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I have a 2007 Mazda 3 sedan which I bought about a year ago. Everything on the car was great, until the weather started to get hotter when the windows would sometimes take a moment to "unstick" if you tried to lower them.

Now, the car has after-market tinting on the windows (it was fitted prior to my purchasing the vehicle), and on a particularly hot day about three months ago, both of the rear windows just wouldn't go down any more. I didn't have time to bother with it, but when idly pressing the button one cooler day, one of the rear windows gave a bit of a "pop!" and let go. It's been working just fine ever since.

You can hear the electric motor trying to work when you press the button, and at night you can see that it's drawing power because the headlights dim slightly if you happen to be waiting at traffic lights. I never hold the button down for more than a few seconds for fear of burning out the electric motor. I've had a pretty concerted effort at trying to pull down on the window with my palms while pressing the button but to no avail.

I'm certain that the issue is that the heat has just caused the tinting to stick to the window seal. Can anyone think of how I could get the window seal to "unstick" from the tinting?

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    you could try using a heatgun on the molding and see if the window will unstick.
    – Ben
    Commented May 7, 2016 at 13:57
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    @Ben I don't have a heat gun, but I do have a hair dryer. Would that be worth a go?
    – Jane S
    Commented May 7, 2016 at 21:43
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    @JaneS - Absolutely.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented May 7, 2016 at 21:43
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    have you tried sliding something in between the glass and the seal?
    – Erik vanDoren
    Commented May 10, 2016 at 15:06
  • @ErikvanDoren No, I haven't. What would you suggest? Something plastic and flexible, as to not scratch the tinting or damage the seal?
    – Jane S
    Commented May 10, 2016 at 21:39

2 Answers 2

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More than likely the problem is the window motors are going bad. Most have a thermal switch in them (sort of like a resettable fuse) which will stop the motor from working when a heat threshold has been reached. There are several factors which cause this, including the grease thickening in the gears as it gets older. I've seen this in many different vehicles. During the cooler times, the thermal switch is not tripped so the window will still roll up and down. I realize replacement of the window motors is not a cheap thing, but would bet this will solve the issue.

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    This is no doubt the longer term solution, but I'm hoping I can get a bit more life out of them once I get them unstuck then before going for the nuclear option :)
    – Jane S
    Commented May 7, 2016 at 21:41
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    Sometimes disassembling the door and replacing the grease inside the gearmotor and adding lithium grease to the window regulator can help squeeze a little more life out of them if you'd rather spend time than money on this problem.
    – Edward
    Commented May 10, 2016 at 17:42
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    @JaneS Great use of 'nuclear option'
    – DucatiKiller
    Commented May 10, 2016 at 22:48
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    @DucatiKiller I'm a pacifist, but I'm getting close to DEFCON1 with this window!!! :) One of my kids is teasing the other because her window works...!
    – Jane S
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 0:14
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    @JaneS If you've got moderate mechanical skills, patience and some simple hand tools (hex wrenches, screwdrivers, needle-nose pliers) you can probably do this. I'm betting most of us here learned as we went, acquiring skills as necessity dictated. If you're even 30% inclined to try it, I say go for it! Even if you find you're unsuccessful, you're no worse off if you do wind up paying someone to fix it.
    – Edward
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 1:25
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Pull down on the window with open hands or a big suction cup while someone operates the window switch, once it unsticks roll the window down all the way, then liberally spray the window channel rubbers with a high quality Silicone Spray. Let the spray dry then roll the window up and down several times.

Depending how dry the channel rubbers are how many times you will have to repeat this process to keep the windows from sticking. Also this should become part of your annual car maintenance.

If there is tint glue oozing out from the edges of the tint, you will need to remove and replace the tint before you roll the window up tight again.

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  • The problem is that I can't roll the window down. It's stuck! :)
    – Jane S
    Commented May 7, 2016 at 21:42
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    Sometimes "massaging" the seal (pushing it with your fingers to slightly deform it and get it unstuck) will help. Another benefit of using silicone spray on the seals is that it also helps with the other temperature extreme of freezing weather.
    – Edward
    Commented May 10, 2016 at 17:58
  • I've tried pulling down the window with open hands while my daughter operated the switch but to no avail. I will try again, or the suggestion of sliding something between the tint and the window seal made in comments on my question. I don't recall seeing glue beyond the edge of the tint before the window stuck, but it's entirely possible.
    – Jane S
    Commented May 10, 2016 at 21:42
  • @Edward Oh, good suggestion! I'll try that!
    – Jane S
    Commented May 10, 2016 at 21:42
  • @Edward I tried that, and also sliding a plastic ruler in between the seal and the glass (on both sides), but unfortunately it didn't work :(
    – Jane S
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 4:52

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