Tips To Eliminate Car Window Squeaking

‍Car Window Squeaking

Car window squeaking is a really annoying problem. Everytime you roll down your window an annoying sound comes from the window and it can be frustrating. So let's look at some ways to eliminate the problem.

Cleaning The Window Tracks

The first way to eliminate the problem of window squeaking is to clean the window tracks. The door tracks are the tracks the window rides on inside your car door. Sometimes particles can get inside of the tracks and cause the window to squeak.

If you remove the debris that resides in the window tracks, you have a chance to eliminate the sound of squeaking. To clean window tracks you can take a rag with some windex and remove dust and debris by working the rag up and down the tracks.

You can also spray windex directly inside the window tracks before you start wiping down the window tracks with a rag.  This task will require some elbow grease but once done, should eliminate the problem of your squeaky window.

Lubricate The Window Tracks

With your focus on the window tracks it's now time to apply some silicone based lubricant. After you wipe down the tracks with a rag you can now spray some lubricant inside of the window tracks.

There are lubricants like a silicone grease spray designed specifically for this purpose. For example, this 3 in 1 track cleaner comes with its own directional spray straw so you can target the window track directly.  Spray the lubricant into window tracks. Make sure to get the front and rear tracks.

After you spray the window tracks, move the window up and down 4 or 5 times in order to work the lubricant into the tracks. After the lubricant is worked into the track your squeaky car window should be operating normally.

Replace The Weather Stripping

Weather stripping around the window seals the car door. This stops rain and air from coming into the vehicle while the car door is shut. This window seal is very important but if it's cracked or damaged, it can cause major issues.

This weather stripping is replaceable if you know how. To replace weather stripping, you usually just pull it off from the top of a track. After you remove all the weather stripping by removing it from its tracks, you can replace it by reversing the process.

Add the new weather stripping by guiding it back onto the tracks and making sure the weather stripping is fully installed correctly on the window frame.

Tighten Loose Parts

The car window is in a carriage inside your door panel. This carriage is held together by nuts and bolts that move up and down. When the carriage moves up and down so does the window that’s attached.

To fix a squeaky car window you can take off the vehicle's door panel and check the carriage for loose parts. Removing the door panel is usually quite easy. You do so by removing a couple of different screws.

Once the door panel is removed the window carriage will be exposed. Take a ratchet to all the nuts and bolts of the carriage and make sure all the nuts and bolts are tight.

If anything is loose it has the potential to throw the window alignment off and cause a squeak while the window is loose.

Check The Window’s Alignment

Your vehicle’s car window needs to be aligned in order for it to stay in the tracks while you move it up and down. If your vehicle is out of alignment, the window has the potential to rub up against the weather stripping and cause a squeak.

To check the windows alignment remove the door panel and move the window up and down. Watch the window as it moves up and down and make sure it’s staying inside the window carriage and inside the window tracks.

If the window regulator is out of alignment it needs to be realigned by moving the window around inside the carriage. Move the window pane around until it's aligned and then tighten everything down.  This will secure the window pane in the correctly aligned position.

Seek Professional Help

If you have tried all the methods above and nothing is working, it's time to take your vehicle to a professional. Professional repair mechanics will be able to remove the door panel and diagnose the reason your window glass is squeaking.

The mechanic may have to remove the window completely. This can be dangerous since the glass can drop down the door frame and shatter. It's best to have a professional who has done this job before if you try and fix your window and all other methods fail.

A window squeak may not seem like that big of an issue. Don’t be worried if you take it to a mechanic just for a squeak. Trust me, they have had much more odd noise requests. A squeak from the window could be the result of a much larger problem.

So if you want the issue fixed and you cannot fix it yourself, do not hesitate to take it to a mechanic.

These are some ways to fix a squeaky window. Squeaky windows are a very annoying issue and it’s important to nip this problem in the bud as soon as possible.

Taking Off Your Door Panel

Taking off your door panel is relatively easy. Usually the door panel is held on by screws or push pins. Once the screws or push pins are removed, you have to pry the door panel off its rocker.

The door panel usually pulls right off but be careful because there’s lots of different electrical connections that need to be unhooked. If you rip the electrical connections they will have to be professionally replaced.

Once everything is removed including the door panel and electrical connections, set the door panel off to the side and start looking at the window regulator. Move the window up and down to see how the inside of the window works.

This will give you a good idea if anything is wrong. It should be pretty obvious if a component is loose and causing issues. When you see how the inside of your window works it will be an eye opening experience.

It's basically a small carriage that takes the window up and down the tracks. If this carriage or regulator doesn’t correctly work it will cause issues with your window. You may have to undo the window from the carriage.

Be careful when doing this because if you drop the window it will shatter. I’ve seen even the most experienced of mechanics drop a window before so make sure you know what you are doing if you attempt to remove the window yourself.

But if you want to just look to see if you can see if anything is wrong, take the door panel off and see what you can see.

How To Spray Down Your Window Tracks

The first thing you need is some silicone lubricant. You can find the lubricant at different department stores like Walmart or ACE. You can look in the RV section of most stores.

The silicone spray is usually about $5.

Once you have the lubricant, spray it into the window tracks. Take the nozzle and direct the spray directly into the tracks. Make sure you use enough. When you spray the lube into the track it will trickle down into the rest of the track.

Next, go to your front track and spray the lubricant in the front track. Then when you’re done, run the window up and down the track numerous times. And that's about all you have to do to lubricate your window tracks by spraying them down.