Just throwing out my 2 cents worth. The one thing I noticed and I'm sure a lot of you have, is when the top is up and the windows down, the back glass flexes and vibrates back and forth. The faster you go, the faster the flex/vibration. It is my guess this is the reason for the failure? Design maybe another? But what I did was take my 6mm hex wrench, open trunk insert it and turn it until it clicked once, thus causing a little opening under top for the air to escape, and the drove it, both windows down. The window stopped flexing and vibrating. I know pain in the butt but could contribute to the longevity of the back glass staying put. Or you can drive around with the windows up and A/C and/or heater.

DJ

 

I went with the aftermarket replacement for my 2005. The installer I used (Lim's in Northern VA) said the Chrysler top only came with a 12 month warranty, the aftermarket has a lifetime warranty. I have had the new one for a couple years now and it was been fine. Unfortunately I have no idea who the manufacturer is.

Same warranty issue with a catalytic converter I had to replace last year, aftermarket Mercedes part had lifetime warranty, Chrysler was only 12 months. I really think Fiat-Chrysler doesn't want to provide parts support for this model.

 

The back window on the roadster had come loose everywhere except the two spots I had repaired before so I decided to take it completely out, clean it and re-glue it complete. It was actually hard to get loose at the old repair spots. Cleaned it up, primed it and re-glued it, taped it up and left it overnight. That was a couple weeks ago and it seems to be holding fine. I find it awkward to see what you are doing as you apply the adhesive. It looks pretty good at about three feet but won't pass the up close inspection. I figure it will be fine until it's time for a new dark blue top.

 

The "repair" might not be factory perfect on these.. but it will dang sure buy us a little more life out of the canvas..

 

Well....I knew that it was just a matter of time. I'd been praying that my rear glass would fall out during the warranty period, even if Ohio was not a covered state, but no...no cooperation at all. I began to think that perhaps my car was special. No...not so special after all.


This past Saturday (25 June 2016) I took my wife to see Finding Dory. It was a nice day, but I left the top up. After the movie we stopped at Godfather's Pizza for lunch. Yum! It wasn't a hot day...maybe 77 degrees. Nonetheless, when we came out of Godfather's Pizza I could see that my window has fallen into the back. It remains connected at the bottom, but the top and both sides seemed to have let go all at once. What a sad sight.


Now....does anyone know of a reputable repair location in Dayton, Ohio area? I can't pass a summer without driving my baby.

 

That is really what kills me about these things.. How they can look "perfect" today.. and laying on the deck in the morning.. Your not the first one by any means. Good luck on the repair shop.. seems the most repeated answer from any place is "not happening".. but it is repairable. Mine may not "look" perfect - but if I can get a couple more years out of the canvas before replacing I can live with that.. LOL

 

This is why FCA Chrysler division is 17th in auto ratings, and why their customer service sucks big dorks. Sorry your having this chronic rear window issue. Hope you find a good solution, I bet Chrysler will not be of any help.

 

You might check post #397.

 

Five of 2015's worst ten cars were FCAU products!

And they discontinued two that were not on that list!

Don't buy FCAU.

 

Hi All,
Thanks for having this forum!
I live in southwestern Ontario, close to Detroit, Michigan. I too just had our rear window fall down from the top while it was parked. It is a 2005 red roadster that only has 26,000 kilometers. Very upsetting to read about all the problems with the separation, since we also own a 2008 roadster (19,000km).
I contacted Chrysler Canada, but they said there are no bulletins, or issues noted by them.
I don't mind trying to glue the top if there has been good success with the repair for several years. Can anyone speak to the longevity of their repairs?
Thanks in advance,
Regards, Darlene

 

Look through this thread and you should find the correct adhesive to use. MrMiata used it I think.
I think Chrysler Canada stinks, they are avoiding any bit of trouble that they can, Chrysler dealers are the pits as well. I had four of their products in a row as my wife worked at a Chrysler dealership and the repairs were cheap, even oil changes were not worth doing myself. Had I to pay full price for the labor I would not have had those cars. I do not count the Crossfire as one of the four Chrysler cars.
I will never buy a Chrysler product again, I have in sequence gone through Ford, GM and Chrysler. I am now on to Hyundai, though I am not too impressed with the dealer I purchased the car from but that is easily fixed, hopefully.
No wonder there are so many cars made by foreign owned companies on the roads these days, the big three has only itself to blame.
With regard to the Crossfire I can see why the 'new' Chrysler Corporation does not want anything to do with these cars, it is really just the old name and factories with new owners, despite the money Joe Public poured into it. I think that the warranty on all of the cars have now lapsed, I doubt that a top on a 2008 Corvette is still under a guarantee, nothing lasts forever.

 

I was convinced with others experience with the 3M window weld that I purchased our 3rd Crossfire with the window detached.. amazing how low they will go when it doesn't sell on the lot.. LOL. Mine was repaired a year ago and still holding fine. In my signature click on the red text that says Top Repair if you haven't seen the video yet. If you go to Amazon for the window weld.. it will have the primer in the "frequently bought together" suggestions there. Good luck..and just plan on taking your time!

 

Hi Darlene, welcome to the forum! The two members (below) are just a couple of the many members who have a consistent record of detailed help. We all hope you can find the parts and skills to fix it yourself as repairing these cars can be quite tedious and expensive. Good luck, but most of all have fun!


Well said! I see the Chrysler division being 'dumped' by Fiat, soon. Not taking bets, just have this feeling they are not going to last long under the Fiat corporation name.


Right on, I just wish I took the time to centralize all the post(s) .pdf(s) I have downloaded over the years. The way my filing skills are (and the many hard drives I have scattered about), it's a wonder I can find anything. Hmmm, if I remember, DR Phil did a special on people like me (no, I'm not telling which one!).

 

Update on rear window repair.
I used the 3M product for this repair. The area in question was cleaned, adhesive installed and allowed to set for a couple of days. Since May the top has been lowered and raised each time driven and have not noticed any problems. I do keep an eye on the rear window. Still have not tested this in a good rain storm; it is only drive on good days.
I have to say "THANKS" to all that have posted on how to make the repairs to the rear window separation.

 

Well, I purchased the 3M window weld at an auto store in Michigan. I have on order the primer, cork, and blades. I still have a portion of the window attached to the top. Wondering how hard it is to remove the window from the top or if I should just leave it and glue only the unattached portion. I don't want to damage the top. Thanks again for the great posts and detailed information on the repair. Regards, Darlene

 

My top was attached at the top..and I left it that way. It helps aligning the glass that way. About two weeks later the top edge turned loose.. which was not a real issue to fix. Just cap off the 3M really well. The top I fixed for a local owner hasn't reported any issue with hers coming loose at the top edge.. and that one is coming up on a year now. Hers was done shortly after it turned loose.. I purchased my car that way with no idea how long it had been hanging and pulling on the top seal.

 

The first time I did the glass repair I only did the loose sections. After the rest of it came loose I had to clean off the old glue and the glue I had done previously. If I had it to do over again I would do the whole thing the first time.I only had to do the lower corners the first time.

 

Today I did the rear glass repair on my 2005 roadster. Not what I would call easy but with some patience it can be done. I have a friend who works for safelite and he told me how they do it. So here it is.
- Get some 3M window weld and a good caulk gun. You will also need the 3M primer and a brush I got both mine at oreillys.







- My back window was only partially delaminated so I had to use a knife to cut the window out of the top. Just go slow and make small steady cuts into the adhesive that is still holding.

- Once the window is out you need to scrape any loose adhesive off the top. Then take a 320 grit sand paper and rough up what is left of the adhesive on the top then clean it up with some glass cleaner. Next scrape all the adhesive off the glass with a razor blade. I used a handle that holds the straight blades so I have better control. Get a nice stable bench and put a couple towels folded up in the center so you can lay the glass on it and work without the edges that have the defroster tabs touching the table. I found out the hard way and had to resolder one tab back on. Once the blade stops removing the hard adhesive quickly, put a new blade in. I went through 4 of them. This old adhesive kills blades fast. Then clean the nice bare glass where the new adhesive will go.

- now go ahead and put your top down and let go of the button when the rear part of the convertible top folds upwards. Now you have good access to apply the 3M primer. Cover the rear deck and any part of the top that might get spilled on and apply liberally to the area where the old adhesive is. Let dry and then put the top back into the complete up position and lock it down.

- next, get yourself some good quality suction cups with handles you can put half a broom stick through. Oh ya, get a broomstick and cut it in half. I would get the pump up kind so you can keep suction on the the glass if they start letting go, just pump them up again. Now get a bunch of towels. Put them on the top, just forward of the rear brace so as to not put tension on the covertible material that is to be bonded to the glass, and the trunk in two positions to brace the sticks holding the cups attached to the glass that will pull the glass up into the convertible top. Clean the glass with window cleaner and razor blade the glass so the suction cups bond securely. Make sure your top is up and locked to the windshield frame as to provide the highest tension position the glass will be in. So attach the cups, insert the sticks and brace everything up so as to get the glass touching the top, do not pull it up too far or the top will stretch out over the edges of the glass. Do a bunch of trial and error until you are satisfied with the placement of the glass under the top. It should fit snugly where you can let go of it and it will stay put. On my car the top did not completely cover the black edges of the glass. I think I have about 2/3 of it covered. This window weld is tough stuff so it should be no problem.

- now comes the fun part. Load your gun with the window weld and cut the cap so it will lay a 1/8" bead. Now stick the tip between the top and the glass and go all the way around the window so the bead is laying at the outer edge of the glass. Once you have completed this you can go around the glass pushing the top material down onto the glass. You should do this lightly and it will take a few times to get the top to lay flat onto the glass, just take your time. Then take some towels and put them under the glass inside just for a safety net in case one of your suction cups lets loose while the window weld is drying. Don't jam them in, just enough to support the glass, not pushing hard on it. Keep an eye on it in the drying process to make sure the cups are still holding and the glass is still where attached to the top with the new adhesive. Also this window weld is very messy, have plenty of towels and thin, tight fitting latex gloves. If you get some of this where you do not want it, do not wipe it. It will just smear and make a huge mess. Just let it dry, usually 12 hrs, then use a razor blade to cut it away from where you don't want it. You will probably have some window weld squish out onto the glass when you are pressing the top onto the glass. Just wait till it is all dry , 12 hours, then razor blade the excess off. Make a cut between the squish and the top then make a cut between the glass and the squish. Then you should be able to pull the squish away and be left with a nice straight edge. Now you can say walla! No more leaky back glass!

Here is a pic just after I applied the window weld.

 

The rear window of my 2005 let go last year. The only part still attached was about 18" on the center of the top section. My car only has 5,500 miles on it, so the failure is not heat related as my car has been indoors almost all of the time and seldom driven with the top up. I used the 3M Window-Weld and primer and have not had any issues. Follow the directions in the post above. After about 10 minutes you will be able to flip up the rear section of the top if you need to work on it. I should have cut out the last 18" and removed the whole window to have a new seal for the whole window.

 

I am getting ready to do the Window weld thing as per:

externalfile:drive-8a6455dfb56b9b6d16a1e34dd27016685fdd9b8c/root/Galaxy photos /Crossfire/Repair to the Roadster rear window.pdf

It looks straight forward enough and I have the parts and supplies coming from Amazon.

Will waiting for the Amazon delivery, I thought I would do this post before I start to see if there are any extra tips. I am not a DIYer but this looks fairly easy.

What more do I need to do?

2005 Ltd Rdst.

Bruce