Frozen drivers window

[BigCheesy]

Up this morning and the temp was about -4 degrees ish, door of the outdoor stored g29 was slightly frosty on opening. When I tried to close the door it would not shut as the window was frozen in the fully up position and would not drop slightly to fit into the door seal. It took half an hour with heating on full blast on the door to get it to move at all and another couple of hours before the window would perform as it should. I thought I had burst the window mechanism and didn’t want to smash the window. Any one had this and suggested solutions. Cheers

[bonzo]

Yep - Happens all the time. You can open the door but it won't shut properly. If the window won't budge you can shut the door and drive off if you're prepared to let freezing air flow into the car from the gap between the window and the car.

De-icer has come up trumps on the odd occasion but in very cold weather the window mechanism is completely frozen and doesn't work until Spring comes along.

[Russ Z4]

Had the same this morning. I just got a bit of warm water (from the tap) and poured it over the lower exterior rubber of the window. No problems, window dropped, door able to be closed. No drama.

[jenniferlouise]

It’s the common frustration of all pillarless doors. Our Beetle managed to drop its window to open the door yesterday (having seemingly cleared all snow/ice first) then refused to go back up. Both sides. The cold air blast on driving to town was bracing. The fix for most cars is (first make sure you’ve thawed it out fully) turn on the ignition (but not start it), open the window fully, then press and hold to open for 2-5 secs. Then fully close, once close press and hold to close for 2-5 secs. Turn off ignition. When you open the door it should now drop, close the door and it will reseal up. It’s designed to protect against any obstruction. Alternatively SORN the Z4 for winter (ours it tucked away now til April)

[BigCheesy]

Cheers. Worked ok dropping the top this morning on the A38 and A6 only about -1 -2 degrees though. Problem solved for now.

[StanDiego]

Had the same this morning. I just got a bit of warm water (from the tap) and poured it over the lower exterior rubber of the window. No problems, window dropped, door able to be closed. No drama.

The issue with using plain water is it's possible for that water to later freeze and make matters worse if ambient temperatures remain below freezing. Don't ask me how I know.

A safer bet might be a solution 2/3 cup Isopropyl or rubbing alcohol and 1/3 cup water, pouring the mixture into a spray bottle or, even easier, a spray bottle with winter-mix windshield washer fluid.

[KrusteKlubba]

A common problem for TT owners as well, but possibly more so than the Z4. It comes up regularly on the TT forum.

[ori]

I’m not sure why this works for me, but I start the remote ventilation and that thaws things out enough for me to enter and start the car.

Failing that, warm water in a bag does the trick a treat.