Back window is possessed- randomly goes down by itself

[guyaverage]

I need help! Yesterday I went out and noticed my back window was down. I didnt think anything of it, figured my wife forgot to raise it after pulling groceries or something, so I put it up.

I drove to the store today, and when I pulled in the parking lot I noticed in the rear view mirror the back window going down by itself. I put it up, and as soon as I let go of the switch it went right back down. I parked, put the window up, and immediately pulled the key out. The window stayed up. As soon as I came out of the store, I noticed the back window down again, and all the doors unlocked. On the way home, the window went down again, and this time I noticed the door locks clicking while the window was moving. Any time I tried to put the window up with the switch, it either did nothing, or it would go up while the locks unlocked-locked-unlocked-locked until I let go of the switch. As soon as I let go, the window would go down and stay there and the locks would stop moving.

When I got home, I parked, put the window up, and immediately pulled the key out again. The window stayed up. About 20 minutes later, I went out, the window was down, and the doors unlocked. This is going to be a real problem!

I dont have the fob, just the key. The only keyfob we have is on my wifes keychain and it was nowhere near the truck during any of this.

Any ideas? Fried rear window ecu? Bad switch? Short circuit somewhere? I can pull the rear window motor wire connector as a short term fix to keep it from going down, we dont really use the back window much anyway. But having the door locks involved randomly opening the locks, thats a problem. Anyone have any ideas?? Wife just got laid off from her job, not a good time for this.....

[devilbones]

I had to replace my back door handle and noticed that there was an excessive amount of moisture in there. Lots of rusty bolts and we too have had times where the back did not go up or down. I think that somehow water gets in there an the electronics are affected. Might want to pull the cover off the back door and take a peek.

[guyaverage]

I'm inclined to agree with the moisture diagnosis. Between the melting snow, caked on ice, and one very thorough car wash, we have had our share of water here. And its been two unseasonably dry, warmer days since this happened and in about 50 miles of driving and the window and locks are working fine. I put the window up and down probably a dozen times while driving yesterday and no glitches.

[nem]

I'd think it's more likely a door and window module. I believe there's one in the seq that recieves the signal from your fob and then does the multifunctions as shown on the fob. If it happens again i'd look for that unit and see if you can unplug it or pull the fuse for it.

Hey - at least it isn't setting off the panic mode randomly .... yet?

[tuckerinspired]

...hopefully this will help your situation

TSB EL008-01 Title: UNINTENDED POWER REAR WINDOW
ACTIVATION.

Some owners of 2001 model year Sequoia vehicles may complain of unintended or accidental rear window activation. In order to address these concerns, new wireless transmitter rear window button tension has been adopted.

see attached TSB

[guyaverage]

^^ Our only fob was literally miles away every time this has happened. I dont have one and the wife's wasnt nearby when it happended this weekend either.

Originally Posted by nem

I'd think it's more likely a door and window module. I believe there's one in the seq that recieves the signal from your fob and then does the multifunctions as shown on the fob. If it happens again i'd look for that unit and see if you can unplug it or pull the fuse for it.

I think I agree with the bad module diagnosis. Dry weather here, but the ghost reappeared this weekend anyway, window randomly opening and closing, with the power locks going berserk any time the window moves. I thought I'd take a look inside the rear door, and perform the rear window TSB while I was in there (which ended up being painfully simple to do). Anyway in the course of pulling the inside metal panel off, I unplugged the various parts of the wiring harness, which unfortunately included the computer which is riveted to the panel itself. Bad move. Now, I can no longer use my key to unlock the back door. I either have to use the wifes fob, or unlock it with the driver door lock switch. The back window, which used to work with the key in the rear door, or the switch on the dash, now only works with the switch. The fob, which used to operate the rear window, now just gives a long beep as the window stares at me defiantly and refuses to move, which is ironic. Basically by unplugging the computer I inadvertantly disabled the rear key functions, and removed whatever other programming was in there. To add insult to injury, the window still has a mind of its own, opening randomly at will, with or without the key in the ignition. So basically, now they key is worthless in the back door, the window still has a mind of its own, and I created new problems that werent there before.

I ended up messing around with it until the window closed, then before it could open itself I unplugged the window motor. Which is what I should have done in the first place, then stopped. BEFORE I unplugged the computer!

To add insult to injury, unlike the later models that can be reprogrammed using various sequences of putting the key in the ignition, putting the shifter in nuetral, pulling various window switches in certain sequence while flashing the secret handshake etc, it looks like the '01's functions have to be programmed through the OBDII port with an adapter and proprietary software (someone correct me if I am wrong about that..?) so not only can I not fix the original problem, I cant even undo what I screwed up myself. Looks like I'm off to the stealership for a little wallet-lightening procedure for a $500+ computer, $200 worth of labor, and a free cup of coffee. And all of this right just as the wife got laid off from work. Woo-hoo!

[fly186]

Well, I know it's no consolation to you, but reading your post about that window really cracked me up. It sounds exactly like the stuff that normally happens to me. It also makes my trailer wiring headaches seem pretty insignificant in comparison.
Good luck - I hope that coffee is really good and you get it all squared away for way less than your estimate.

[guyaverage]

Well, color me happy. I havent driven the Big Tree since this all happened, went out this weekend and the key is now working in the back door again. Maybe the computer had to reset itself after being unplugged..? Who knows. The door locks, ever since I unplugged the window motor, have not acted possessed even once (according to the wife, she has been using the truck), the way they did when the motor was plugged in. I dont dare attempt to plug that window motor back in. Dont need it, dont care. As long as the locks behave and the key works, all is good.

[sp04342]

I do not believe it is an issue with just the '01's, my '02 has the same issue, as someone else stated earlier in this post I believe it is a moisture issue problem inside the back hatch as the other night when this happened it was pouring. The window would stay up fine until I either operated the rear wiper or the rear window defroster which all 3 the window, wiper, and defroster all are integrated, as soon as I use either of those functions the window would go down and the door locks went crazy, locking and unlocking about half a dozen times in a couple of seconds. I thought maybe the battery was dead in my FOB where that controls the rear window and locks so I took the battery out of it and kept it over 500 feet from the truck but the same issue persisted. I do not use the power rear window anyway as it is not that big of a deal to just open the hatch so I just unplugged the 2 wire plug going to the window motor, now my door locks stopped clicking the window stays up and the wiper and defroster work, I would assume from this that the window motor is shorting out the other components, so replacing the motor should resolve the problem. maybe I'll get one from a salvage yard and give that a since that would be the cheapest solution.

[guyaverage]

If you do replace the window motor and the problem disappears, do report back to let us know. What you are describing is exactly what happened to mine, esp about the door locks going crazy. Ever since I unplugged the window motor the locks have behaved themselves. I too thought about replacing the motor as an experiment but finding a Sequoia, Tundra, or 4Runner in a yard around here is an extremely rare find, in my experience. I was thinking about removing the motor, cleaning it thoroughly, then sealing it with RTV or 'liquid electrical tape' type sealant to keep the moisture out. Nothing to lose at this point by trying that.

[venturen]

I just fixed a problem like this. The rear window developed a mind of its own going up and down at random. And when driving after a rain storm the door locks would lock and unlock repeatedly. Took it to the dealer and he said I needed to replace the rear locking mechanism. But after some investigation I found the panel where the rear license is, was leaking water that got on the rear of key switch that controls the locking and the window. Basically over time the seal on the rear panel fails allowing the water in. I sealed it using some silicone and no more problem. Good luck to all that get this problem, because Toyota doesn't appear to have figured out yet!