Abstract: A method for the non-destructive removal of fixed window elements (1) from vehicles uses a cutting wire (15) that is threaded through the adhesive bonding a window element to a vehicle and that is placed in a loop around the perimeter of the window element. A first end (15A) of the cutting wire is attached to a first wire wind-up element (16) of a single tool (3) and a second end (15D) of the cutting wire is attached to a second wire wind-up element (17) of the single tool. The first and second ends of the wire are then pulled with the first and second wire wind-up element until the wire cuts through the adhesive around the entire perimeter of the side window element.