Here's the DIY. I would still watch the video, but the pictures should be enough.
First off, what are we dealing with? You'll notice that your front doors have what looks like a bunch-up of the window runs near the side-view mirrors. When you get your new parts and lay them on the car, you'll notice that, well, that top part is definitely longer than the original...by about an inch!
This freaked me the heck out initially. I thought I had gotten the wrong parts. Now I have diagnosed the root of the problem: the original parts are the wrong size. How this got past Toyota's QC, I do not know.
Here is a picture of the original driver's side in my car showing two "corners"...one molded into the window run itself and one caused by the window repeatedly crushing it into the corner and forming a new corner.
And here's a picture of the same problem in the rear. It's subtle, but that part is too small, and the molded corner is not where it should be.
What do you need to fix it? Read post #8 in this thread. It contains the TSB as transcibed by MasterTechinSTL. Order those parts from people like Gary (Toyotapartsman), or your local dealer.
Also, you'll need these:
-1.5-2 hours of your time
-Flashlight
-Kent Acrysol (You can call the company directly and order it. It is now available in a convenient aerosol can.)
-Clean towel
-Small "electronics" flathead screwdriver
-Philips head screwdriver
-Duct-taped thin flathead screwdriver
-A chair, for sitting in while you work on the inside door panels. Much more comfortable than using the seats in the car.
-(optional) Service manual
-(optional) Magnetic parts tray (I love these!)
Let's start with the front.
Insert your duct-taped screwdriver in between the armrest and the door panel, and pry directly upwards on each end, trying to remove it straight up. Be careful, do not try to twist anything.
Remove the panel containing the power window switch by prying up on the front (picture really isn't the right place to pry from), and then lifting out forward, as there is a claw on the butt end. There are two connectors on the front passenger door, and one connector on all the others.
Speaking of which, disconnect those guys for now.
Use that computer screwdriver to open the little door inside the handle that exposes the screw.
Remove the screws and throw them somewhere safe, like your magnetic parts tray.
The speaker panel is a pain. Pry out as in this picture...
...then sort of lift it out from the bottom. There's a claw in the front corner.
Time to remove the door panel. OK, trust me here: You're better off not using any of those stupid claw things, panel removal tools, whatever. In the front bottom corner of each door, there is a very large tapered gap between the panel and the door. Grab it here and give it a tug.
You'll hear a cracking sound as the plastic clips release. Now continue around the door with your hand and make sure all those clips are disengaged. Then, holding the panel out at a slight angle, simply lift the door up and out of the way, like you are removing a picture from the wall.
Plug the window control back in and lower it all the way.
Double-check that you have the right parts. Please.
Pull the old window run out.
Clean the channel with the Kent Acrysol. Smells like straight methanol, maybe with a little diethyl ether, to me.
Now,
follow MasterTechinSTL's (Toyota's) instructions. Press the window run channel into the corners.
For reasons unknown to mankind, it is far easier to put the outermost (closest to the outer handle) window run in first, then the innermost (closest to the hinge), on all four doors (even though logic dictates that it would be the opposite for the rear doors since the outermost window run has the least surface area in contact with the window). Grab that sucker like this:
And shove it in there.
Push it all the way down. You'll have to temporarily remove the run from the corner at the end to get some leverage on it. The technique for the first (outermost) side is to reach your fingers into the door and pull the window towards the innermost side to alleviate the drag on the window run.
Now for the innermost side, this is where you will want to kill yourself for not taking out the window. In fact, if I had to do this over, I would remove the window, and clean it and the rest of the channel with Acrysol, which makes the surfaces super clean and slick. But I decided to go by the books here.
This is where what we call the "shove" method comes into play. If that window run channel is getting hung up and not going down in for you because it's gripping the window too well, raise the window a few inches, get your hand into the "shoving" position, and shove at the same time you lower the window using the control with your other hand. Trust me, this sucks, and you'll be going about half a centimeter at a time, and the window channel will have a tendency to bunch up instead of going down...but it works.
NOTE: The service manual says to use a trim tool to "seat" double-sided tape at this point. My window run channels did not come with double-sided tape, and only the original fronts had a tiny strip of double-sided tape that wasn't doing anything. I would love it if someone could chime in here.
Once you're done shoving the window run in all the way around, do a thorough visual inspection (flashlight is handy) and put the window up and down several times. Then disconnect the window control panel again and set it aside.
Hang the door panel on the door as if you are hanging a picture on the wall, but with a very slight angle. The top of the door has a lip that the panel seats onto, and you need to shove the panel down onto that. Once it's seated properly, push it into the door (light banging may be necessary) to seat the plastic clips, and reinstall the three screws.
Connect the window control (and lock control, passenger side front). Careful! Put that claw in first before shoving down the window control.
The way the armest goes on best is to tuck the clips in and just push it down straight with two hands:
OK, that little speaker cover is a gigantic pain...one of my least favorite parts of this job. You need to use the exact opposite motion of how you took it out. Examine it and try to slide that claw in the inner-bottom-most corner into place first, then the rest of the bottom, then the top, in one smooth motion. It sucks. Just be patient...it will take a while to get it seated right.
Roll the window up and smile. You have avoided paying someone hundreds of dollars to do this simple job.
Abbreviated instructions for the rear, since it's almost exactly the same!
Remove armrest, remove window control panel, disconnect window control panel, open little door in handle using electronics screwdriver, remove screws.
Grab inside corner of door panel, get it loose, rip it off, reconnect window control panel. Roll down window. Look familiar? I really do wonder just how many of the rear parts are literally identical to the front.
Remove the old window run after verifying that your new part is the right size. I switched to using gloves at this point, as my hands were getting sweaty. I use Microflex Midknight nitrile gloves.
Clean channel with acrysol. Install window run in corners. Shove outermost side in first, then innermost, using the shove method if necessary. Smooth out the top. Move window up and down a few times to ensure it's seated correctly. Visually inspect with flashlight.
For reinstallation of the panel, I'm going to go ahead and say follow the directions for the front. It's literally the same.
Now, do the other side of the car.
After that's done, roll all of the windows down and just go around and make sure everything is 100% seated.
Finally, clean all of the windows. They will be dirty from you grabbing them and trying to shove them in either direction to get the window run channels to go down in the door. I prefer Stoner Invisible Glass. I've used it for years, and it is simply the best.
Enjoy not spending a lot of money to have the dealership do this job, and freedom from rattling, leaking windows. My windows are now nice and tight, and there is a very satisfying "chunk" or "thud" when they close that was never there before.
