I am reliably informed that this is an imperfect world. I offer yet more proof of this in the form of the Cadillac CTS' rear-window operation -- or lack thereof.
At first I thought it was due to the punishing cold. Sometimes windows stick to the seals until they get warmed up and the electric motors don't have the juice to bust them free. That the rear side windows responded sometimes in the deepest darkest cold night but ignored my request once the cabin was warmed up blew a hole in that theory. Sometimes the windows rise, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they make a clicking sound but no motion and sometimes they do nothing at all.
It looks like the fault is in the driver's side door switches, because the windows usually respond to the rear door window switches.
With the CTS going home to California next week and since it doesn't make the car dangerous to drive in anyway, we'll probably just wait until we get back to LA to have them looked at. --Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit at 20,760 miles
benson2175 says:
08:58 AM, 01/ 6/09
Those windows, at least in my car, get opened so rarely that it wouldn't be worth the bother to fix it. I say that because one of those windows in my Mercedes stopped working (just clicking) and I'm not bothering to fix it. So before people jump on GM quality it can happen to any car. Mind you my Mercedes has 13 times more miles than this car.
GT5000 says:
09:26 AM, 01/ 6/09
How did you ever figure this out? If I were in temparatures that low the last thing I would be doing is playing with the windows.
limeman says:
09:30 AM, 01/ 6/09
My good friend's BMW 3 has lost all 4 power window motors, one after the other over a period of 5+ years, the first one giving it up at just 9 months of ownership. The other 3 she had to shell out for at a cost of nearly $1200 each. I hope Edmund's Caddy CTS doesn't follow suit in the coming years, but this does indeed happen to even the "best" of cars. I'll be curious to read about the diagnosis of the CTS once it arrives back home in Santa Monica.
ken428 says:
09:33 AM, 01/ 6/09
If the windows have a tendency of sticking, you may be reaching the limit of the motor's capability to "break the ice." Every time you are hitting that switch, you may be stalling the motor. Are they One touch down windows?
dougtheeng says:
09:54 AM, 01/ 6/09
The window motors should have overload protection, so they don't burn out or stall when trying to move a frozen window.
roadburner says:
10:03 AM, 01/ 6/09
"My good friend's BMW 3 has lost all 4 power window motors, one after the other over a period of 5+ years, the first one giving it up at just 9 months of ownership. The other 3 she had to shell out for at a cost of nearly $1200 each."
Wow, that mechanic must have seen her coming. The OEM BMW motor and regulator for an E46 together cost less than $200 for the front windows and @$165 for the rear glass. If it happens again tell her I'll fix it for $600...;) I had the RR regulator die on my wife's E39 5er after eight years and 130,000 miles. I was too busy to fool with it so my indie shop replaced it for $380.
greenpony says:
10:26 AM, 01/ 6/09
"How did you ever figure this out? If I were in temparatures that low the last thing I would be doing is playing with the windows."
Some people are fidgety and like to play with things. I bought a beater once, knowing that the passenger window motor was out. When my brother drove it one winter day, he decided he didn't trust the previous owner. The window opened just fine... it just didn't close again.
estreka says:
12:57 PM, 01/ 6/09
In most cars, this is a pretty easy fix. I replaced the passenger motor in my '89 Pathfinder twice, the passenger motor in my '97 Accord once, and my buddy's '01 Protegé on both sides. You just need some basic tools, a flexible wrist, and some caulk.
jdub53084 says:
02:27 PM, 01/ 6/09
If it were 120 degrees and the CTS didn't have A/C I might have noticed. Considering the miserable cold here in MI, I haven't had much use in opening any window in any car, let alone the rear.
toyota4life says:
02:27 AM, 01/ 7/09
So thats what an American "LUXURY" sedan's interior looks like ,yikes!!!
ken428 says:
06:00 AM, 01/ 7/09
dougtheeng,
Unless they are smart window motors (hence why i asked if they were auto up/down) its is possible for the motors to stall when they are stuck. It may not burn out the motor, but it can overheat causing the intermittent operation that Dan is noticing.
cartester16 says:
09:01 AM, 01/ 7/09
limeman & roadburner...you ought to know that the 3-series window REGULATORS fail, not usually the motor. The regulator can be fixed with a zip tie & 45 minutes of minimum-skilled labor. It's just a rivet that comes loose. I've done it on both front windows and they've worked just fine since...total cost: about 10 cents. Please mail me a check for 1199.90 next time you fix it! :) Sadly, this affliction also pervades VW and Audi regulators, but can be fixed the same way. It's sad that it happens in a 40k car, especially since power windows have been around for more than 50 years! Oh well...
roadburner says:
05:22 PM, 01/ 7/09
I know; my point was that the dealer was still making at least $1000 even if he replaced the motor AND the regulator. You may be interested to know that a similar fix works on the 1966-1975 E10s. Some things never change...
stingray454 says:
09:07 AM, 01/ 8/09
" Sadly, this affliction also pervades VW and Audi regulators, but can be fixed the same way. "
Must be a German car thing. My '96 Ford Contour SE also developed a bad window regulator around 100k miles. Most of that car was designed in Germany by Ford of Europe (Mondeo), and it had a Bosch power window motor made in Germany.
From what I recall, I had to replace the motor too, because Ford only sold the regulator assembly with the motor attached as one unit.
roadburner says:
10:16 AM, 01/ 8/09
Ford NA combined parts assemblies on the Merkurs as well. If the rubber driveshaft coupling wore out on your Scorpio Ford NA would only sell you an entire driveshaft assembly- even though the coupling was available as a separate part in Europe. A great way to destroy customer goodwill in the interest of making a few extra dollars.
70ss454_man says:
08:54 PM, 01/ 8/09
It's weird to read about bad windows.
None of my vehicles have had a window go bad, ever. Some with 200k+ miles
MS3lvr92 says:
08:21 AM, 01/ 9/09
Maybe it will go back to normal once you move it back to soCal... Be happy that Oldham is bringing you the X5.
rustyshepherd says:
06:53 AM, 07/11/09
Because the windows sometimes click, it's not the driver's switches since they would have to be sending current to the window motor for the click to occur.