Thread: Window Screeching

new regulator would shut it up.

its either the motor or the cable.

take the door skin off the inside, operate the window. you'll whats up.

I've been working on car doors as long as many of the good folks here have been alive, and there was something I didn't see mentioned so here we go... as usual, the longest paragraph is probably the important one. One-liners rarely will do for me when I need answers.

Any noisy power regulators I have encountered were broken. One that isn't won't make noise. They may still work, but if its noisy it has failed and is in need of replacement.

Lubes- For nylon (white plastic) - to - metal, use a lithium type lube. Silicones are runny, lithium stuff is heavy-bodied making that the best choice on cable-type window regs. Paste form would be preferred over spray, since it contains less solvents that can swell and weaken plastic

Window tracks (on our cars, its a metal channel with rubber strip inserted) should never need lube. If binding occurs, damage is present. Screeching indicates binding.

Since the issue description is "screeching" rather than squeaking or squealing, however...
My bet is that there is something buried in the rubber window track scraping against the glass. That makes a screeching sound. Removing the window may be necessary to find it depending on it's location. Usually a piece of broken glass that wasn't cleaned out after a window replacement. It can be something else, too...

Many times if a mirror is damaged and replaced, the front window track has been damaged and left un-repaired. This can create binding which goes un-noticed until it eats through the rubber. Then you have a bad spot where metal can contact the glass, and that creates the possibility of spontaneous glass breakage which is very bad if you are driving at the time. This issue is normally characterized by binding or noise that occurs as the glass gets near the top of it's travel. To fix- remove glass and front track, separate rubber, straighten metal and re-assemble.

Thats all, except clearing up some more terminology. The "door skin" term normally refers to the outer sheetmetal of a door, at least in my neck of the woods. Door trim panel is what we call the thing with the armrest around here.

Keep in mind if you have trouble pinpointing the noise- Once the regulator is removed, you can cycle the glass by hand to check for binding. If nothing is found there, take the motor off the regulator and cycle it by hand as well, to listen and feel for interference.