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Frameless Car Windows - Warning

Just wondering what people's thought are?

Any pros cons?

Frameless Car Windows - dan86

Pros: they look good.

Cons: less structurerly rigid, more to go wrong as they have to drop to allow door to open, less aerodynamic

Frameless Car Windows - DavidGlos
Cons: prone to freezing to the rubber door surrounds in winter weather.
Frameless Car Windows - badbusdriver

Personally, unless it is a pillarless coupe, I don't really see any point. I used to have a Subaru, and they all had frameless doors, even the pickup!. But on the saloon or estate, put the front and rear side windows down, and you've still got the B pillar there, so no 'illusion' of a big open space to the outside.

So yes to this,

w126_slider_7.jpg

but no to this,

1280px-1997_Chrysler_Neon_LX_Automatic_2.0_Front.jpg

But I wouldn't go out of my way to get a car with frameless doors.

Frameless Car Windows - Manatee

Slightly more potential for trouble either because

- they leak (the kind that sit on top of the door seal like a metal door frame),

- miss the slot in the door rubber that they are supposed to slide into when the window or door is closed,

- or foul the seal because the automatic drop when the door is opened or shut stops working (can often be cured by a reset, but owners without gumption don't realise what's happening and just complain the the door is sticking as they use brute force to get in and out, as a friend of mine did).

My MX-5 has them of course, being a convertible. So far, so good.

The 'pro' is obvious on a convertible or pillarless coupe. I can't really think of one otherwise.

Edited by Manatee on 09/05/2021 at 09:11

Frameless Car Windows - UCB
I had them on a BMW 318is coupe. The regulator needed replaced on one shortly after I bought the car second hand but it was replaced gratis under warranty as I had bought from the main dealer. I was always waiting for the other one to fail but thankfully it lasted during my ownership. The windows would drop upon opening the door and raise when closed.
Frameless Car Windows - Xileno

I first came across them on a Subaru (can't remember the model but it was a saloon, maybe a Legacy?) about thirty years ago. I thought at the time there must be some advantage but I struggled to think what it was then and still do now, unless on a Coupe where the styling might appeal.

Frameless Car Windows - movilogo

It is one of those inventions which have no pros and only cons.

Frameless Car Windows - Sofa Spud

The Triumph Herald and Vitesse had frameless windows. Maybe that was a cost saving idea because the doors were the same as for the convertible versions which were quite popular.