Door Glass Scratches (Widen Door Metal Inner/Outer Panel Opening)

Some customers may comment that the outer surface glass on one or more of the vehicle's doors is scratched. This condition appears on both the two- and four-door models.

The scratches may be the result of the door metal inner and outer panel opening being too narrow. This allows dirt and debris to become trapped between the outer sealing strip belt molding and the outer window surface.

1999-2001 Models

Widen the door metal inner to outer window paneling opening and replace the sealing strip outer belt molding using the following procedure:

1. Remove the door glass. Refer to the Front or Rear Glass Replacement procedures in the Doors sub-section of the Service Manual (Front -- SI Document ID #632211, Rear -- SI Document ID #632214).
2. Remove the sealing strip outer belt molding from the outer door flange. Refer to the Sealing Strip Replacement procedure in the Doors sub-section of the Service Manual (Front Door -- SI ID #632220, Rear Door -- SI ID #632221).




Important: Use a duck-bill type vise-grip tool to uniformly widen the gap of the door metal inner to outer window panel opening. The longer the duck-bill on the vise-grip tool, the better. It is important to open the gap slowly and to be very careful. Avoid bending the outer flange too far outboard as it could cause the sealing strip outer belt molding to not seat properly.

3. Measure the door metal inner to outer window panel opening and uniformly widen the opening 3 mm (1/8 in) by bending the outer flange outboard.

Important: Do not replace the sealing strip outer belt molding on 1999-2001 vehicles that have already had the new updated molding installed. The belt moldings can be identified by visually noting that the old molding has 4 attachment clips and the new updated molding has no clips.

4. Install the updated sealing strip outer belt molding on the outer door flange.
5. Install the new door glass following the procedure in the Service Manual.

2002 Models

Widen the door metal inner to outer window paneling opening using the following procedure:

1. Remove the door glass. Refer to the Front or Rear Glass Replacement procedures in the Doors sub-section of the Service Manual (Front -- SI Document ID #632211, Rear -- SI Document ID #632214).
2. Remove the outer belt sealing strip belt molding from the outer door flange and clean with a mild soap and water solution. DO NOT RUB TOO HARD or this will remove the flocking off of the molding. Refer to the Sealing Strip Replacement procedure in the Doors sub-section of the Service Manual (Front Door -- SI ID #632220, Rear Door -- SI ID #632221).




Important: Use a duck-bill type vise-grip tool to uniformly widen the gap of the door metal inner to outer window panel opening. The longer the duck-bill on the vise-grip tool the better. It is important to open the gap slowly and to be very careful. Avoid bending the outer flange too far outboard as it could cause the sealing strip outer belt molding to not seat properly.

3. Measure the door metal inner to outer window panel opening and uniformly widen the opening 3 mm (1/8 in) by bending the outer flange outboard.

Important: Do not replace the sealing strip outer belt molding on 2002 model year vehicles unless it has been damaged. The 2002 model vehicles have been built with the updated belt molding.

4. Clean and reinstall the sealing strip outer belt molding on the outer door flange.
5. Install the new door glass following the procedure in the Service Manual.

Parts are currently available from GMSPO.

For vehicles repaired under warranty, use: