The dealer has my 2003 vibe to correct defective bolts in the windows. They just called to say a piece of weatherstripping is bunching up and needs to be replaced. They say they have seen this problem before and it may cause the window to shatter but it has nothing to do with the safety recall. What do you guys think? Are they on the up and up, or are they just trying to pry some extra cash out of my wallet?
If you can take a ride over to the dealer and actually look at the problem they are pointing out do so. Compare the window they are showing you to the same window on the other side of the car.
Did you notice any unusual wind noise? Bunched up weatherstripping should allow some air to pass by and make some noise. Do you put the window in question up and down often? Power windows have a safety device in them that stops the window when it contacts an object, like your kids head that is sticking outside the car window. This safety should reduce the pressure on the window when it is put up. Windows do shatter, but I doubt bunched weatherstripping is a frequent reason behind shattered windows. Usually windows shatter due to a defect in the glass, and are often related to temperature extremes, both very hot and very cold.
If you can’t go to the dealer now, pass on it for the moment. Check it out when you pick up the car and you can have it done at a later time if you think it is an important enough issue to you.
My final answer, I suspect as you do they are trying to get some extra cash from your wallet. GM will pay them for the recall, and anything else they can get is going to help make their monthly profit. I’m getting phone calls now from Ford to take my car in for the 55K service. Dealers are getting aggressive, it used to be post cards, now it has escalated to phone calls.
Sometime around 2004 I installed vent shields because I prefer to leave my window cracked while driving and this car is bad about letting rain in even if it’s just sprinkling. Shortly after that I did notice an increase in wind noise and rattling in the window. At the time I figured the shields were causing the extra noise. The window in question is the drivers side so, yes, it does get rolled up and down often.
It looks real to me:
NHTSA Action Number: EA08004
Vehicle Make / Model: Model Year(s): PONTIAC / VIBE
2003
TOYOTA / COROLLA
2003
TOYOTA / MATRIX
2003
Manufacturer:
GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Component:
VISIBILITY
Date Investigation Opened:
February 5, 2008
Date Investigation Closed:
May 1, 2008
Summary:
FOR THE SUBJECT VEHICLES, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE RETENTION FORCE OF THE REGULATOR BOLTS WHICH ATTACH THE FRONT SIDE WINDOW GLASS TO THE POWER WINDOW REGULATOR MAY NOT BE SUFFICIENT DUE TO AN INTERFERENCE OF THE RETENTION NUT AND THE BOLT SHOULDER RADIUS. IN THIS CONDITION THE BOLT MAY BECOME LOOSE, CAUSING A LOUD NOISE TO BE GENERATED WHEN THE WINDOW IS RAISED OR LOWERED. IF THE VEHICLE AND THE POWER WINDOW ARE CONTINUOUSLY OPERATED IN THIS CONDITION, THE BOLT MAY COMPLETELY SEPARATE, CAUSING THE GLASS TO BECOME MISALIGNED, AND IN THE WORSE CASE, THE GLASS MAY SHATTER DURING OPERATION OF THE POWER WINDOW. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION (GM) AND TOYOTA NORTH AMERICA, INC. (TOYOTA) WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL ON THE PONTIAC VIBE, TOYOTA COROLLA AND TOYOTA MATRIX VEHICLES TO REPLACE THE REGULATOR BOLT WITH A BOLT AND WASHER. GM WILL RECALL 122,593 MY 2003-2004 PONTIAC VIBE VEHICLES. ODI IS AWARE OF A TOTAL OF 16,045 WARRANTY AND GOODWILL CLAIMS, 274 FIELD AND CONSUMER REPORTS, AND 23 INJURIES FOR THESE VEHICLES. TOYOTA WILL RECALL 415,341 MY 2003-2004 TOYOTA COROLLA VEHICLES. ODI IS AWARE OF A TOTAL OF 6,601 WARRANTY CLAIMS, 150 FIELD AND CONSUMER REPORTS, AND 11 INJURIES FOR THESE VEHICLES. TOYOTA WILL RECALL 124,244 MY 2003-2004 TOYOTA COROLLA MATRIX VEHICLES. ODI IS AWARE OF A TOTAL OF 2,198 WARRANTY CLAIMS, 113 FIELD AND CONSUMER REPORTS, AND 6 INJURIES FOR THESE VEHICLES. ODI IS AWARE OF A TOTAL OF 24,843 WARRANTY CLAIMS, 537 FIELD AND CONSUMER REPORTS, AND 40 INJURIES FOR 662,178 MY 2003-2004 VEHICLES. THE RECALL IS IDENTIFIED BY NHTSA NUMBER 08V-162.
And another thing: If it’s real, GM will pay for it. All you have to do is show up. Otherwise it is not a recall.
Toyota upheld its recall of this faulty drivers window so when I bought my 2004 Matrix (off lease) they checked their records and showed me the print out that it in fact had been repaired.
But, I had a different problem with the same window when I test drove it .
When the door was OPEN, the power window performed as designed, no problem.
When the door was CLOSED and the window rolled down there was a snapping noise at about 1/3rd the way down.
It turned out to be the door ‘stepper’ was faulty and needed replacing.
The ‘stepper’ is that flat arm that allows the door to be held 1/2 way open.
The tech knows the inside of these doors quite well now as it took him three tries to find the fault.
Each time he brought the vehicle back out to me, I’d climb in, try the window with the door open, no problem UNTIL the third time.
He was almost at wits end when he brought the vehicle out.
I met him at the car, we went through the same routine, same result.
He got in and started to back up when I told him to wind the window down.
He did and "snap’. Now he knew better to try the window when the door was closed.
I knew he nailed it when he brought the car out with a smile on his face.
(He said he’d never in 9 years working on Toyotas had come across this problem. Lesson learned I guess.
Fortunately, the warranty they put on it for 30 days covered everything and anything. Excellent service too. I’m quite happy with it.