velobard

We've noticed the passenger-side front window is rolling up with the rear of the window slightly out of track. It starts right for the first few inches, then rolls up just outside of the track.

I was in a minor accident (brushed against a guard rail) about a year ago and had to have the door handle replaced on that side. Ordinarily it wouldn't cross my mind that it could be associated, but we had massive problems getting the car fixed correctly. The local Honda dealer has an collision center shop that's certified by our insurance company, so we went with them. The first thing we noticed when we picked up the car is the front mudflap is badly misaligned and insist it has to be fixed correctly. That turned into a nightmare of issues. When they tried to deal with the mudflap, they discovered a bracket under the rocker panel had been left completely off. That's when we found out the day we picked up the car, the technician who worked on our car was fired that day. Not only that, but ALL the body shop technicians were fired at the same time, a complete house cleaning. They found various things wrong, from the missing bracket, to multiple fasteners missing from the front bumper, to a rattle at the front (the rubber stops at the front of the hood were screwed in too far, something that should have been touched during the repair), to a mysterious wind noise at the back window (which wound up being the plastic liner under the door panel was left folded halfway back). The wind noise at the rear door was the hardest to find. The car wound up going to the shop five times over a period of about five months before it was settled earlier this year.

In short, we believe that not only was the repair flubbed, but our car was flat-out vandalized by the techs who were fired. We don't roll down the windows much, other than the driver's door, so I'm not positive how long this has been an issue. I dropped by the shop this week to ask what could be causing that. Knowing a little of the history on our ordeal, they agreed to take 20-30 minutes to see what they could find. That turned into more than two hours with three technicians trying to figure out the problem. They tried adjusting guides or whatever else they could inside the door to no avail. At the end they came up with a list of parts they'd like to replace and said they'd see if they could get it included on a revision of the original claim, but I'm not holding my breath. Not only has it been months since the claim was settled, but we changed insurance companies over the summer.

I can't really imagine anyone can diagnose it better than the body shop techs who were inside the door, but has anyone dealt with their window coming out of track like that?

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

Yikes, seems like something you’d have to take up with the body shop. Good luck with all that.

it sounds like the window is coming off it’s track. Usually the whole regulator gets replaced with it.

velobard

I sure hope not, it's not a good time for me right now to find the funds for that repair. The threads I've seen about the window regulator seem to all be about the window not wanting to roll up at all or dropping into the door, so I'm not inclined to think that's the issue.

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

The track and regulator come as one unit. If one of the wheels on the track break or the metal track bar bends in any way, it will cause a similar issues. The issue is the usually the track in my experience. Odds are since the car got hit at that door the track isn’t quite right...

velobard

Ugh, great. Oh well, let's see where this whole things leads. Maybe a miracle will happen and my old insurance company will actually cover it. <Yeah, right.>

The impact wasn't head on into the door, it just brushed against that side of the car, but of course it was a rock solid metal guard rail.

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

Yikes :/ I honestly would consider picking up a used regulator assembly if the insurance angle doesn’t pane out. I know there are a few members on here who can probably chip in with handling the shop/insurance angle.

velobard

Well great, now the problem is escalating. We rolled the window down to enjoy the fresh air while we ate lunch and it wouldn't go up. It would go up a few inches and reverse back into the door. After wrestling with it for awhile I finally got it up again and put masking tape over the window switches to avoid problems until we can get it resloved.

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

You might be able to nab a used one from car-part.com

It might be easier for you to deal with than the insurance considering the stage the window is at.

thoiboi

Body shops TYPICALLY have warranties on their work. Especially when insurance is footing the bill, just take it back. If they give you the run-around just tell your insurance company

velobard

It gets more complicated when the accident happened just over a year ago and the work was called (finally) complete earlier this year, about March or so. IMO this one doesn't fall on the insurance company, it should fall on the body shop that we and the shop both know caused non-accident related issues with our car. Still, I see them trying to deny this is one of the problems they caused.

I consider myself lucky that I was able to finally get the window up last night.