DIY - Replacing the front door window regulator clips and/or door lock module

[VgRt6]

Thanks.

FYI, for Passat owners, check out the same Passat-specific procedure at http://www.taligentx.com/passa...anism/.

[shopfree4pc]

Excellent DIY Gary.

I own a 2001 Passat (I believe 2001.5) and my driver side front window wasn't comming up and went to dealer and got a quote for 750 to replace regulator and motor and 2.5 hrs of labor. I asked them to put everything back and paid 100 as I wasn't ready to put that much on this car now...looking in to the left out motor and regulator and your pictures in DIY looks like I could do this myself. They left motor outside and looking in to it seems that it could be used - hinges are not bad as dealer was saying and motor was working (i hear working noise) before I took it to the dealer. Only thing I see bad was the cable - it was cut out and that is what I think caused by window to be down. So replacing that should get everything back to normal.

So, my question is: Does the cable from replacement kit works/fits with my passat? Pictures seems to show both of them are same. Looking arround I couldn't find a defenite answer. Dealer says I have to order regulator replacement (not sure it I get only black cross bars+cable and all or I will get whole regulator panel)...trying to figure out how to go about this. Any option to change just the cable instead of whole regulator panel? Your input is appreciated.

Thanks
Prem

[GARY@INNOVATIVEWIRING]

Prem,

On the Passat you will have to but a complete window regulator, no cable kit available.

Gary
(different from the thread author)

[shopfree4pc]

Thank You Innovative Gary! for the quick reply.

If you could, do you mind pointing me to the correct part if available online or do I have to go to the dealer for part? If available picture of the regulator part as I don't see any pictures on the sites where I can find the item!

I never did any car repair myself and don't mind trying it out...keeping that in mind do you think I could manage this if I buy the part? does this include any hard riviting involved? as I am not sure if I will get the frame with the regulator? Do I have to fiddle with speaker?

EDIT: VIN: WVWPD63B71P14XXXX if that matters! 2001.5 Passat GLS

Thanks Again,
Prem.

Modified by shopfree4pc at 9:31 PM 12-30-2007


Modified by shopfree4pc at 6:44 PM 1-1-2008

[zerosum]

gary, i finally made the pdf's for part 2,3, and 4.

should i host them as well?

Part 1 found here http://www.mediafire.com/?1zmb4t4nwpj

[VgRt6]

You can host them or I can. Doesn't matter to me. The only thing that matters is that they're available for a long time when someone needs one.

[GARY@INNOVATIVEWIRING]

Prem,

Look at the top of this page. Gary posted a link for all the infor for the Passats with pictures.

Gary

[zerosum]

These links are all in Printable PDF formats
Part 1 http://www.mediafire.com/?8nk4tkvjole
Part 2 http://www.mediafire.com/?bn0lzzlzjaz
Part 3 http://www.mediafire.com/?bzxxmx1yp3g
Part 4 http://www.mediafire.com/?dtig2j2jl95

The site mediafire says that these should stay hosted with no time limit. They are also newer versions that have vw vortex in the filename and the author name at the end.

[beatles4life2]

Geezus, this post was incredible. I just had my window fall into the door the other day while driving to the mall. Turns out, the last ice storm here in Western PA had froze up the window, so as I went to roll it down, the frozen window stayed up but the motor pulled the clips right off the bottom of the window. So, with the help of this great DIY, I was able to take off the door panel, pop open the retention clip grommet cover thingies, and slide the window back into the clips and tighten them on down. Total time for first timer = about 15 minutes start to finish. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for the great pictures and description.

You should expect something from me next Christmas (or Chanukah, or Kwanzaa, or even in the case of the Costanzas, Festivus.)

Bill


Modified by beatles4life2 at 5:49 PM 1-6-2008

[VgRt6]

Glad to hear that it helped.

Festivus.

[JOHNMURRJR]

FYI, VW of A just told me the window warranty is now 7 years. My 99 Jetta bought new does not qualify. I am in the middle of a snowstorm in Colorado, and just had my first window drop out of sight.

[VgRt6]

VWOA mailed a letter about the 7 year, unlimited mileage warranty about 3-4 years ago. You should have gotten a copy.

[Sculder]

Excellent DIY guide. I've recently installed the window regulator kit on my driver's side door. However, when the window is put back up then it often, on its own accord, starts coming down again! On the second time of asking the window will go up fully as required. It's trivial but annoying. I would appreciate any advice.

[Sallynuts]

Hi... Just like to say thanks.. this kit is not available in Australia.. and it's the second time this has happened to me.. first it was my drivers side, now it's the passenger side. And my warranty is out, so my local dealer wanted to charge me $466.00. I have requested a quote from you guys to send it to me.. but also would like to let you know that the local dealer did not know that this kit was available.. anyhow.. i'm hoping that it will be sent and i can get it fixed.

I also emailed VW Australia about this happening to my car, twice, and received no response. I was really happy with my Golf, but now i'm not so sure, .

Anyhow,, thanks.

Sally

[snowloverdc31]

Thank you, as others have said, for an EXCELLENT posting.

I had a question which I can't seem to find answered in this forum. Are the window regulator clips standard? I'm interested in purchasing the kit from Impex and simply using the metal clips, as my motor and cable assembly is intact. I would be doing this install on a 99 Passat, not a Jetta, but from everything I can tell the clips appear to be the same on both models.

If someone can confirm this, that would be great. I know others have mentioned that they have purchased the entire window regulator kit for a Passat, which I am willing to do, but if I can just get the Impex kit it saves me some money. BTW - is there a place where I can order ONLY the metal clips?

Thanks again for the DIY writeup and thanks in advance to others who might be able to assist.

[luketrash]

I have a question...

My window assembly revealed that one clip AND one pulley are toasted. On top of that the free cable wrapped itself up inside the big pulley assembly.

I bought the 55 dollar World Impex VW kit to fix it, but was disappointed to find the following:

So, does VW sell a replacement pulley and do I have to drill this one out?

Or am I stuck paying 200 dollars for a new door skin assembly?? If anybody has any suggestions, I'd love to hear em.


note: this isn't my first post.. I just have no idea what my old username was since I haven't been on the site for several years. But thanks to the original poster for a great (very thorough) write-up.

[mattcsullivan]

Thanks for the DIY!

http://www.radioshack.com/prod...earch

Only problem I ran into on the door lock was the part at Radio shack requires you bust off the metal piece on top of the switch to work. Then I had to drill out the original rivet holes to the switch would line up and I drove some self tapping screws through there to secure it. Solder it up and your good to go!

Thanks again for putting this together years ago.

[mtj2k]

let me first say, a quality write-up has saved me over £100 fixing my own window regulators already! (who would use that flimsy plastic anyway!?!?) now i have a problem with the door locking modules. The two triple-square headed bolts holding it on have been rounded off completely . do you have any advise how i can get these out and where i can find new ones when i replace it?
Matt

[cvig]

Thanks! The ice and some impatience on my part took out my driver's window. Hopefully, it has just popped off the clips like the other guys (up above). If not at least I know 1) it's only $50 to fix and 2) it's out of warranty (99.5 Jetta) so no need to bother calling the dealer.

Great post.

[westcoastjay]

Thanks for the write up

[knine]

nice DIY!



Modified by knine at 5:40 PM 5-24-2008

[pault_uk]

Can anyone help? I followed the procedure and successfully replaced window carriers on front driver's door (uk).

(Thanks loads for guide.)

In my haste, I forgot to put back the door-handle cable tab back in its groove, and I couldn't open the door from the outside - tho it did open from inside. I took out the key lock part again, and plugged in the door handle cable. I screwed the key lock back in, tried the door, and it worked.

I then locked the door, and went away. On my return, I unlocked it, and the handle didn't work yet again. But this time, it wouldn't open from the inside either!

Can anyone answer:

a) what the hell have I done, and what can I do to remedy?
b) how do I get my blessed door open now in order to work on it?

Thanks,

Paul

[coatofarms]

Quote, originally posted by pault_uk »

Can anyone help? I followed the procedure and successfully replaced window carriers on front driver's door (uk). (Thanks loads for guide.) In my haste, I forgot to put back the door-handle cable tab back in its groove, and I couldn't open the door from the outside - tho it did open from inside. I took out the key lock part again, and plugged in the door handle cable. I screwed the key lock back in, tried the door, and it worked. I then locked the door, and went away. On my return, I unlocked it, and the handle didn't work yet again. But this time, it wouldn't open from the inside either! Can anyone answer: a) what the hell have I done, and what can I do to remedy? b) how do I get my blessed door open now in order to work on it? Thanks, Paul

I'm doing this today and trying to figure it out for ya.... so far, cannot figure it out...still working on it though..

[thegreek21]

i need some help. My dad and i were trying to fix the locking mechanism on the drivers side door because it wouldn't open from the inside. so we need to take the whole mechanism out. we did that all fine and had it reconnected but forgot to reconect the cable. so my dad then unscrewed the retaining screw too far and now it does notwork properly.
i am unable to remove the handle blank.
i cannot put the screw back in properly, so now when i do it up, it loosen it, and loosening tightens.
i know what the problem is by looking at the passenger side door, however i do not know how to fix it, any help would be appreciated
below is the screw that i am talking about

thanks

con

[moogman]

Awesome post... managed to fix my fallen window in a couple of hours! Two things that may be useful:

* I didn't bother strapping the window up into the frame, I just slid the whole window out and slid it back in at the end. I didn't feel comfortable strapping it, and pulling the window out was really easy.

* My window fell into the door. To get the window out, I jammed some long nose pliers into the rear-end of the window slit and pulled the window up a few inches. I covered the pliers in a thin rag so as to not scratch the window.

I managed to somehow pull the manual door lock pin, and I don't see how it goes back on. Anyone got a close up diagram/picture of the lock? It's not important I guess, the door locks without it...
[edit - found one - http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1542461]

Cheers again!


Modified by moogman at 6:05 AM 6-16-2008

[d1rty2.0]

thanks!! I just got my window regulator kit and I'm up for doing this!! Thanks so much for your detailed info. Also I will do the micro-switch repair. My door locks do have a mind of their own. l8r

[kilimats]

I loosen the screw but that part did not move, i tried hard but no luck

even the passenger side

any idea why ?

[natsilver]

Quote, originally posted by kilimats »

I loosen the screw but that part did not move, i tried hard but no luck even the passenger side any idea why ?

Mine wouldn't move at first but after 1 minute of prodding it came out just fine.

Thanks to Gary! I just did this repair in a short amount of time thanks to the wonderful DIY.

[teebo7]

forgive me if i have missed this but my clips seem to be broke but not too sure, window stays up, i hear the regular and motor going up and down....is this a case of the broken clips?

Thanks in advance!

also it's the rear passenger window on my 04 golf


Modified by teebo7 at 8:50 PM 7-19-2008

[VgRt6]

Sounds like either the clips are broken, the window is broken off where the clips attach or one or more of the cables has come off track.

[Good Old Car]

Great thread, helpful :thumup:

[JettaPaul]

What an excellent article. Thank you very much for the effort it was really appreciated. I used all of the information and I was able to replace the window regulator without minimal problems. Unfortunately here in South Africa we do not have " Impex " that you refer to but I was able to source the components elsewhere. I would appreciate any input on the removal of the rear door lock assembly as mine is playing up. I have tried but all I can
do presently is remove the inner door pad.

[quarky]

Awesome article VgRt6.

I had the plastic on the windows regulator clip broken in my '99 passat. After searching through the internet, I realized that I had to replace the whole window regulator since I can't get the clips separately . Saw this article in time, bought a new window regulator and am quite happy about it doing it myself.

I have a couple questions.

1. Looks like the the speaker is riveted onto the window regulator panel in my passat. I was thinking of removing the rivets, move the speaker to the new panel and secure it using a nut/bolt... Do you see any problems with it or any other ideas on how to move it to the new regulator panel ?

2. In one of the pictures in the articles, you've shown the new clip model with full metal and no plastics. Is that something that you can get seperately - so that I don't have the replace the whole window regulator - and if so where ?

Thanks

[18tfun]

Quote, originally posted by kilimats »

I have a door lock delete. (The same thing as the passenger side.) Can I just loosen the screw and pull out the piece like above, then do the opposite to replace it? This doesn't even require me to take the door panel off. If I put the delete slug in will my locks/windows begin to function incorrectly?

[Fitz2077]

ok this helps out alot thanks man