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How to keep from getting ripped off on your power window repair

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First and foremost, we don’t want to bash anyone trying to make an honest living repairing automobile power windows. The problem we have, is with the guys running around claiming to be power window repair specialists that have zero to little experience in repairing power windows and are not in the business of being honest and upfront about their services.

Check References and Do Your Own Research
The best advice we can give you is to check references in multiple locations before you give anyone your money! With websites such as Yelp, BBB, Angie’s List, and Facebook, customers of all ages and walks of life are represented. If a company does what they say they do, the majority of what customers say about them will be positive. You want to be sure that you are working with a real business and not just some guy with a hammer and a truck.

Ask Questions
How many repairs have they completed in the last year? Are their technicians experienced? Do they carry liability insurance? If they aren’t reputable, they will not be prepared to answer your questions and may hang up on you. Take charge of your repair experience and you won’t get ripped off on your power window repair.

Be Informed
There are only 3 main parts to an automobile power window system; the power window switch, the power window lift motor and the power window regulator. Become familiar with the type of window regulator that is in your vehicle and what type of power window problems other owners are experiencing with their cars. The more you know, the more you will save!

Call Power Window Repair!!
You can be sure that you won’t get ripped off by calling Power Window Repair at (480) 570-5116. We offer quality repairs at 40-70% less than traditional repair shops and dealers, and it comes with a 1yr warranty on parts and labor! You can count on our team to provide you with the absolute best in customer service and we always do it with a smile! Ask about mobile service in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area!

How to diagnose a power window motor or window switch problem

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Diagnosing a power window motor or window switch problem doesn’t have to be rocket science. If you understand the basic principles of how they work, and you know what particular style window regulator is in your automobile door, you can figure it out quickly.

power window motorIf your glass didn’t do the famous “pop & drop” and you don’t hear cracking, grinding or funky noises coming from the inside door panel, your power window regulator may be just fine. Move onto testing the power window motor or window switch.

You don’t always need to remove the panel to determine what is wrong with your power window motor or power window switch. Many times, a fluctuation in the strength of your power to your dorm or headlights, caused by the demand of current can tell you whether or not the motor is getting any juice, better known as electricity.

Testing at night with your engine off, but ignition and headlights on will be your best option. Depress the power window switch and if you see a slight dimming of your headlights or your dome or dash lights, you are getting an electrical connection to the switch and it is sending that power to the motor. If this happens and you aren’t hearing any noise, you can be relatively sure that it’s the power window lift motor that is to blame. Sometimes you hear a click-click-click-click when the motor is failing.

master power window switchIf you depress the switch button and you don’t experience a dimming, it’s likely to be the power window switch or an electrical break in the electrical harness. If the power window switch button feels spongy, loose or at all different from the other window switch buttons, you likely are in need of a window switch repair or replacement.
If you’re in the Phoenix area, we can make diagnosing a power window motor or window switch problem easy for you. Call Power Window Repair today for a free diagnosis and quote. Our friendly technicians will quickly determine what type of power window repair you need and get you a quote that you can count on. Call (480)570-5116 today!

Window Regulator and Window Lift Motor. What’s the difference?

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Window Regulator and Window Lift Motor. What’s the difference?

The difference is how much money will be left in your wallet when you’ve paid for your repair!

We often hear them referred to as the window regulator and window lift motor assembly, but they are two different parts and have two different functions. Most repair facilities will install the window regulator and window lift motor assembly only because they either don’t know how to tension the regulator once the motor has been applied or they don’t want to deal with the hassle. This will cost you more money if you don’t know the difference.

window regulatorThe window regulator is the only non-power part of the power window system. There are many types of regulators depending on the vehicle you own. Those types include scissor action, cable action, and drive-shaft action. Some of the newer vehicles now have the regulator built into metal or plastic panels to make them harder for regular mechanics to get into, making it more likely that customers will be forced to go to the dealer for the repair. When a regulator breaks, the symptoms it displays are different depending on the type of regulator. Not all regulators are created equally.

When possible, Power Window Repair will separate these parts to save you money now and in the future. Most customers’ vehicles are suffering from regulator problems and that is our specialty. Our proprietary repair of stainless steel and custom-fabricated metal parts offers a more permanent OEM solution to the inferior replacement parts found in the automotive market today. We focus on the weakest points of the power window regulator, strengthening and fortifying them to prevent it from having to be replaced again down the road.
We’re not saying that we don’t install window regulator and window lift motor combinations when necessary, only that if it’s possible to separate and save you money, we will! The more you know, the more you can save on a power window repair. Call us today for a Free Diagnosis and Quote. Call (480)570-5116.

How To Diagnose A Problem With Your Power Window

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Before assuming that your car has a major problem, let’s take a few moments to diagnose your power window problem and see if we can shed some light on the situation.

First, verify that all other windows are in working order. If all four windows fail at the same time and you have checked your fuses, you could have an electrical break in the door harness that runs between the body of the car and your door. If only one is not working properly, and it’s in the rear, it could still be an electrical break, but it’s rare in most vehicles, and more often found in the rear of Cadillac Devilles.

In most modern cars, it’s usually the regulator that goes first, with a few exceptions. The regulator is generally a cable track pulley system that is made of cheap plastic parts. In hotter climates, these regulators fail quickly and fail often. Symptoms of this type of problem include the glass dropping into the door panel, crunching, grinding or other funky noises indicating that the motor is working, but the glass is not being raised.

Some older vehicles have what’s called a scissor action regulator in the door. These regulators are bulletproof for the most part, but they do fail from time to time. There are small teeth on the arm of the regulator that attaches to the window lift motor and those teeth are thin and can break away. Symptoms of this would generally include a slight drop of the window and inability to raise all the way to the top. You may hear a noise that sounds similar to a machine gun – de de de de. When this occurs, using the power window or helping the glass up, can put further stress on your power window motor, which can lessen the life of the motor and cause it to draw more power from your power window switch. Power window switches in modern cars are outrageously priced and are often “dealer only” parts.

If your power window problem is running slowly, it’s likely that it’s just the power window lift motor that is to blame. Symptoms include the window starting to come up at normal speed and then when it gets part way up, it slows down to turtle speed and you have to help it up to the top. Again, not recommended. In touching the glass, you are putting additional pressure on the power window regulator, which can break and cause you more money. Glass carriers on regulators can also break, which would cause the window to tilt forward or backward.

If you have a power window problem in a Mazda, Nissan, Infiniti, or older Chevy or Ford, it’s likely the motor that’s the problem, even if you hear funky noises or crunching sounds. The gears inside some of those motors are plastic and will break down over time. They can be rebuilt in some cases.

Power Window Repair can help you fix your power window problem at 40-70% less than traditional repair facilities and dealers. Your power window problem does not have to break your budget and it doesn’t have to be put off when you can find affordable prices at Power Window Repair. Our proprietary repair of stainless steel and custom metal parts provides a more permanent solution for our customers, so take a look at what we have to offer and then call today for a FREE diagnosis & quote at (480) 570-5116. If you are outside the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, please be advised that we do accept repairs by mail and can turn most repairs around in 24-36hrs.

Power Window Repair Phoenix Arizona

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Power Window Repair Phoenix

Watch our video, showing how we repair power window regulators and the power window repair services that we offer in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. We offer solid repairs designed to give our customers a more permanent solution to their power window woes and we offer a solid 1 year warranty to back it! Our creative pricing makes our repairs affordable, which gives you double the value in your repair! Call Power Window Repair Phoenix today for a free diagnosis and quote! Diagnostic Hotline (480)570-5116.

Easy Power Window Repair

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Doesn’t everyone want easy power window repair? I mean, who in their right mind would want hard power window repair? Any way you shake it, power window repair will cost you money. Just how much money it will cost you solely depends on the steps you take to remedy the situation.

Do you call the dealer? Be sitting down if you do. You’re about to hear the most outrageaus quote you’ve ever heard. Seriously, if you’re a heart patient, don’t do it. It will make you hot under the collar.

Do you call the local repair shop on the corner or one of those guys who advertises everywhere that they do all vehicle repairs? You can, but you’re still going to get an outrageous quote, you’re going to have to take it there for a diagnosis before you’ll get a quote and you’re likely to get crappy aftermarket parts to boot!

Do you call a glass shop? That’s what most people do, but most glass shop techs either have very little experience doing them, very little time in their schedules for repairs like this or will sub it out to Power Window Repair to make sure that the job gets done right, knowing that we are experts in our field.

Any one of these options will likely make you cry unless you end up talking to Power Window Repair. Our friendly diagnostic technicians will help you figure out what’s wrong and what you need and then they’ll find a time in your schedule for us to repair it for you. When the savings is 40-70% less than standard shop rates and you get a better warranty than the dealer, you need to call and compare. Power Window Repair is famous for repairing power window regulators so they don’t break again with proprietary stainless steel repairs and custom-fabricated metal parts.

With one year warranties on parts and labor, servicing over 4k windows per year, Power Window Repair has quickly become the leading experts in the power window repair industry. Power Window Repair carries 5-star ratings on Yelp and Facebook, as well as A+ ratings on the BBB and Angie’s List!

Call for a free quote and diagnosis at (480)570-5116.

Power Window Not Working? How Power Windows Work

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A power window can be a force to be reckoned with. It’s full of moving and electrical parts and one things always leads to another. A dozen things can go wrong that would cause a power window to stop working or to work in such a way that you know that something is wrong…very, very wrong.

In most modern cars, we look to the regulator to be the problem, although particular models have a predisposition toward motor failure. Many of the newer modern vehicles have cable power window regulators in they doors and they’re simply not made to last. Symptoms of a broken or failing window regulator include the glass popping and dropping into the panel or it slowly slipping down as you drive. You may hear the motor trying to work and may even hear metal scraping around, but there’s no movement in the glass – that’s a window regulator. When it’s beginning to fail, most of these power window regulators will talk to you, or in other words make noise. Cable window regulators, in general, carry the heaviest weight of the glass and the heaviest loads, on the weakest points of the part. That’s usually where you’re going to find those cheap plastic pulley-wheels, fairleads and glass anchors. That’s a problem for most consumers considering that replacement parts are far more inferior than the original, even if their OEM replacement window regulators. It’s a big inconvenience to come out in the morning to find your window down and you know it was up when you locked it the night before. What do you do? Take it to work and hope it doesn’t get broken into? Call into work? It’s a real hassle to work with most dealers and repair facilities that work on power windows. You’ll lose your ride for a day or more, I promise. If you’re interest in getting help with that problem you can call us at the shop (480)570-5116 and a diagnostic tech can walk you through our process and why we do it. Don’t worry about not being in Phoenix, we have regulators shipping from all over the country.

The next most probable problem when a power window fails is the motor. A good sign that a motor is failing is that it will generally slow down as your trying to power the glass up. You may even be tempted to help the glass from time to time to get it up all the way. Now if it’s slow on the way down, go back to thinking it’s the window regulator, because a regulator attached to a motor will whizz down whether it’s good or almost worn out. Remember, it has gravity on it’s side and a huge piece of glass on it’s back. It’s on the way back up that the power window motor is tested. Once you start experiencing a slow down, you’d better start looking to replace it. One day you will hit the button and it will just be dead. Let’s just hope the window is in the up position when that happens. If you’re experiencing a problem with the window bouncing up and down or falling out of the one-touch programming, you’re likely looking at a motor issues, but with BMW’s, VW’s and Audi’s it can sometimes be a warning of regulator failure. They’re German, what else can I tell you?

Finally, we can talk about the power window switch. If the failure is on one of the passenger doors, you need to test the switch from both the door with the problem AND the master power window switch on the driver’s door. If it works from one or the other, the other one needs to be repaired or replaced. Cars are often misdiagnosed as a motor when it’s actually the switch connection that has burned out in the up or down position. It’s unlikely to have a switch burn out in the middle, since the damage isn’t done until you actually let go of the switch. It’s much more difficult to diagnosis a switch on a drivers door window. There aren’t any other switches to try, so what you look for is that special click that you feel under you finger when the switch is raised or depressed. That click you feel or hear is the electrical actuation. If you are clearly getting that, go back to thinking it’s the motor.

If all 4 windows go at the same time or if you’re driving a Buick Century or Cadillac DeVille, there’s always that chance of an electrical break in the door wire harness. We run into it from time to time and we simply repair the broken wire and reduce the price we quoted you for the part, right on the spot. Most wire harnesses can be repaired for $149-$199, depending on how many wires have been damaged.

As always the experts at Power Window Repair will have the answers that you seek regarding you power window and our prices will knock your socks off! We’re known for beating dealer and shop rates by 40-70% off so call and compare. (480)570-5116.

BMW rear power window regulator

Weak areas on a power window regulator

 

 

 

My car window is grinding? What’s wrong?

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Grinding, popping, scraping – all signs that you have a power window problem and should stop using the window immediately. Anytime a power window talks to you (makes noise), there’s something wrong and it needs to be addressed.

In most cases, it’s the power window regulator that has failed and is what’s causing all the noise you hear in the door. This means that something within that power window regulator mechanism has broken and the cable has come un-tensioned and is now loose to cause trouble. In many cases, when the window regulator breaks, the window will simply slide into the door, but we’ve seen them get hung up everywhere in-between, depending on where the regulator broke.

A failing or broken regulator will give you symptoms that can’t be denied. Just about the time it’s ready to break, the regulator will grind and screech all the way up and all the way down. You may even experience slowing on the way up AND on the way down. It will slide into the panel on it’s own. It will start to raise and then “pop and drop” into the panel. HINT: The cable and clips are part of the power window regulator mechanism. The cable doesn’t just come loose and the clips don’t just break, as some shops would have you believe. That cable is tensioned onto the regulator and motor and doesn’t just come loose or fall off a pulley wheel. Pulley wheels break, cables come un-tensioned and then the next time you hit the button that cable is ripped through the system breaking everything in it’s path. That’s the truth of the matter.

Power Window Repair employs a proprietary repair of stainless steel and custom-fabricated parts to strengthen and fortify OEM regulators, offering our customers a more permanent solution to the inferior replacement window regulators found on the market today.

With this being said, if you have Nissan or a Mazda and you’re experience grinding noises, you may have a different problem altogether. The power window motors are often to fail in these vehicles. The plastic gear inside these motors can breakdown and shatter causing all kinds of weird noises and slipping of the glass.

What do I do when my automobile power window starts running slowly?

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Is your power window running slow? Does it take longer than 8 seconds to get from the bottom to the top or does it stop in the middle when you are trying to roll it up? This could be the first indication that your power window motor is burning out and getting ready to die. When this happens the window will go down just fine and without trouble. Remember, on the way down, the regulator has the weight of the glass on it’s back and gravity on it’s side, so it won’t need the power of the motor to lower the glass. It’s on the upstroke where the window motor is really load tested and you’ll have trouble.

You may think that helping the glass along by lifting the glass and operating the window at the same time will help you get the most out of that motor, but you run the risk of breaking the regulator or glass carriers every time you put your hand on that glass and that would just mean more money out the window!

Power Window Repair recommends that you get the window up and leave it up until it can be repaired. A failing power window motor will draw more power through the power window switch and can cause additional problems there. Call for free quote and diagnosis and then you’ll know what you are looking at for repair cost. You can reach our diagnostic team at (480)570-5116.

 

Can I repair my power window on my own? DIY Power Window Regulator Repair

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In many cases, it is absolutely possible to repair your power window on your own. Just remember that what looks easy, can quickly become a nightmare that could be avoided simply by calling Power Window Repair to do the job. Often times, we can repair the window, save your knuckles and still save you money!

If you still want to take this project on yourself, we have a few warnings for you and of course, we’ll be there for you if you run into trouble.

1. Have the tools necessary to remove your door panel properly

2. Purchase extra door panel clips from the dealer if possible ( you will break some )

3. Purchase the correct window regulator assembly for your vehicle and door. A quality OEM replacement is always preferable over an inferior aftermarket part – remember, if that OEM blows up down the road, we can repair it – if the aftermarket part fails, it’s going in the garbage and you’ll be doing this again.

4. Watch a YouTube video on the specifics of working on your vehicles door and be prepared before you take on a job like this.

5. If it’s a scissor action regulator with a spring-action hub, please DO NOT attempt this repair. Call us at (480)570-5116 for a free diagnosis & quote. It won’t be worth losing a finger to save a few bucks!

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Contact Us

Phone Number:
480-570-5116

Email:
PowerWindowRepairAZ@Gmail.com

Shop Address:
2439 E McDowell Road, Phoenix AZ 85008

Shop Hours:
Mon-Fri: 8-5:30
Sat: 9-3
Closed Sunday

ABOUT POWER WINDOW REPAIR

Power Window Repair was founded on the premise that modern cable power window regulators were not only designed to break, but break often. The founder of Power Window Repair used his knowledge and experience in the engineering and automotive sector to design a way to re-manufacture and strengthen the OEM regulator, making it stronger, work like new and at a price that will keep your wallet from screaming for mercy! The most important thing is that the repair is designed and engineered to last for many years to come! We are famous for repairing cable window regulators so they won’t break again.