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Dead Window Motor In 2001 Corolla

By Daerauku, December 16, 2009



The rear passenger window motor in my 2001 Corolla is dead. I've noticed that the window motors in my mom's 9th gen. ('05) Corolla are significantly faster/more powerful. I was wondering whether or not these motors are interchangeable with the motors from the earlier Corollas. Has anyone tried this? Any information is appreciated.

I don't believe they are interchangedable - different part numbers in the catalog. The connector ends look different as well - at least the last time I had the Corolla door panel off and what I remembered from what the Matrix motor looked like (was replacing both OEM speakers at the time).

Easiest way is to have the parts person pull both part numbers and compare them side by side. See if they match physically (overall dimetions, mounting point, gears, connector, etc.) The only thing in the air is the current rating of the motor. If they are "stronger" then I'd worry about overloading the 2001 Corolla's wiring. You don't want to introduce a "new" problem when you replace the window lift motor.

Also, check as see what caused the original motor to burn up - is the regulator sticking? window track need lubrication? etc.?

You're right that the newer ones probably require more current - I hadn't thought about that. If the only thing keeping it from working was the connector then I think I could probably find a way to work around that. I am more worried about the mounting points and the gears. Looking at pictures on the Internet, I can tell that they are roughly the same size and shape, but it's hard to tell much more than that. I'll see if a local parts department has them in stock so I can look at them side by side.

I did think about the fact that it might not have been the motor's fault, and that a problem somewhere else might have caused it, but I'm not really sure how to go about figuring out whether or not that's the case.

This motor started getting weak around when the car had about 90,000 miles, and finally died right around 100,000 miles. I've owned the car since 45,000 miles and I roll the windows down a lot, as did the previous (second) owner. The front passenger side is also getting weak (it takes about a second longer to roll up than the others, and makes a slightly different noise), but it has been like that since long before the dead one started getting weak. The dead one died while I was in the middle of rolling that window up. About half way up it slowed to a stop and then wouldn't do anything. It sounded like it was trying, but the window wouldn't move. It had stopped like that a few times in the days before that, and each time started working again an hour or two later. This time it didn't. Not wanting the window to be stuck half open, I pulled the door panel off and connected the motor straight to the battery for a few seconds. It rolled the rest of the way up quite quickly. I tested the wires leading to it and they had 12 volts across them when the switch was pulled. When reconnected to the car, though, it didn't work at all and hasn't since. I don't know what those symptoms mean, but if anyone else does then that would be helpful. I wouldn't want to install a new one if it was just going to die again.

If the motor works straight from battery power, but not in circuit. Then there is a chance that the wiring in the door is faulty. Could be as simple as a little nick or crack in the jacket of the wiring running to the window lift motor. You might be able to get some juice through it (hence the 12V source reading), but may not be able to supply enough current. Double check that the mechanism is not binding or otherwise putting too much of a load on the lift motor - no sence making it work harder than it already is.



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