Stevedore

I discovered a significant scratch in the glass of my passenger side window yesterday. It's almost vertical, and deep enough to catch your fingernail in it. For various reasons, the car hasn't been moved from its parking spot in over a month, so I'm sure it happened in my driveway. I can't see it being anything other than vandalism, although that's the last thing I would expect in our neighborhood.

More to the point, I'll probably just replace the glass myself; they seem to be available used for less than $100. I'm wondering how difficult of a job I'm in for.

Has anyone here done a glass replacement? Is it a reasonable DIY job? I've had door panels off before, chasing down electrical problems, and changed/repaired window regulators in other cars, but never in my C5.

reath1

If you've been that far inside the door already you can change the window easily. What will take the longest is getting it lined up just right. If the line you are describing is a perfectly straight line your window sweep may have caused it. I went through this last year. There are plastic rivets that when the sweep is new sit well away from the door glass. Over time the rubber edge gets weak. This allows the window to contact the plastic rivets. If the tiniest amount of sand or dirt, being on the glass, gets between the rivet and the glass rolling it up and down will scratch the glass causing a line a lot like you are describing. Put a straight edge on the scratch, if it is nearly perfectly straight that is what happened. If so you have to change the sweeps or it will happen very quickly to your new glass.

reath1

Oh, and make sure you snap the door panel back on between each test fit of the glass or it will be way out of whack. The interior window sweep on the top of the panel puts more pressure on the glass than you think it would.

reath1

And it will be pretty hard to find a used glass that doesn't already have these scratches. I bought a used glass, and while it was in way better shape than mine, it still had a small scratch in the same place. If you want a flawless window you'll almost certainly have to buy new or make sure the vendor inspects very well before shipping it to you.

Stevedore

Thanks reath1, I'll check the window sweep issue you described. It hadn't ocurred to me that something in the door could have caused the scratch. I don't use the car much, but it's possible that it happened the last time I ran the window down & I just didn't notice it until now.

woodvette03

yeah, the window sweeps/seals can cause scratches if damaged or have a lot of road dirt in them. i started brushing mine out with an old toothbrush to help protect my windows on my '03.