Auto Glass: 1999 Camry Rear Window Glass slides down

Question
QUESTION: I have a Toyota 99 Camry. The rear right door window glass power button is not working. If i move the glass up with the hands it doesn't sticks there and falls down. I have to tape it with the door so that it keeps the window close and do not slides all the way down. Could you please suggest what could have went wrong?

Thank you

ANSWER: Hello Dinesh,

When the rear window on the 1999 Camry slides freely up and down it most likely means that the window regulator is broken.  I have seen this happen many times.  For a picture of this regulator mechanism go to "dormanproducts.com" and type "740-830" in the center box labelled "key word, phrase or part number". If you don't hear the window motor run when you press the switch either up or down, I suspect that someone has disabled or disconnected the motor.

If you have any additional questions or have more information to share, please let me know.

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QUESTION: Thank you Ben.

So, in this case only window regulator could be broken and motor is working fine. I am the only one who drives the car so i didn't get "I suspect that someone has disabled or disconnected the motor". How an this be done ?

Thanks again

ANSWER: Hello Again Dinesh,

If you are confirming that you can hear the motor run when you press the switch and that you have owned the car for some time and no one has worked on the the window in question, then I am almost 100% sure that your window regulator is broken.  

If you have some mechanical skills and the proper tools you could try to do this yourself.  Please look at this YouTube video "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgGsyCJy0Dw" to get a good idea of what is required.

If you don't think you can make the repair yourself and if you don't have a regular mechanic to repair this, I suggest you find a local auto glass shop with an A+ Better Business Bureau rating and discuss the repair with them.

Let me know if I can help with any other questions.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Ben. So if only window  regulator is broken, can i use old motor with new regulator or do i need to replace whole set (regulator + motor) ?

Answer
Hi Dinesh,

If you can hear the motor running when you press the switch, then you can be fairly sure that the existing motor is okay and doesn't need to be replaced.  However, mounting the existing motor on the new regulator is an extra step that is not explained in the video and is too complicated to explain in an email.  So, you don't need to replace the motor, but if you buy the new regulator and motor as an assembly it isn't too much more expensive and it simplifies the replacement process.

Good Luck with your project.