Smart glass...dumb engineering.

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Mopar-Mitch

Mopar-Mitch

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I have two of the new generation Dodge Challengers, a 2011 black one and a 2012 red one. They both have the smart glass feature where the glass drops when you pull the handle to let the door open. After doing research to see what's supposed to be smart about it they say it cuts down on wind noise. But they never thought about them freezing shut which is a big problem and this morning my battery was dead, the cheap plastic switches go bad in them and the window jumps up and down until it kills the battery. This happened a few year ago and the dealer sold me two new switches for 97 cent's, went back today and now you can't buy the switches anymore and they want $94.00 for the whole latch just to get the switch. Way to go Fiat Chrysler! All these new electronics are overwhelming, cheap build quality the new cars are like bic lighters get a few years out of them and throw them away!
 
Can't you figure a way to disable the feature?

Just a guess, I bet whoever designed that "feature" has never EVER owned a car through a "real" winter................
 
67Dart273 said:
Can't you figure a way to disable the feature?

Just a guess, I bet whoever designed that "feature" has never EVER owned a car through a "real" winter................
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Nope. When you close the door it raises into the weatherstripping track. I've had the window stuck up while the door is closed, so you have to pry the door open. I've had it stuck up when the door is open, so you can't close the door. I've had it not go up when you close the door. And I've also had the window open itself while parked in a rainstorm. Had the awesome experience of driving 5 hours home in a suit on soaking wet leather. At least I had the soothing sound of the "Hemi tick" to make the drive more relaxing.
 
I opted not to purchase a mitsubishi eclipse because it had this design way back around 2005.

When I saw the glass go down as the door opened I thought- FCK no, that's a terrible idea and bound to fail eventually causing, well, a BIG problem opening or closing the door.

Didn't even drive the car. That one "feature" was enough.
 
Mustanks had the same thing. Junk.
 
I didn't know that they had that. That is a terrible idea. Stuff like this is what makes me so hesitant to buy a new car or truck. All the bells and whistles are so alluring when it's on the showroom floor. The new technology is so appealing and cool until 10 years later when it stops working. That scares me when it comes to buying newer vehicles. And most of the time its stuff I would never even think of or consider. Like this window issue.
Do all challengers have that or just certain packages and or options?
 
Brother's Camaro had it. Now his Explorer doesn't. Can't choose ya family.
 
67Dart273 said:
Found this

http://www.sequentialtaillights.com/dodge/SB_PDF/CSN_M24.pdf

There is plenty of Google hits on this problem. Sounds like bullshit, 'xcuse me.
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Yes, that service bulletin is most certainly bullshit. According to that the problem only exists in 80 cars built in 2011. We've owned 3 Challengers, all had the problem, and none were 2011's. So basically a court forced them to recognize the problem on those specific cars.

All of those cars have had the Chrysler lifetime bumper to bumper warranty (about $3000). Anytime there's a problem (the windows, or the myriad of other stuff) they will do two Band-Aids, but never fix the problem. When you bring the car in the third time they will put a note in the computer to not acknowledge the problem anymore. You are now on your own and have to fix and pay for it yourself. No dealer in the country will even look at the problem.

If you ever want to waste thousands of hours of your life... Google "Hemi tick". You can entertain yourself with pics of valvetrain carnage, read court documents, and watch hours of videos. This is probably the the largest problem I have ever seen in the history of the automotive industry. How there's been no recalls or fixes is beyond me.
 
BMW uses that feature on the 1 and 3 series cars. I've owned both. The 1 series is fine so far. But the 3 series was a pain. The switch is mounted in the door jamb on the striker assembly. The striker has a plastic coating and the switch is plastic. So over time the plastic wears down from opening and closing the door. A small thing like turning the air on high would put enough cabin pressure to trip the switch and the window would "flutter" up and down. Speed bumps, potholes, steep driveway angles, etc would twist the chassis just enough to mess with it.

You also had to remove the rear seat, door panel, access panel, etc to remove the striker for replacement since it didn't have a simple captured nut on the back. Stupid German engineering.

Unfortunately the chargers and challengers have some of that GREAT German engineering.
 
Have that window feature on my '09 Challenger. Been lucky.... the passenger side glass has stuck a couple of times in the 'cracked open' position but it'll fix itself if I re-open and close the door.

It actually addresses a real issue with non-framed door glass: The window tracks/rails get worn/loose from repeated door closings from the air pressure flexing the glass out when you close the door. This was a regular problem back in the day, including the Demon/Duster A-bodies; I can remember the glass popping out at door closure every time and eventually the windows would get loose.

IMHO: Sounds like the problem here is the switches, not the idea.
 
I have an2018 Ram with the "Hemi tick" . I leased it for 36/36 . After that they can have it . Looking for an old D/100/1500 to restore . Going to be a tow vehicle when the least is up . I've had it with electronics .
 
gunbunny said:
FIAT = Fix It Again Tony!
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Failure In Automotive Technology....Hell, they got kicked out of US market for their crap back in the 80's.
So the window goes down a little when you open the door so it doesn't slam into the seal that's in the roofline? So there is no option for manual windows.....How about bringing back the cool cars of the 60's and 70's with modern EFI motors and hidden airbags? Sure the 59 Chevy sucked *** in a crash but the 59 Chevy sucked *** anyway.
 
The Challenger with the smart glass feature was designed well before Fiat bought Chrysler.

It is a German design.
 
Ddaddy said:
The Challenger with the smart glass feature was designed well before Fiat bought Chrysler.

It is a German design.
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I actually knew that. Along with the wonder that is a TIPM.
But I have a sincere hate for Fiat and take any jab I can at them.
 
I'm going thru this same issue with my 2010 Challenger. The switch was on back order for a couple of weeks, finally came in Friday and taking it to the dealer tomorrow. I have the max care package and lifetime power-train warranty so I only pay $100.00 deductible. So while I was waiting for the switch to come in, I installed a battery disconnect on the neg. cable so it would not keep draining the battery, worked out since the car is garage kept. Just need to remember not to close the trunk as it is electrically operated and has no key lock to open it.
Kevin
 
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There was many a morning that I did not drive my Challenger any light frost the damn window would freeze.
 
mopar74 said:
I'm going thru this same issue with my 2010 Challenger. The switch was on back order for a couple of weeks, finally came in Friday and taking it to the dealer tomorrow. I have the max care package and lifetime power-train warranty so I only pay $100.00 deductible. So while I was waiting for the switch to come in, I installed a battery disconnect on the neg. cable so it would not keep draining the battery, worked out since the care is garage kept Just need to remember not to close the trunk as it is electrically operated and has no key lock to open it.
Kevin
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Yep, ive done learned that the hard way, had to let the back seat down and crawl through and pull the emergency latch.:)
 
Thats a joke! Aren't they built in the Great White North, Ontario Canada? I'm sure it gets colder than a witches' tit in a brass bra up there.
 
I had a Mini Cooper with the same feature but it never gave me any problems other than freezing up in winter also, I used to pack a can of prestone deicer around to unthaw them.
 
Ddaddy said:
The Challenger with the smart glass feature was designed well before Fiat bought Chrysler.

It is a German design.
Click to expand...
Yep you are right on that, I had a Mini with the same feature, it was made by BMW, it had a Chrysler engine, pentastars all over it!
 
Mopar-Mitch said:
I have two of the new generation Dodge Challengers, a 2011 black one and a 2012 red one. They both have the smart glass feature where the glass drops when you pull the handle to let the door open. After doing research to see what's supposed to be smart about it they say it cuts down on wind noise. But they never thought about them freezing shut which is a big problem and this morning my battery was dead, the cheap plastic switches go bad in them and the window jumps up and down until it kills the battery. This happened a few year ago and the dealer sold me two new switches for 97 cent's, went back today and now you can't buy the switches anymore and they want $94.00 for the whole latch just to get the switch. Way to go Fiat Chrysler! All these new electronics are overwhelming, cheap build quality the new cars are like bic lighters get a few years out of them and throw them away!
Click to expand...

@Cope has a GREAT solution to this.

Hemi Dart window regulators.
 
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