Good grief....right front window fell down.

Went to roll the window down in my 2001 Jetta TDI......hit the electric switch, the window stuck for a split second, then hit the bottom of the door. Assuming the clips that hold the window broke.

Found a few videos on youtube how to take the door apart and get the window hooked back up with new clips, but looking for the BEST video......

Where is the best source for getting the window up off the bottom of my door and working again? Thank you.

Window regulator, very common. Why I have wooden wedges in the glove boxes of all my Volkswagens equipped with rando-fail power windows.

Used to be a metal clip repair kit you could buy, but those are NLA. Just gotta get a new regulator or you can get one of the aftermarket kits and repair yours. I have had mixed results with those, so I'd just recommend a new one from Volkswagen.

Am I making this harder than what it is to repair? Seems like a real pain in the bunns.

Maybe harder than some regulators, but actually once you understand how the door comes apart they are not that bad.

do u have a good source on how folks with a potato for a brain can perform this repair?

Take it to a professional. Seriously, that is probably your best bet. Just pay someone to do it if you are that concerned. Dealer techs can probably do them blindfolded by now, LOL. I know I could.

The shop manual I would think has everything in it, you can also subscribe to online versions like Alldata and Erwin.

ok, maybe not quite a potato brain here. I removed, rebuilt, and rebuilt the engine in my 1989 4Runner, so, I am capable of some mechanical stuff. Just trying to find a good source to follow on the procedure.

ok, I said rebuilt twice. replaced!!!!!!

Go to this website:

www.google.com

Select "video"

Type this into the search bar:

"volkswagen power window regulator replacement"

And pick from any number of videos you think could help you.

The Bentley manual will also have all of the information contained within for this job, if you prefer a paper book.

You can reach up and unplug the latch and weasel the inner cables through the regulator carrier if you do not want to remove the latch assembly. Up to you, but if you have trouble with VAG connectors like a lot of people do, you may want to just remove the latch anyway and unplug it once it is off.

The videos will not narrow down the 4th gen (A4) Golf/Jetta for you, but since those are BY FAR the most common ones to fail, that is likely what you will see the most of. You'll know by watching if it applies to your car, as the older A3 and newer A5 cars look totally different.

You don't need to replace the whole regulator. When I did the neighbours Jetta all we replaced was the cable mechanism.

Easiest way to do it? Go to a junkyard and find a newer mk4 that already has the metal window clips. You can tell by pulling the window motor and pushing the glass down until you can see the clip in the little rubber pop-out windows. Bring a 10mm socket on a cordless impact. Cut the wire harness, zip off the 8 or so bolts, and just take the entire door panel (minus the window of course). Cost me less than $40 for both sides, and you can swap the door panel in about 30min per side. Way easier in my opinion than replacing just the regulator or the clips themselves.

Swore I'd replied to this thread (must have been another one that recently came up as well)...

I've had to buy some of these (make sure you get the correct ones- this is just an example):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VW-Jetta-4...METAL-Clip-Holder-Front-Right-A-/160985471805

They also have videos!

Ive had this happen a couple times in both my VW's. In my experience, it happened in the winter months. As I hit the switch the motor would do its thing whilst the window itself was slightley frozen at the top seal causing the window to get hungup just long enough to pull out of the "C" clipsbefore crashing down inside the door. Seeing as your from Michigan, this may be what happened to you. I would remove door panel and take a peek, before purchasing any parts. Mine just needed to be put back in the track and cinched up with the torx screw and it works fine ever since. Mine already had the recalled metal clip holder installed. Took maybe 30 mintes of my time to fix the issue, no parts needed. Just a thought before you buy anything, just to investigate things first.
Regards

UhOh said:

Swore I'd replied to this thread (must have been another one that recently came up as well)...

I've had to buy some of these (make sure you get the correct ones- this is just an example):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VW-Jetta-4...METAL-Clip-Holder-Front-Right-A-/160985471805

They also have videos!

Click to expand...

I went straight to his website and they are a bit cheaper there.

www.windowregulatorparts.com

Cuchulainn said:

Ive had this happen a couple times in both my VW's. In my experience, it happened in the winter months. As I hit the switch the motor would do its thing whilst the window itself was slightley frozen at the top seal causing the window to get hungup just long enough to pull out of the "C" clipsbefore crashing down inside the door. Seeing as your from Michigan, this may be what happened to you. I would remove door panel and take a peek, before purchasing any parts. Mine just needed to be put back in the track and cinched up with the torx screw and it works fine ever since. Mine already had the recalled metal clip holder installed. Took maybe 30 mintes of my time to fix the issue, no parts needed. Just a thought before you buy anything, just to investigate things first.
Regards

Click to expand...

Wow - perfect timing. This happened to my son last night... They just had an ice storm (Wisconsin), I'm sure that is the culprit.

This is not a single common point of failure. Get the thing apart and see what's wrong. Could just be clips or mangled regulator or even a single cable guide.
Getting the correct replacement bits may take some extra effort.

GEFP said:

I went straight to his website and they are a bit cheaper there.
www.windowregulatorparts.com

Click to expand...

How is $35 (price for a pair on his site) less than $30 (price for a pair from eBay from the same seller)??

My experience with replacing window regulator

Mine did the same thing, just fell to the bottom of the door one fine day. Took the door panel off & found one of the pulleys mangled and the cable twisted all around the motor. Asked the VW dealer how much to repair & they wanted $500. I read on this blog that with a modicum of mechanical aptitude you can do it yourself. I found the repair kit on Partsgeek for $30. In order to drive the car & be able to lock it up while waiting for it to arrive, I stuck a couple of skinny tree branches inside the door to hold the window up. When the kit arrived, instead of the pulleys & what not already attached to a new panel, which I thought I was getting, it consisted of the cables, pulleys, & the attachments to the window all apart, & you had to figure out how it goes on the present panel. I felt like a contestant on Survivor, trying to figure out some stupid puzzle to win the prize, but eventually I did. Just pay attention to how it was configured before you took it all apart. Long story short, I got it back in the door & it worked like a champ. However: Somebody somewhere said to be extra careful when removing the door lock linkage when taking off the panel; there is some clip on there you have to make sure you get back on. I neglected to do this. I think I broke the clip, now the door lock button won't go up or down, and the outer door handle is perpetually locked & the only way to open the door is to insert the key & hold to the left while pulling the handle. I need to go back in there one of these days & see what's up.

So my brother calls me from work the other day. A co-worker of his has a gasser Jetta. He drove to work that morning, got out of his car slammed the door and the window fell into the door.

My brother calls and asks what going on. I tell him about the regulators going bad and clips breaking and hang up. After thinking about this for a while I call him back. Your coworker is a smoker right? Yeah why? Well the first thing a smoker does when he gets in the car is light one up for the drive then they crack the window about two inches.

We’ve had cold and ice several times this winter. So I told him the window just pulled out of the clips. Tell him to take the door panel off, his clips are probably fine. So he did and they were. He had called the dealer and they were talking several hundred dollars to fix it.

He was happy, the total cost of his fix was $0.

JDSwan87 said:

How is $35 (price for a pair on his site) less than $30 (price for a pair from eBay from the same seller)??

Click to expand...

Good question! I must have got it mixed up in my mind. I'm quite used to parts being cheaper when they are not on eBay.