extra door retainers to mount the panels back on, they're old and break easily.

Also, if you don't have a multimeter and you're cheap, you can always just use any 2 random wires and a dome light to find power and ground.