Loud screeching/scraping noise from window

[analogman]

The power window on the passenger side makes a horrendously loud screeching/scraping noise when it goes up. It's quiet going down, and doesn't make the noise going up when it's raining and the window is lubricated with water. But when it's dry, the screeching noise it makes is loud enough to rattle your teeth. It sounds for all the world like a nail scraping on a chalkboard. It also leaves prominent (vertical) streaks in the middle of the window, a section about 8"-10" wide (where I assume it's scraping against something in the door). I know it probably won't break the window, but it's so loud and piercing that it sure sounds like it could.

I took it to the dealer today and they told me the window gasket is worn/dried out and needs to be replaced. They commented how the gasket gets dried out from the sun. Granted, my car is 4 years old, but it only has 6500 miles, and has always been garaged and under a car cover - and lived in Portland Oregon where there are about 3 sunny days per year.

Has anyone else experienced this? If you have, have you found any solutions (other than the $300-ish dollars it will cost to replace the gasket)? I don't want to just 'lubricate' it with WD-40 or any other 'lubricant', because it will then forever smear the window. I'm disappointed and annoyed that a window gasket would wear out that quickly. I've experienced this kind of thing on 30 year old cars, but not on a garage kept 4 year old car with 6500 miles.

Thank you!

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[mc68386]

Is $300 the dealer quote with labor, or just the gasket part price? Hopefully just the part is much cheaper.

If you're at all handy you could pop the door panel off and see what's going on. With a little luck, you could order a part and do the fix in an afternoon. Or maybe you'll find there's a rock or a chunk of metal in there causing problems, and make a free fix.

My old BMW 330i had window problems pretty regularly, so I got good at fixing them myself with a $100 part.

The power window on the passenger side makes a horrendously loud screeching/scraping noise when it goes up. It's quiet going down, and doesn't make the noise going up when it's raining and the window is lubricated with water. But when it's dry, the screeching noise it makes is loud enough to rattle your teeth. It sounds for all the world like a nail scraping on a chalkboard. It also leaves prominent (vertical) streaks in the middle of the window, a section about 8"-10" wide (where I assume it's scraping against something in the door). I know it probably won't break the window, but it's so loud and piercing that it sure sounds like it could.

I took it to the dealer today and they told me the window gasket is worn/dried out and needs to be replaced. They commented how the gasket gets dried out from the sun. Granted, my car is 4 years old, but it only has 6500 miles, and has always been garaged and under a car cover - and lived in Portland Oregon where there are about 3 sunny days per year.

Has anyone else experienced this? If you have, have you found any solutions (other than the $300-ish dollars it will cost to replace the gasket)? I don't want to just 'lubricate' it with WD-40 or any other 'lubricant', because it will then forever smear the window. I'm disappointed and annoyed that a window gasket would wear out that quickly. I've experienced this kind of thing on 30 year old cars, but not on a garage kept 4 year old car with 6500 miles.

Thank you!

 

[analogman]

The gasket alone is $215, plus one hour of labor to install (which I'm assuming is going to be around $60-$80). I've looked at the gasket pretty closely. I can't see any debris, and it does seem hard, but I didn't pay close attention to it when I picked up the car new, so have no basis for comparison.

The gasket doesn't feel like actual 'rubber'. It's probably some sort of miracle Chinese polymer that's even cheaper than rubber, and intended to last just long enough to make it through the warranty period.

In any case, it's annoying to have this happen to a 4 year old car. It also doesn't exactly instill confidence in how the car will hold up over the long run. If Ford chose to save what was probably literally a few cents on the window gaskets, what other cost-cutting will rear its ugly head on bigger things?

 

[mustang_puppy]

Mine does that and it acts as you describe: screechy when dry, smooth when wet. $215 for a gasket?? What the f(ruit)! Good window operation wasn't part of the dealer's trade in inspection?

 

[analogman]

I just had it replaced yesterday, after running out of ideas and attempts for a home-brewed solution (other than either not put the passenger side window down, or only drive in the rain). The cost was $215 total, including both the window gasket part ($115) and labor.

I examined the gasket they took off. It's not made of "rubber", at least not the kind I think comes from any tree. It's a very hard material, like hard plastic, with very little give. I'm sure it's some kind of miracle cheapo polymer from China (maybe Getrag threw it in as a freebie along with the MT82 transmission). Being so hard, I can see how it would cause the screeching/scraping noise from the window rubbing against it.

In my car, it was so bad that it left slanted vertical marks on the window glass itself! I got them out with some fine polishing compound (the kind I use on headlight covers).

It didn't start making the noise until recently, 4 years and 6,500 miles after buying it. I imagine the lifespan of a part like this is time and not mileage dependent. But it still really annoys me that Ford would cheap out on a part like this so that it wears out after only 4 years. How much could they have saved compared to using a more conventional, higher quality material? Literally a few pennies?!?!

 

[Teddie]

I have this issue as well with pretty low miles on my 2016 vert. The screeching issue was also accompanied by my window doing the short-drop constantly if rolled all the way up. Really annoying. Did the gasket that they pulled out look like it was something that could be conditioned or fixed (without replacing) for the diy type guy?

 

[analogman]

You can always try slathering the gasket with something, but I suspect any kind of liquid or lubricant would end up smearing on the window and making a mess. I once had a VW Beetle that had a similar noise problem (but nowhere near as loud as the Mustang did). I was able to reduce it for a while with talcum powder rubbed into the gasket, but it got messy in the rain and ended up washing away after not very long.

The weatherstripping material in the Mustang didn't look 'porous'. It looked like a hard plastic-like material. I don't know how well it would absorb anything you might put on it.

Good luck!

 

[Einstein_nikola]

I have this issue as well with pretty low miles on my 2016 vert. The screeching issue was also accompanied by my window doing the short-drop constantly if rolled all the way up. Really annoying. Did the gasket that they pulled out look like it was something that could be conditioned or fixed (without replacing) for the diy type guy?

Same!!! My windows go down by them selfs some times when i commanded them to go up, does that happen to you still?

 

[Lime1GT]

Same!!! My windows go down by them selfs some times when i commanded them to go up, does that happen to you still?

It's a bounce back feature that occasionally has to be reset. Read your owners manual, under "windows" and follow the procedure.

 

[Dana Pants]

Clean the window with a razor, wipe down with some eagle nanowax, roll up and down a few times, problem solved. I hade the same problem with my wife’s car and this solved it.

 

[PorscheHusky]

I just had it replaced yesterday, after running out of ideas and attempts for a home-brewed solution (other than either not put the passenger side window down, or only drive in the rain). The cost was $215 total, including both the window gasket part ($115) and labor.

Do you recall what the P/N is? I'm having the same issue :(

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