CarComplaints.com Notes: There must have been something in the water at the plant where they built the eighth generation Corollas, especially the 1998 and 1999 model years.
Outside of a few engine related issues for the 1999, these are about as dependable a car as you’ll find. And remember most of these cars have 200k miles on them by now. But good luck finding one; owners say they want a new car, but can’t justify trading in their Corolla because the darn thing just keeps rolling.
Driver side window stop working...have to wait 5 minutes before it will respond for a few inches. It's the motor! The motor is built like a clock - extremely well made with almost no indication of wear. Bench testing showed that the motor would not rotate once it had been run for a few seconds.
Elsewhere on the Internet someone mentioned a PTC Thermistor. This was exactly what was causing the problem. This is a special type of resistor "in series" with the motor that increases resistance when hot. It prevents the motor from drawing much current when stalled at the top or bottom of the window travel or in event of a jam, etc. The thermistor doesn't look like a standard "Radio Shack" part. By pulling off the motor top the magnets and commutator pull out. The PTC Thermistor is the two large copper plates separated by a silver looking material about 0.001" thick that are in series with one of the brushes. To fix, short out the thermistor. I tested with a small clip of copper wire. I made a permanent fix by soldering a jumper from one plate to another. During assembly, don't break the brushes.
The power window works great! I don't need an "electronic minder" to stop power to the motor at the top or bottom of the travel; I can do that. I don't intend to place my head in the window and push the button. If you have kids, this fix might not be for you.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
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Driver side window stop working...have to wait 5 minutes before it will respond for a few inches. It's the motor! The motor is built like a clock - extremely well made with almost no indication of wear. Bench testing showed that the motor would not rotate once it had been run for a few seconds.
Elsewhere on the Internet someone mentioned a PTC Thermistor. This was exactly what was causing the problem. This is a special type of resistor "in series" with the motor that increases resistance when hot. It prevents the motor from drawing much current when stalled at the top or bottom of the window travel or in event of a jam, etc. The thermistor doesn't look like a standard "Radio Shack" part. By pulling off the motor top the magnets and commutator pull out. The PTC Thermistor is the two large copper plates separated by a silver looking material about 0.001" thick that are in series with one of the brushes. To fix, short out the thermistor. I tested with a small clip of copper wire. I made a permanent fix by soldering a jumper from one plate to another. During assembly, don't break the brushes.
The power window works great! I don't need an "electronic minder" to stop power to the motor at the top or bottom of the travel; I can do that. I don't intend to place my head in the window and push the button. If you have kids, this fix might not be for you.
- Frank S., Sylmar, CA, US