Power window help

[hahuston]

Hi,
It's been 3 months since the last driver side power window motor and regulator replacement, now the window is skipping/slipping again. Would Ford parts really make a difference as the mechanic suggests? If not, are there questions I should be asking the mechanic? I have ZERO mechanical experience, so I really don't know what I don't know. Thanks!

Backstory/additional details:
Last January we had all of the motors, regulators and cables replaced for all for power windows in our 2014 Exp XLT EL. They were all moving very slow and the driver side window was skipping/slipping. The driver side window regulators and motor have now been replaced a total of 3 times due to continued issues. I'm not sure if the cables were replaced more than once. Parts and labor are still under warranty. The extended warranty company would not authorize genuine Ford parts, so cheaper aftermarket parts were used.

 

[Hamfisted]

When it comes to window regulators, I've always had the best luck and service from factory OEM parts. What kind of warranty company is this ? The price difference is only about $20 at the shop rates. See if the shop doing the work will allow you to buy your own OEM parts and they just install them. Particularly on the driver's window, that sees frequent use. A new regulator always comes with new cables.

Gen3 Expedition Window Regulators at Rock Auto

 

[hahuston]

Thank you! What does OEM mean? I bought the extended warranty when I bought the Expedition. It's paid for itself at least 3 times now. The parts are under their manufacturer warranty and the shop covers the labor. The mechanic quoted me $300- $400 for the Ford parts. I would have to pay that out of pocket. I don't understand why the driver side window has been such an issue while the other 3 windows have had no issues. Same brand of parts, same mechanic.

 

[2013Tuxedo]

OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer, in this context it means that the parts are the same ones that Ford used to build the vehicle and also would use to replace any parts too. It's considered one of the best ways to rule out any issues as being caused by "bad parts" because OEM parts are The Source of Truth (supposedly).

As mentioned the Driver's Side likely gets the most use so that would (likely) be the one with the most issues. I wonder if there's anything in the tracks or on the seals that's causing an issue, also potentially the switch itself?

 

[Trainmaster]

Sounds like you have some aftermarket warranty from a private provider. You shouldn't have to pay to replace a defective part. On another hand, I would only use a Motorcraft OEM regulator. It seems that Chinese replacement window regulators are often of very poor quality. They are cheap - very cheap, but while some will carry on well others simply fail quickly.

 

[Tonka]

Man that sucks, my drivers side is doing the same goes real slow and sometimes I’ll put the button to go up and it will go down. Need to get it fixed before it gets too cold and I’ve gets in there. Crazy part my windows have never been super fast.

 

[hahuston]

Sounds like you have some aftermarket warranty from a private provider. You shouldn't have to pay to replace a defective part. On another hand, I would only use a Motorcraft OEM regulator. It seems that Chinese replacement window regulators are often of very poor quality. They are cheap - very cheap, but while some will carry on well

OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer, in this context it means that the parts are the same ones that Ford used to build the vehicle and also would use to replace any parts too. It's considered one of the best ways to rule out any issues as being caused by "bad parts" because OEM parts are The Source of Truth (supposedly).

As mentioned the Driver's Side likely gets the most use so that would (likely) be the one with the most issues. I wonder if there's anything in the tracks or on the seals that's causing an issue, also potentially the switch itself?

The mechanic says the switch is fine but did note there was a lot of debris inside the window. He said they power washed the debris out and suggested I run the Expedition through the car wash more often, which I have. We may just have to suck it up and pay for Ford parts. Thanks for defining OEM for me.

 

[hahuston]

Man that sucks, my drivers side is doing the same goes real slow and sometimes I’ll put the button to go up and it will go down. Need to get it fixed before it gets too cold and I’ve gets in there. Crazy part my windows have never been super fast.

It gets freaking cold here, too. I'm not using my drivers side window until I have this solved. The window did drop down inside the door panel last February. I was 20 minutes from home with my young kids and it was 5 degrees out. That wasn't a fun drive.

 

[Trainmaster]

For those who like meddling with these things, the window regulator on these trucks is a completely self-contained unit with a bolt-on motor. The unit has pulleys and cords that control the window. When they slow down, the regulator is gummed up and the tracks get dirty. Usually the entire thing can be removed, gone over and reinstalled to improve the operation.

Unless you use a quality part, you may be better off cleaning, degumming and lubricating the Ford regulator and cleaning the tracks rather than replacing the part with an Amazon Red Dragon cheap part which can possibly be garbage out of the box.

 

[Tonka]

Thank you for the info!!