With only 800 miles my drivers side window regulator had the pesty issue with the cable guard tubing (broken); I tried the bandaid fixes posted on these forums but that only lasted for a limited time. Speaking to the Viper Tech today, after it was replaced, he mentioned that they are starting to see considerable Vipers with this issue. In my case I have exercised the up and down button very few times, and it would appear that a fix should have been in order by 09. The flex limits on the cable tubing is almost none existant. At over a thousand dollars a pop (you have to change the entire motor with regulators) this can become a nuissance once warranty runs out. Just want to caution owners to roll windows up & down sparingly.
Window Regulator -GEN 3/4 Archilles Heel
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Chelseasnake
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we might have to go back to the old days when the vipers had plastic windows
C.Hermsen
Enthusiast
Ugh, could've warned me last month!
Haha, just had this issue with mine, however I believe I can fix it myself.
Haha, just had this issue with mine, however I believe I can fix it myself.
Sonoman
Enthusiast
There is a thread or two on repairing those regulators. One other thing to look for is whether the glass is hanging up on the triangular rubber seal at the front lower corner of the window. On some cars, as the window raises the glass misses the slot in the rubber slightly and folds the rubber over on itself for several seconds before it pops into position. This increases the force necessary to raise the window, adding stress to the plastic regulator housing.
If anyone has any busted regulators, send me a PM.
Sonoman: I tried the improvised repairs (that lasted a few tries),mine broke at the bend; I understand it is not the use of the mechanism as much as the tension placed at the bend point of the cable housing. The continued stress at the bend point caused by the two attach points weakens the tube (housing) over time. Final GTS sent you a PM although mine is fixed at the moment with a replacement.
Fatboy 18
Enthusiast
Are there any pics of what the Gen 3/4 set up looks like? Is it different to the Gen 11?
malcoll
Enthusiast
Mine was replaced once under warranty... I have extended to 2013 or 70,000 miles..... I use the hell out of my windows so let's hope the extended warranty pays off!
orlandov10
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My 06 Coupe with 2900 miles had an issue with the smart glass going up too high, it was causing the window to hit the roof. I took it into Greenway Dodge here in Orlando, after working on it they told me it was fixed but the driver side smart glass never worked when it came in... I told them it was working just fine, it was just out of alignment as I watched the smart glass do the 10mm move that morning, later on that day (yesterday) I get another call saying they fixed everything, the tech had the cable too tight so it was binding, thus the reason for the smart glass not working. Last night the wife and I pick up the Viper, she drives it home and she can hear a nasty wind reverberation due to the drivers side window leaking, she tries to roll the window down, it makes a horrible noise and now won't roll up, I think they broke the regulator.
Update
I was correct, the service manager told me "we need a regulator" It broke in the same location as the others in this thread.
Update
I was correct, the service manager told me "we need a regulator" It broke in the same location as the others in this thread.
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HOLLYWOOD1
Enthusiast
Well add one more to the list. It started when I went to close the door and when closing I heard a nasty sound of glass hitting the roof (drivers side toward rear of window). I heard it but I couldn't believe it so I slowly tried closing the door and sure as heck it hit the roof pillar. Well mister fix it here takes the door panel off and partially breaks the black trim piece on top of the door panel. I spent 5 hours trying to adjust the window down just 1/16"......only to find that there is no way the window can be adjusted down even a little bit. I go to crazy glue the black panel where it had split and promptly drop a drip of crazy glue on the panel by the mirror. I take a bit of goof off to quickly wipe the crazy glue drip off and promptly wipe a small streak of the black off the door panel. Now I have a screwed up door panel and to boot a window that still hits the roof. What a bunch of nonsense this has turned into. My car has 12k miles but Dodge should be fixing this problem as it is obviously an inherent problem on every G3/G4. I am going to call them and complain as this ridiculously cheap part has now cost me close to $2K. Great just great...I'm pretty pi$$ed at this situation as obviously an inferior part has been used and really should be replaced au gratis by Dodge themselves. Now I am looking for a new panel for the drivers side and obviously a new regulator which will obviously break again. I was living proof that Murphy s law states "The solution to a problem creates yet another problem" I just was not very lucky with the door panel as it was a tough deal to take it off without at least damaging something......anyway...I'm still ticked about what has happened. The bottom line is you might as well order a new panel with the new regulator as if one can take a panel off...you are extremely lucky as i bet 1 in 10 would be able to pull this off. Any ideas what we should do with Dodge and this problem?
With the Viper community being so small with so much access to Ralph, Herb, and others at SRT how is it that there is not a factory fix for this? We need either a recall or a much cheaper way to replace or upgrade the broken part.
@Hollywood1, That black plastic piece is another well known weakness in the '03-06 SRT. But rather than replace your whole door panel, call paul shauff and get an upgraded door sweep. At $200.00 it's still crazy expensive, but cheaper than a new door panel.
As far as what happened with the superglue. I bet a good body shop could fix that for you without too much trouble.
**********
Anyone have a fix for that rubber window guide problem? I'm good right now but don't want to develop the same problems mentioned here.
As far as what happened with the superglue. I bet a good body shop could fix that for you without too much trouble.
**********
Anyone have a fix for that rubber window guide problem? I'm good right now but don't want to develop the same problems mentioned here.
HOLLYWOOD1
Enthusiast
Thanks so much Sly. Much appreciated. I was thinking I should get another panel as I have to get back into that door to replace the regulator. Stay tuned as the adventure continues....
DeceptioN
Viper Owner
Mine broke 2 weeks after I got mine over a year ago. I've been just ignoring it hoping a recall or real fix comes along. Found replacement regulators for around $500, but seems like a huge waste if it is just going to break again. I bought a $3500 extended warranty when I got my Viper, but apparently it covers everything but the window regulator according to the stealership.
bmw2nv2000
Enthusiast
Complete BULLSH** on dodges part. Lets build a $100k car and if we did something wrong we'll just ignore it. I hope mine hold out I really dont want to drop $1k on a poorly designed regulator knowing damn well it will do it again.
DeceptioN
Viper Owner
It is kinda embarrassing. People come for a ride, and when my window is going up or down at the half way mark I need to either push it down or pull on it about an inch up to get it to catch again. Hate driving what is suppose to be a high quality car and hearing something about my car is 'ghetto'.
ninjakris
Enthusiast
My (new to me) 03 does it as well. I have noticed that if I don't roll the window down the whole way, just low enough to clear the top of the door, it't not as bad. It is a little embarasing when I'm going on base and I have to baby the window down just to show my ID to the gate guards. O well. I plan on doing some dynomat in the doors, so when that happens I will take a look and see if I can do the "fix" I found on this site.
Steve M
Enthusiast
I dread the day that this happens to my new-to-me '08 - coming from a 2002 Camaro, I've fought window motor and regulator problems for many years. I was hoping I bought my way out of having such problems, but I guess not.
I would hope that someone on their engineering staff could set aside at least some time to come up with a fix...I know that doesn't make anyone any money, but you'd go a long way toward making your existing customer base happy, and hopefully keeping those same customers around as you continue to roll out new products in the future. Does this problem ever get addressed at any of the owner invitationals?
I would hope that someone on their engineering staff could set aside at least some time to come up with a fix...I know that doesn't make anyone any money, but you'd go a long way toward making your existing customer base happy, and hopefully keeping those same customers around as you continue to roll out new products in the future. Does this problem ever get addressed at any of the owner invitationals?
garyw1
Viper Owner
Well since were talking this window peoblem just got my Viper last month and a couple days ago noticed as I rolled the window up it jumped out of that rubber guige at the front and just destroyed it. Theres a nice split in that rubber and it jumps off that guide unless I hold it back with my finger untill its in there, however the damage is done, how hard is it to replace that? How about getting that part anyone know where?
malcoll
Enthusiast
What extended warranty do you have? I have a MaxCare (?) and when I had problems with the driver's window making a horrific noise when operating, the dealership replaced it. There should be a recall for this issue...similar to the head gasket issue on the Gen 1 Vipers.........
VIPER PIT
Viper Owner
I have had the same problem with my 99 prowler, replaced both door regulators. Funny how the price went from 320.00 each to over 650.00 each in a couple years. Now we can't get them and are resorting to fixing and reinforcing them with tubing and small hose clamps. They show "backorder" continously when you try to order them. The prowler guys feel the same way, why hasn't this "$!" been addressed by now?
HOLLYWOOD1
Enthusiast
Mine did that also now I have a window filler that has separated from the metal that forms part of that window channel piece. When the window went up slipped onto the wrong side of the channel and separated the piece. From what I saw it takes a couple of screws to take it off but here is the kicker......it looks like that black filler forms part of the front window track.....wonderful, just wonderful. I now have to replace three things now....The regulator, the door panel and now this PITA window track. Not happy at all....I should have just left it alone and lived with the window hitting the body. Just roll the window down a sixteenth of an inch...close the door, then roll up the window. The only problem is that the window must now be rolled down and do not forget to do this, before opening the door..... great a 100K car with crap like this happening. I love the prowler but here we go again another part that is used in god knows how many cars. My solution, would be to somehow eliminate the window dropping down 1/4 of an inch prior to opening the door and just go with a conventional door/window configuration.....if this can be somehow done. I know I dreaming but I can only wish. With each and every one of these cars its not just if it will happen but when it will happen..... trust me the first time your window tags the roof line you will know you are in for a mess.....its just plain ridiculous and Dodge had better own up to this. i wonder if this happens with the corvette guys cars or the Cadillacs?
msaba
Enthusiast
I'm not one to post much but I'll contribute since this thread helped me out.
For the rubber window guide problem, assuming it hasn't been damaged yet, there are two things to try. 1) Lubricate with silicone lubricant. 2) If the window is not slotting into the guide properly, try adjusting the angle of the window. With the trim off, if you look at the door frame where the bottom of each rail ends, there's a black nut + washer. The bolt has a small hex slot on the head. If you loosen the nut a bit, you can adjust the bolt in and out. This adjusts the bottom of the rail in and out and, thus, the angle of the window. I'd make sure to adjust both rails at the same time and only in small increments if you don't want to risk breaking your window.
Now for the regulator, a few additional tips there as well, since that's what I was trying to repair on mine.
First, I had a hell of a time getting the push pins fasteners out on the trim. The manual shows pushing the pin heads in 1/8" will let you pull out the fasteners. I had no luck and almost damaged the trim trying to yank them out. I ended up using a screwdriver to push the pins all the way into the door and retrieved them later when I had the trim off. The fasteners are cheap enough to just replace. Part # 5GC71DX9AA.
My regulator had the same problem with the tubing separating from the plastic elbow. The back of the window was sinking and would judder when I rolled it up (cable was probably snagging at the separation point). We tried following tips from this thread to take out the regulator by rotating it within the door and ended up snapping the tube at a different spot. So we mounted it back up and picked up some polyethylene tubing (1/2" and 5/8" inner diameter) and screw clamps from the local hardware store. We cut about 1 1/2" length of the 1/2" tubing, slit it down the side, and wrapped it around the original tubing butting it up against the neck of the elbow. Then cut about 2" of the 5/8" tubing and wrapped it around the 1/2" tubing and over the neck of the elbow as far as it would go. The clamps went over the now-layered tubing, particularly around the neck of the elbow piece. Make sure the window clears the clamps when it's all the way down. The polyethylene tubing is rigid enough to act as a splint but has enough give to bend a little. It's been holding up for a few weeks now and the window rolls up very smoothly. I can even take it all the way down without issues.
For the rubber window guide problem, assuming it hasn't been damaged yet, there are two things to try. 1) Lubricate with silicone lubricant. 2) If the window is not slotting into the guide properly, try adjusting the angle of the window. With the trim off, if you look at the door frame where the bottom of each rail ends, there's a black nut + washer. The bolt has a small hex slot on the head. If you loosen the nut a bit, you can adjust the bolt in and out. This adjusts the bottom of the rail in and out and, thus, the angle of the window. I'd make sure to adjust both rails at the same time and only in small increments if you don't want to risk breaking your window.
Now for the regulator, a few additional tips there as well, since that's what I was trying to repair on mine.
First, I had a hell of a time getting the push pins fasteners out on the trim. The manual shows pushing the pin heads in 1/8" will let you pull out the fasteners. I had no luck and almost damaged the trim trying to yank them out. I ended up using a screwdriver to push the pins all the way into the door and retrieved them later when I had the trim off. The fasteners are cheap enough to just replace. Part # 5GC71DX9AA.
My regulator had the same problem with the tubing separating from the plastic elbow. The back of the window was sinking and would judder when I rolled it up (cable was probably snagging at the separation point). We tried following tips from this thread to take out the regulator by rotating it within the door and ended up snapping the tube at a different spot. So we mounted it back up and picked up some polyethylene tubing (1/2" and 5/8" inner diameter) and screw clamps from the local hardware store. We cut about 1 1/2" length of the 1/2" tubing, slit it down the side, and wrapped it around the original tubing butting it up against the neck of the elbow. Then cut about 2" of the 5/8" tubing and wrapped it around the 1/2" tubing and over the neck of the elbow as far as it would go. The clamps went over the now-layered tubing, particularly around the neck of the elbow piece. Make sure the window clears the clamps when it's all the way down. The polyethylene tubing is rigid enough to act as a splint but has enough give to bend a little. It's been holding up for a few weeks now and the window rolls up very smoothly. I can even take it all the way down without issues.
...All these broken regulators, and I still havent gotten anyone to actually send one this way for R&D on fixing this problem. Such a shame!
bmw2nv2000
Enthusiast
I promise if I have one go down and have to spend $1k on a new one I will gladly ship you my old one so maybe the next time I wont have to spend the $1k again
