rear passenger window broke on its own


  #1  
Old 10-30-03, 09:43 AM
mmina
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rear passenger window broke on its own

hi

i am in chicago. yesterday, i was driving and suddenly i hear glass breaking noise. it was the right rear passenger door glass that broke while the car was in motion. i stopped looked around but saw noone close by that would have thrown something towards my car that would have caused the glass to break. i looked even more to find any brick or stone around my car, but nothing, not even bullets etc. i just don't know what could have caused it.

i have contacted car mechanics and they have no explanation for it either.

please let me know if you are aware of any other reasons why the window glass might break. i have a 98 hyundai elantra and it has manual windows not automatic. could vibrations or tensions of any sort could cause this; i did not notice any damage to the window before this happened. any explanations would be helpful.

please let me know if this is something that i can replace on my own since the window is manual and if i can what are some of the things that i should look for to make sure that i replace it right.

your previous suggestions have been very helpful and your suggestions in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

mina
 
  #2  
Old 10-30-03, 10:48 AM
Joe_F
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Probably weak in a spot. You may have gotten a stone chip in the past and didn't realize it. It happens.

Replacing these can be a bit tricky if you don't know your way inside the door panel. A good glass shop or regular shop won't charge much. Should be able to find a used window at www.junkyarddog.com

Fill out a parts request form and they will get back to you if any yards have the window you need.
 
  #3  
Old 10-30-03, 11:09 AM
darrell McCoy
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Just stress maybe, saw a caravan ahead of me one day, made a turn and rear gate window just disentigrated. Wasn't a pc as big as a quarter left. Couldnt done better with a louieville slugger.
 
  #4  
Old 10-30-03, 01:35 PM
KurtDixon
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My friend's "hilly" (it is a GMC safari lol) had the rear glass shatter. It was sitting in the garage and boom, it shattered into thousands of pieces for no reason.
 
  #5  
Old 10-30-03, 02:48 PM
needles
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Theres a chance it might of been the rear defrost (if it was on and you had one) I've heard of cases that people have that on,and somehow it just breaks it,doesn't seem right,but it happens.
 
  #6  
Old 10-30-03, 04:46 PM
KurtDixon
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I don't think it was even driven for the last 2 hours but I could ask my friend, I can understand the rear defrost playing a part, it would heat the glass and possibly change its shape and then the force would break the glass.
 
  #7  
Old 10-31-03, 01:00 PM
mmina
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rear passenger window broke on its own

So if I understand this correctly, the rear right side passenger window can break if the rear window defroster is on?
 
  #8  
Old 10-31-03, 02:49 PM
KurtDixon
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No, no, no, we were just discussing possible reasons for windows to break, more precisley, rear windows. I think it is unlikely for windows to break on their own without some help (a chip or a bent frame, who knows.) a rear defroster probably doesn't increase the risk much, if at all.
 
  #9  
Old 10-31-03, 03:34 PM
D
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Just replace the glass if a projectile shattered the glass you wouldn't see it laying around close.Chances are it was cheap glass in the car from day one.
 
  #10  
Old 11-01-03, 09:22 PM
cheapfurcoat
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Tempered glass tends to drop strait down when a stress fracture causes it to shatter.
Even a small projectile will make some bits of glass fly into the inner part of the car.
I'd say something hit the door glass such as a pebble or other road debris.
Tempered glass by it's own nature will break on it's own, but it usually takes wild temperature fluctuations or a problem in the window regulator to cause a door glass to fail.
 
  #11  
Old 11-02-03, 05:24 AM
Joe_F
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Original poster:

Probably no real explanation or worry here. Just one of those things . Replace the glass and you should be fine.
 
  #12  
Old 11-08-03, 10:16 PM
steve340
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I had the same thing happen on my rear hatch glass 2 days after I bought my 1993 Dodge caravan. It was sitting in the garage and I was outside with the garage door open and all of a sudden I heard a loud noise and looked up and saw the glass shatter into little pieces. The dealer covered the repair under warranty. I think the glass was under alot of stress from the day it was installed and it just let loose.
 
  #13  
Old 11-09-03, 08:50 PM
cheapfurcoat
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In the case of the Caravan, there was probably rust swelling the pinchweld under the glass which stressed the glass `til it broke. This is a common problem with Chrysler mini vans among many other vehicles.
 
  #14  
Old 11-09-03, 08:55 PM
KurtDixon
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Out of curiosity, how long did the orginal transmission last in that van?
 
  #15  
Old 11-09-03, 09:17 PM
steve340
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The tranny in my Caravan lasted 6 years and my warranty was 7, so I got it rebuilt under warranty.
 
  #16  
Old 11-09-03, 09:28 PM
KurtDixon
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Hmm, not bad for a Chrysler FWD I have heard some horror stories of owners of Chrysler FWD vehicles. Apparently their transmissions are horrid, nearly the worst out there.
 
  #17  
Old 11-10-03, 06:08 AM
Joe_F
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4 speed overdrives were the problem. The 3 speeds were OK.

My friend has one with 160k on it (the latter). Shifts like the day it was made. Had the ORIGINAL fluid in it up until recently .
 
 

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