This is my first winter with my Tesla, its less than a year old. Yesterday it was very cold out and the window did not go down when the door opened..or shut? Either way, the trim got damaged. I looked it up and its a very common issue I have seen and Tesla has replaced it. I scheduled an appointment this morning via the mobile app and I got a response back saying it will not be covered and I will have to pay? This is absolutely a design flaw and the car not working as it should. Anyone have any experience with this?
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Window damaged trim because of cold weather, Tesla won't replace under warranty
- Thread starter newtonfb
- Start date
640k
Member
Bill Foster
I'm going home!
Yes mine wouldn't go down either. But the window seals were also frozen.
I had no damage
I had no damage
staticprop
Member
So what would be the recommendation here. Heat the car hoping to defrost the window components or attempt ingress via the trunk. ;-) Definitely don't want to try harder to get in after the first attempt fails.
davewill
Active Member
You could try using the app to "vent" the car, which rolls down all four windows a bit. That way if it doesn't work, you haven't damaged anything, and if one of the windows does roll down, you can safely open that door.
JohnSnowNW
Active Member
I don't think you can consider frameless windows a design flaw.
640k
Member
every frameless window car i've ever owned didn't have to roll down the windows to open the door. it was a design "feature" Tesla decided on to reduce wind drag. most frameless windows "leak" after a while. my assumption is Tesla chose this design to prevent that.
staticprop
Member
Decent article on the Telsa and winter. One of many I assume.
Model 3 doors and windows care section.
https://electrek.co/2019/11/09/tesla-model-3-winter-tires-mats-tips/
Interesting application of sealant.
Model 3 doors and windows care section.
https://electrek.co/2019/11/09/tesla-model-3-winter-tires-mats-tips/
Interesting application of sealant.
This is my second winter with the 3 and I had this exact issue. Window did not drop and chrome trim was damaged. I had Mobile repair come out and replaced free of charge. Since then I keep a slim scrapper style tool (black one from this kit, https://www.amazon.com/HQMaster-Pro...ne+repair+spatula&qid=1573676049&sr=8-2-fkmr0) and if it's cold I run it under all the seals before opening. I also aplliy silicone lube to them but not sure how much that actually helps.
I'm surprised more people don't have this problem.
640k
Member
Bill Foster
I'm going home!
I had this problem last winter and to fix it I use WD40 Silicone Lubricant on all the door and window seals like eddy0090.
I didn't have any issues all winter after applying it to all the seals
I didn't have any issues all winter after applying it to all the seals
Striker3000s
Member
I don't understand this issue. If your window wipers freeze to your windshield, you don't ask the manufacturer to cover it when you turn them on and rip them off. Instead, you take care in freezing weather to ensure you're good to go before you leave.
I've also had frameless windows on a few cars. Very easy to open the locked door without breaking the window. One car got stolen that way. I am happy they seal up into the trim.
I've also had frameless windows on a few cars. Very easy to open the locked door without breaking the window. One car got stolen that way. I am happy they seal up into the trim.
FYI, there are other model cars with frameless doors that crack the windows automatically when opening a door (Ford Mustang for one).
Had this happen a few times this week. I pushed down hard on the window while holding the roll down button and it seems to have fixed the issue both times. Could also run a credit card into the window to possibly clear the ice. Didn't try that yet as a good shove was all that was needed.
When I had this happen to me on my drivers side in February (had rained, snowed at higher elevations and then freezing temps) I closed the door as close to the car as I could without damaging the car and ran the heater “fan” on high. Didn’t turn temp way high, but wanted to circulate warm air throughout the cabin. Also didn’t want to shock the glass with a huge temperature difference. I did direct the vent direction towards the door as well. Check your settings under fan. You don’t need any air diverted towards the floor.
Thankfully I had been reading about this from other owners at the time so knew to check the level of the window before trying to close the door. No damaged glass or trim. Tesla was our first frameless door vehicle. Plan to pick up some rubber seal protectant before winter temps set in here.
BTW back in the mid-West stupidly ran my iced wipers to clear snow off my windshield on one of my previous vehicles instead of using an ice scraper/snow brush or letting the windshield defroster warm up the glass and eventually free the blades. It resisted moving and I ended up burning out the wiper motor. Really dumb, like trying to close your door with the window up on a frameless door. If you were observant and thought about it you’d know not to do it. Much better to learn from reading here than learning the hard way on your own...as equally memorable...but cheaper thru reading.
WilliamG
Hinge Fanatic
I think pre-heating the car and using the Vent function to make sure the windows move down is the best idea yet.
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