Saab window off track

Does anyone know how to fix a Saab passenger window that has come off track? I don’t want to spend $750 again!

Was the window off track the last time it was repaired? $750 for a simple window repair is highway robbery in my book. Have you thought about complaining to the last person who “fixed” the original problem? Let me guess…was it a dealer?

You can get repair estimates from an auto glass repair shop, or a body shop. You won’t have to pay $750 again.

I don’t see how a 750 dollar charge could be accrued for the window simply coming off the track unless there is some of this story missing.
Replaced window regulator with electric motor previously or what?

Thank you. I hadn’t thought of a glass repair place. They’ll fix a window off track?

I have the same problem, and I’ll explain why this repair is so expensive. One of the reasons we love our 9-3’s is the superior side-impact protection in the 2003-on models. It comes at a price. In order to have all of the internal structure that makes the door so intrusion proof, the window regulator is (instead of a traditional roller mechanism) a rather complicated spool-and-cable (think two pulleys) mechanism. The cable, when it goes off-kilter pops off of the spool which is made of plastic (again, no metal to protrude and injure during a crash) and chews the living heck out of it, and the window, lacking support, slips down inside the door. The regulator kit to replace the now tangled cable and the chewed up spool is about $200. It takes your mechanic about 3 hours to drill out the pop-riveted spools, re-route the cable, and reassemble the door, which at $90-$100/hour for a typical SAAB specialist is another $300. If you paid $750, either your mechanic was new to the issue and was billing you for the time he spent learning how to do the repair, or his hourly shop rate is very high. Your best strategy is to find mechanics who have done this repair before, buy your own kit online to avoid the parts markup, and then choose the mechanic who will quote you the lowest overall labor rate for the repair. Until then, you can do what I’ve done to put this off, which is to remove the door panel, put the window in place, and rig up some shims to hold up the window until you can both be without the car and are prepared to pay for the repair. Frustrating? Yes. $750 again? Not necessarily.

The first window we actually took to the dealer–thus the $750. My husband tried to fix the second one himself but gave up so we took it to our regular mechanic who said he would do any kind of service work on a Saab just not any engine work. So he is actually new to Saabs and since he is a GEM he did it for only around $300–he got me a used motor. Saab people, don’t think you have to go straight to the dealer or Saab mechanic for everything! This guy changes my oil too. Your reply was very enlightening. Thanks.

BUMP! Sometimes you can check some part directory like the window regulator… What I mean is if you are not having problems with the window itself then better yet, look for the possible issue… most likely, it will be the window regulator…