Drivers (electric) window shudders/sticks/grabs when rolling down. Have sprayed the weatherstrip/felt, but to no avail. Had problem years ago, and the dealer fixed it, but it’s out of warranty now…
Any suggestions?
What substance are you spraying?
Years ago, I had to regularly lubricate the driver’s side window of a friend’s Maxima by spraying silicone into the door channel. It worked… for at least a few months… and then I would have to repeat the “treatment”.
+1.
If silicone lube doesn’t make the window move smoothly, it might be the regulator or motor. You could take the door card and door plastic shield off and look at the regulator as you roll the window up and down. If the regulator seems to be sticking, try lubing it. If that doesn’t work, you might need a new regulator or motor. I’d buy them as a combination. I’m sure the Ford units are several hundred dollars. You can get aftermarket parts, but they can be problematic. When I had these problems on my car, I found that the premium regulator/motor from Dorman worked well. The non-primo Dorman regulator didn’t fit well and it took over a half hour of fidgeting to finally get it to fit. The Dorman for my 1998 Regal was a bit less than $100, but it’s been almost 10 years since I bought one.
My guess is the electric window motor is balking b/c some part of the window’s up/down mechanism has become stubborn. The mechanism’s lube has probably dried out. I have two older vehicles, both with manual windows. About every 5 years I have to remove at last one of the door cards and lubricate the mechanism in order to get it working smoothly again. I recently did this job for my truck’s driver side door and the difference in ease of operation rolling the window up and down was quite noticeable. Took less than 15 minutes.
This same problem happens with automatic garage door openers. Folks think the problem is the motor, but it’s actually the door mechanism is sticking.
Yeah, 22 years is about time for the driver’s window motor and/or regulator to wear out.
You likely need to re-grease the window guide channels. The rollers ride up and down these channels as the regulator operates. The grease gets old and dried out. You may need to clean the channels before regreasing. Then run the motor and make sure the cables are running smooth as well.
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On my truck it was the regulator’s cross-pivots that were sticking. The regulator mechanism contains a bevy of X-looking gadgets; at each the point where the two lines of the X cross there’s a pivot.
Mr @TwinTurbo stole the words from my mouth yet again… The window guide channels often have old remnants of white lithium grease in them that has turned into a fudge or glue like substance from age. It is amazing how well your windows will move after cleaning those channels of all grease and re greasing with new… Works like a charm.
Another thing to do that I have been doing since I did my first window tint job back in high school… when you have the window out… Apply some good car wax to the inside and outside of the glass… maybe even do it twice. The glass will then slide even better after this. Its a time tested trick that works.
I have to try this. Bet it would help prevent glass freezing to the weather stripping too. 
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It surely does @TwinTurbo … Just waxing the inside and out alone will speed up the window movement on its own even without window track intervention…but doing both is the way to go. Not to mention its other side benefits that you mention about the glass / weatherstrip relationship.
I’ve been waxing my windows for decades on every vehicle I have ever owned and have always tried to pass it on…but people just sort of give me that nervous sort of placation smile and back away slowly looking for an exit sort of thing. Oh well, I’m used to it…LOL It makes a big difference …no doubt about it.
Wouldn’t applying wax to the glass cause a glare or halo artifact in night driving?
Nope… Maybe if you didn’t get all the wax off maybe? Never had an issue…and the windshield is not included in this scenario… I only wax moveable glass…doors… etc
I must be missing something. If you got all the wax off , wouldn’t that have the same effect on the window’s smoothness of operation as not applying wax at all?
Perhaps I didn’t phrase that correctly @George_San_Jose1 my apologies. If you didn’t apply the wax then let it dry…and then wiped the wax off with a dry cloth… You know…as you do when you wax something… “Wax on…Wax Off” before you know it you will have nice slippery windows…and know Karate.
The condition you are describing would result from Stripping the wax chemically… so you were technically correct if that were the case…
OK, I understand now. Thanks.
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