Newbie here, appreciate some help on vibe rear hatch glass window replace.

[jiminyvr]

the year just gets better.I had the misfortune of (backing into) into a concrete corner in an underground parking lot - and it literally blew my rear hatchback glass window out. (see pic attached). the corner just touched the glass and POW.estimate is too much for me to afford so I'm sourcing the rear glass part.1) is it hard to install a new rear glass ~ any instructions online...2) related to the first question, but I've noticed some used part places selling "just the glass" or "the rear glass with wiper/arms". Is it a lot harder to just "install the glass" one? I attached the pics of two types of rear glass. 3) I noticed that the rear wiper mechanism has some sort of metal hook attaching itself to the actual rear hatch - how do you "unhook" the wiper? My wiper motor is till attached via that black hook to the car it self. I tried to pull it off but it seems locked in there. I also tried unlocking the trunk too - no success.

[trb]

One lucky thing is the glass bolts to the hatch frame, so no need for caulking or removing trim and stuff like on many cars. Of course installing the used glass with the wiper and everything attached will be a bit easier since you will just have to unbolt the top hinges from the hatch frame, pop off the ends of the struts, and disconnect the defroster wiring. If you get the glass only, you will need to install the wiper and the strut mounts and the hinges onto the glass. A bit more work, but it might be worth the savings if the price difference is more than $20 or so. Have you looked on http://www.car-part.com to see if anyplace close has a used one for cheap?Good luck!

[joatmon]

welcome to genvibe. What year is your Vibe?It is not hard to remove/reinstall the rear wiper from the hatch glass. http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=40828 shows how to remove it, should be just reverse order to re-install.If the glass was intact, to open the glass and move it independently of the rest of the hatch, you can put a key into the hatch lock, then rotate the key clockwise. It will move a little, setting the hatch to be locked. If you twist it a little bit further clockwise, past "lock", that should release the glass catch. Also if you have power windows/doors there is a button in the dash to be a glass release, but I don't have that . So try putting the key in the hatch lock, twist clockwise past the lock position, and get ready to catch the wiper as it falls off.For me, whether to get it with or without the wiper already attached depends on how much more it would cost to get it with the wiper. If it was only a few dollars, I'd get it with the wiper. If it was an extra $50 or more, I'd get the glass without the wiper.

[jiminyvr]

thanks, I will try that - and its a 2005

[journeyforce]

The reason that somebody is selling the glass without the wiper is because they sold the wiper mechanism separately.You can use yours if you want to save some money or you can buy the whole thing and just plug and play. The 2003-2008 will workHave a friend/spouse/person off the street etc to help hold the window while you install it.The wiperless window will be as easy to install as the one with the wiper already on it. You just need to transfer your wiper assembly to it.Good luckOh and if you can get new gas struts/prop rods to install because yours are 7 years old and bound to be weak