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Passenger window not lowering when door is opened

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crack window
38K views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  sgoetz628 
#1 ·
So normally when you open the door the window is supposed to drop ~1/8" so that it doesn't catch on the weather stripping. For some reason it didn't one of the times the door was opened, and when it closed the forward corner of the glass gouged up my a pillar and chipped the corner in the process.
Now it doesn't do this every time, but I have noticed on more than one occasion that it hangs up when someone opens the door. Do I have a faulty sensor in my door, or are people just opening the door too quickly and not giving the motor a chance to do its thing?? I haven't had this happen on the driver's side, but that could be because I pull the door handle, watch the window "magically" do its thing, then proceed to open the door all the way. But then again I'm also reluctant to slam the door when i'm closing it. This is my first car with frameless windows so i'm probably babying it more than I need to.

Has anyone else had this problem? and if you have seen it happen, what can I do to stop it? I really don't want the glass cracking completely.
 
#22 ·
but on my drivers side. My problem started when my battery died and i replaced it.

Hope someone can help us. :(
Just wondering, lokepup, if, after your battery has been disconnected, you have to do some sort of set-up sequence to get your master window switch to operate. The general conclusion, from another thread, was that there was some sort of software change starting with '04's that requires this. So just wondering.

Regarding the window itself, I have had the same problem, intermittently, since about the day after the warranty expired. This is only on the passenger side. The door closes fine but the window doesn't seal properly. A quick open and close solves it. It's been going on for years and I see no damage to any of the various components.
 
#5 ·
Got back from the dealer, they adjusted the window a few mm towards the rear. It seems like it did the trick. They checked the window motor, actuator and sensor in the door and everything was working fine. Don't ask me how he adjusted the window, they just brought it around back and came out with a working window
 
#6 ·
I have the same problem. The dealer so far has changed the tracks, the regulator, and the window sensor. They still cant figure out what is wrong. After every fix my window works fine for a few days and then it stops working again. Please let us know what happens with yours.
 
#7 ·
Hi there, ok well IMHO to get to the bottom of this you have to consider what triggers the window to lower... So, the window lowers slightly when the door is opened, it stays that way until closed.... So.... the message isn't getting through to the mechanism.... Is your interior light coming on when you open the door? If not, could be the door switch? It's that or a software issue...The best thing you could do would be to hook up a DIS code reader and run through the test mode it will diagnose the issue and come up with a possible fix... Thats what your garage will do anyway...
On a previous car (911) this was a common problem and was usually put down to a micro switch which was an easy fix... let us know how you get on...

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Bimmer App
 
#9 ·
Not the exact same problem, but mine does this occasionally. ONLY with the soft top though.. doesn't make sense! With the hard top on it never happens, but with the soft top sometimes I will open the door, go to close it and the window will get stuck on the top and not seal. If I open the door again it goes down and will then seal when I close the door. Any help?
 
#10 ·
Sounds like a glitch... does the window go down a bit when you open the first time or not? It's only likely to catch on closing if it hasn't gone down in the first place... Again a test plan in DIS is what you need for glitchy things like this... Find someone local who doesnt charge the earth for diagnostics and get the memory and therefor history checked... It will hopefully show up as a fault...

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Bimmer App
 
#12 ·
So after driving the car for a couple days since they adjusted the window, I think they slid it too far back. I'm hearing a whistle coming from the window seal, so somewhere along the seal it isn't making adequate contact. I have to go back in for them to replace the f*ed up frame(they thought they had the trim in but it was matte, not gloss.) So maybe there is some butter zone it needs to be in, I hope this is gonna be the last trip since its a 45 minute drive to the dealer.
 
#13 ·
My 330ci convertible has also gone intermittent on recognizing the door is open, and therefore cracking the window a bit. I can confirm it's a failure to recognize the door open as the rear seat access switch on the top side of the seat fails to function at those same times that the window didn't crack. Another forum provided the following input from someone:
The door ajar sensor is in the door latch assembly. It's a hall effect sensor which detects a magnet on the rotary latch (metal plate on the door that catches the U shaped hook on the door jam). Since it's a hall effect sensor you can't easily measure it which makes troubleshooting difficult. If you are having problems it's easiest to just replace the door latch/actuator assembly.
I'm digging in tomorrow and if I find a fix other than replacement (such as a good cleaning or loose connection), I'll be sure to share it.
 
#14 ·
So I took my car to the dealer they said that my battery voltage is low that's why its doing that. This is BS because they have already changed my window regulator, window weather stripping, the actuators and the sensors. They told me my battery is draining because of the LED angle eyes. They charged up my battery and just a day later it happened again. I going to take it in again and see what excuse their going to give me this time.
 
#16 ·
Maybe try to sync he windows, had to do this with my Benz so maybe the BMW has the same thing.
 
#17 ·
Someone knocked my driver side wing mirror (electric power fold memory) and i noticed my window wouldnt go up and down with opening/closing door sometimes, (the wires were damaged leading to wing mirror where it was broken). after replacing wing mirror the window has been fine. not sure if related... but something i noticed.
 
#19 ·
My problem is a little different: The driver window go down very very little, then it does'n seal right. See the pictures: first, the passengers window, that is OK:



And now the driver's...




Anyone knows how is controlled the distance that the windows go down? Is it a position sensor?

Thanks for any help!
 
#21 ·
I had a similar problem and searched a few forums, there are a number of problems described in the thread, and my resolution deals only with the window not dropping when the door is opened, though the solution could also potentially fix the window not going back up when the door is closed. The solution I found, see the linked post for more details, is to clean and lube the door latch mechanism. Basically, there is a switch in there that senses when the door is open or closed and tells the car what to do, which are lower the window when open, turn on the door open indicator on the dash, and turn on the dome light. And do the reverse when the door is closed again. If the latch mechanism gets gunked up, the switch doesn't activate or deactivate properly and you have the issues described. The following post worked for me just using silicon and cleaning it up a bit, to do it more thoroughly you would want to take the door panel off and hit it with wd-40 and then lube it back up with silicon.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=326038

Good luck!

Trevor Evenson
2004 BMW 330Ci
 
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