I have a 03 Dakota, since I bought new I have had to replace 3 out of the 4 window actuators @ acost of $450.00 each.. Has anyone else had this problem? I live in the southwest, so is the heat causing this?
I had 1 service advise tell, when they were in Washington they never ran into this problem, but see it all the time here in Phoenix.
Could this be a defect with the design?
Help..

 

Just had my 01 drivers door apart this morning to see why the window seemed to be binding and the door sometimes would not open from the inside. I could see no apparent problems other than the nylon mesh wrap around the door latch rod had snagged in it's guide hindering movement of the rod. The window felts were good and everything else seemed to be in order except for the door speaker wire which was sticking out quite a bit. I used some good old duct tape to stick it to the door frame to make sure it was out of the way. I lubed the latch mechanisms with some lithium grease and sprayed the window felts in the tracks with silicone. The window works smoothly now and the door seemsto unlatch more positively. Easy to remove the panel. 5 screws, lift the panel up and out, detach the lock and latch rods, unplug the wiring harnesses and it's off. If you've had 3 actuators replaced something is wrong in there and you need to do a thorough inspection inside the door.