When I bought my Scion xA, the driver’s side window began sliding into the door on the second day after the purchase. Upon inspecting it later, I discovered that the glass had slipped out of the two “holders” that it fits into on the scissor lift inside the door. Apparently, the guides are so tight on the glass that when the mechanism tries to pull the glass down, the glass eventually slips out of the holders as they descend.
To remedy this, I unbolted the two holders, pulled and scraped out the old epoxy glue and applied new glue rated for this exact purpose, being sure to follow all instructions. We squished the window into the gluey holders and rolled it all the way up and left it like that for about 10 days before using the window. After about 10 ups-and-downs, it slipped out again.
I was considering using the glue that comes with a rear-view mirror glue kit. That glue somehow permanently affixes the mirror’s metal mounting plate to the windshield and will not loosen even in extreme heat. I researched drilling holes in the glass (to bolt it to the holders), but discovered that holes cannot be drilled in tempered glass - the glass will shatter (nevermind the fact that drilling glass is very hard to do). I might look at one of the other doors in the car - none of those windows are having any problems. Does anyone have any alternate suggestions?
Parts Blow-Up!
I may or may not know what I’m talking about.
It sounds like we’re talking a used car, right? Maybe the former owner glued it, too. Have a parts person at the Scion dealer show you the “blow-up” of the glass and window regulator (you called it scissors). I have’nt done one for a long time, but there maybe is a rubber piece that fits over the glass and very snuggly into the piece that you are trying to glue, the lift channel, I believe. Glue may not be the factory installation. I have seen the rubber piece used and the channel&rubber have to be carefully malletted onto the glass. I’m not familiar with Scion.
You also may have a problem with the window track/weather strip, going right up the door frame that does make the glass too tight to slide.
Body shops are generally the door/window experts, if you need help. See if you can find a Scion dealer with a Body Shop.
Thanks for the advice! The car is used and the window was replaced some time in the past after a breakin - man I wish those dumbass thieves would keep their hands off other people’s stuff! Anyways, I never thought of the use of a piece of rubber malleted to the glass in there. We did notice that the holders seemed too large for the glass so that is probably it. I’ll call the local dealership and see if they have any suggestions. I very much doubt glue was the factory installation now.
Thieves will Be Thieves
The thieves could have pried and bent things, too. The best scenerio is if they just smashed the glass (pro’s). Amateur wanna-be thieves can do a lot of other damage before smashing the glass. I would still let a “trained-eye” body man take a look. They put up with these thief damaged cars all the time. Tell them what happened. They can sometimes notice and point out what you’re not seeing. They can give you an estimate, too. It may be reasonable. Sometimes the window track/weather strip has to be replaced.
Some windows have bolts or fasteners of some kind. Glue seems like a stupid way to keep a window in.
I believe you would need a new glass. The metal channel on the bottom is normally urethaned on and it’s difficult to get the “factory bond” back once it has been broken. Maybe a glass shop can clean out the old adhesive and apply new urethane.