Nice work :thumbsup:
Adding to the DIY repair/info sticky

 

Wow that was quick.

 

Great write up Frog!
--AV

 

Hey Frog, how was the lubricant situation for the rotor shaft bushings?

 

It really wasn't too bad. As long as you don't touch it too much you shouldn't have to re-lube. I thought about spraying some lithium grease in there but I don't know how it will react with the existing lube.

 

I will be doing this on Saturday - GREAT POST!

Is there any issue with window position or timing of the motor and window assembly?

Did you pull the motor with the windows up or down?

 

I rolled them down because I didn't want the glass to unexpectedly slam down and shatter in the door. After I got the glass removed and the motor and regulator out of the door I hooked everything up (Switch/Motor) so I could clock the arm to the right position to get the motor off.

 

Would it be possible to do it without removing the glass? I'd rather not hassle with that if I don't need to.

 

Rear doors yes but the front doors you have to take the glass out. I just ended up putting it in the back seat or the rear cargo area.

 

Yes, you'll need to remove the speaker from the front door along with the plastic. Re-connect the switch and lower the window until you can see the front bolt for the window. Remove the retaining bolts from the window and lift it out while rotating it just slightly so it comes out of the tracks. Then just put it somewhere safe from kids or critters. From there removing the motor and regulator are pretty straightforward.

 

I was able to do the front and rear without removing the glass. A couple of bungee cords and a piece of wood for a wedge worked to hold it up (I made sure nobody got near it to mess with it.) I'm not sure if that was the best way, but it's done and both windows are working like a charm.

The actual dis-assembly and repair of the motors took about 10 minutes. It was getting to them that took awhile. I ended up fixing both passenger side windows in about 3 hours. Made sure to soak the tracks with silicone spray - I'll try to do that to all the windows once a month from now on.

I did find that the solder did not want to flow between the 2 plates easily - it wanted to flow down the outside of the plates which is a "no no" since that makes them too thick to fit back in. Instead, I used a bit of thin wire laid on the end of the plates (in the same direction as the plates) and soldered that between them. It held the solder better.

Other than that, your instructions were right on! Thanks for the great posting with all the photos! You da man!

 

It looks from your time stamp that you worked until midnight? I thought I was among a few who started projects at 9:00pm. Congrats on the successful fix!

 

I thought I was among a few who started projects at 9:00pm

:lol: your not alone. I have a bad habit of starting something at 10-11 at night and working late into the night.

 

Has anyone tried silicone grease instead of spray in the window guide channels? I wonder if it would coat better and last longer?

 

what years Toyotas were/are affected by this? and has toyota fixed it?

japanese built or american built windows?

 

Mine is American-built, but I'm not sure that makes a difference. I believe it is the whole first generation 2001-2007 from what I've read.

I don't know if it has been fixed on the new model Highlander.

 

if you buy a replacement window regulator does the problem go away are thye made without the bad part

 

Only if the regulator includes the window motor. Toyota OEM motors have this problem. I'm not sure about aftermarket motors.

 

I'm pretty sure this will affect all of the motors on the market. OEMs will build off of Toyota's original design. They may use better thermisters now a days but the problem may show up later down the road. Aftermarket motors are likely going to be the same design made with cheaper components. Rarely does anyone ever truly improve on the original design and bring it to market.

As for my HL's origin, Japan. Driver's front window failed within the first 3 years and both the driver's switch cluster and window motor were replaced. I also suspect the rear driver's door window motor was replaced as well since it still works properly.

 

You could always hope an aftermarket maker wants to save a couple of cents on each one and leave out the thermistor.

The funny thing on my HL is that both the driver's side windows have been fine. My wife usually drives the car and hates the windows down. The drivers window gets the most use but hasn't failed. I wonder if it's because using the window more keeps dust and gunk build-up out of the tracks? Then again, it could be just dumb luck...

 

Although manufacturer lit avoids discussing, PTC's can apparently fail by being operated near their trip points repeatedly; i.e. maybe the extra current pulled from window motor when glass drags in the channel. Seems the PTC's heat up and the polymer reaches a plastic state between melted and solid, but never reaches the runaway trip point. Eventually the polymer structure never quite re-forms correctly and the resistance increases past rated values.

In a window motor, the PTC wouldn't be designed to trip unless overloaded glass friction, binding, obstructions, button being help up or down after window reaches travel limit.

 

In a window motor, the PTC wouldn't be designed to trip unless overloaded glass friction, binding, obstructions, button being help up or down after window reaches travel limit.

I agree with that since when my windows were failing, you could hear the motor run more smoothly and for a longer time after spraying the rubber window channels heavily with silicone spray.

I suspect most failures on these are due to extra friction from debris build-up over time in the window channels causing binding.

Your other comment about PTC's failing after normal use is completely in line with what I have seen from working in electronic repair for many years.

 

Just a little update: This fix is still working two years later without any slowdowns or chopped off fingers

 

The fix worked well for a couple of years, but my rear window no longer rolls down. I suspect the motor has finally frozen up but I haven't had time to dig into it yet. The front window with the same fix is still running strong.

It seems to me that the windows that get used more last longer (my wife hardly ever rolls her windows down - she'd rather use the AC than have fresh air blow thru the car.)

 

I had a rear window that wouldn't roll down a few months ago. It ended up being the glass that was stuck to the seal lip at the top of the door. After spraying with silicone and using my hand to push it down while operating the switch, it finally broke free. Been fine since.

 

I'll give that a try. If it works, it's a lot easier than taking the door apart!

Thanks for the tip.

 

How-To: Fixing windows that "Run out of Juice"

My passenger front window started to have this problem recently.

Finally had a chance to fix it today.

Some of the pics of the reassembly looked a bit different. Like the golden spiral thingy was inside the metal housing the entire time. Wasn't sure what the point was to be out like in one of the pics.

Anyways, I'm curious how were you able to tell that the two metal pieces were separate?? To the naked eye, it looked like they were already bridged.

Well, thanks a lot for this guide. I've fixed a few things thanks to this forum. My parents are the original owners to their 2001 Highlander V6 Limited. Currently only at 125,000miles and running strong.


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Hi froggman, did your fix on daughters 01 highlander, didn't have running out of juice syndrome but does have problem i'd like to run by you. Window goes up, won't come down. day or two later will go up but not come back down. Have taken apart and reassembled 10 times at least, only way I can get it to go up or down once. Motor runs full cycle from switch harness, up down, stop in cycle, no load. Cleaned regulator, tracks, glides relubed reg. tracks and glides with lithium and window tracks with silicone. Friends of my daughter have taken apart and detached windown from reg. in order to prop up window on several occassions. I have tried what I've said since her friends emegency efforts. Has had this problem for almost two years. Thanks

 

Help with this one please

We have been having this intermittent issue for a couple years with left front 2007 Highlander Hybrid. In the summer it doesn't happen, but in the winter it does. I am thinking that its the rubber creates more friction when it's cold. Regardless, does anyone have a guide to removing the door panels, getting the regulator out, etc.?

Thanks in advance!
Patrick

 

Sorry to bring up such an old thread, wanted to give an update on my trial to this fix.

Thanks again to @Froggmann for this DIY, this worked great for almost 3 years with my '01 HL. I still knew this was a temporary fix as you do bypass an important safeguard on the motor: which is the thermo-resistor. Some may get away with it for longer, but I don't always ride with the smartest of people nor do I always remember to remind them.

With that said, didn't catch my nephew playing with the switch until I noticed my window stopped working completely. Thankfully it was in the closed position.

Motor was fried, all plastic internals melted:



Magnets and shaft itself were okay though:



Dealer wanted $350 for a new motor assembly, ebay has 'em for $150 new OEM, decide to cheap it out and try a brand new generic one for $50. Car is rusting away from all panels so I'm not throwing anymore cash at it.

Wanted to post this to show what could happen if you are not careful, which Froggman makes very clear, no blame to him. Luckily I caught it before any more damage could have happened such as a fire or short. It's not the best way to fix the window but cost me nothing to try so I did it, too bad it backfired on me later on.

 

I didn't want to start a new thread.

my driver window motor runs out of juice.

Will the anti-pinch feature work when the ptc is bypassed?


also, I'm wondering why this guy's fuse blades didn't trip when his motor got abused?

I'm just about ready to solder my ptc plates and buy a bunch of 25a 20a blade fuses off ali/temu for under $2.

I was thinking I would be safe with the regular fuse in the car in case the window motor overheated?

Sorry to bring up such an old thread, wanted to give an update on my trial to this fix.


Motor was fried, all plastic internals melted:

 

I didn't see horrible deformation. What I do notice is that the brushes are worn down to nothing, where they may have stopped making contact with the rotor commutator.

Your nephew may have just accelerated the inevitable.

 

another one of my windows is failing with the thermal fuse.

It's preventing me from resetting my windows auto up/down after battery disconnection.

For the window reset procedure, if I open the window all the way and hold the switch for 5 seconds, the window motor dies on the way up.
So I don't have enough juice to roll the window up and hold 5 seconds to finish the initialization procedure.

I guess I'm gonna have to bypass this ptc too to get auto up/down to work.

 

2025 with a 1999 RX300. This fix still works. Great write up.