‘Just needed a little hawk tuah’ Mechanic explains why common mod keeps windows from rolling up
William Chang of the Concept III auto shop had a customer bring in a 2016 Honda Civic EX-T. The complaint “Driver’s side window when using the auto roll-up will stop halfway down and roll back down.”
Every time Chang hit the car’s power window switch, the pane rolled partway up, then reversed direction. Chang noted for the point where the window stopped and found it was when the glass touched the rubber seal in the door.
He sprayed a bit of lubricant on the rubber and the window operated flawlessly. Chang joked with his assistant “Just needed a little hawk tuah.” Then he explained the modification that had caused the problem.
Window tint and a failing Honda Civic window
The 2016 Honda Civic in question had many modifications. One of them was tinted windows. No, the tint didn’t make the window pane too thick to fit into the gasket. But the gasket had hardened. “Sometimes when you tint the windows, the soapy water dries out the rubber and gets caught.” The result was that the window, engineered to detect a finger in the way and reverse direction, was being triggered by the hardened rubber.
It’s never been easier to buy the parts to modify your vehicle online. You also can find other enthusiasts on YouTube showing you how to install them. But from re-aiming your truck headlights after installing a lift-kit to lubricating the rubber of your window gaskets, there are many steps that other amateurs may leave out. Luckily, professionals such as William Chang also offer tips online.
MotorBiscuit’s reached out to @Concept3Performance for comment. You can see his original TikTok video embedded below:
