How to Replace a VW Touareg Window Regulator

[@onyxthebanshee]

very helpful thank you. I'm a broke college student and can't afford to go to a mechanic. I'm so glad I found your channel. ❤

[@jjmarz1001]

We're going to have to start calling you the Tourareg Guru.

[@flemmingpetersen7250]

Thanks for showing nice work i will give it a try by my self

[@spottedeuros1529]

It really isn't too bad. Just more than you would expect.

[@davidcochrane3671]

Great job! Td replace the doo lock do i need to takall that out?

[@andygnatovich]

Watched this video the other day and now just beginning this project on my 04 Touareg right rear door. I hear the motor working so I'm assuming that's not the problem and it's a regulator like on this video. Thusfar got the panel off and two of the cables disconnected but having a hard time disconnecting the wire from the window switch in the door to the motor. That's a real buggar...

[@andygnatovich]

Got that window switch wire removed. Removed the interior black skin bolts and successfully drilled out the rivets (never done that before). Tip, for readers, I started with my smallest bit the first time and worked up until it broke but after that I just started with the larger bit and it went way faster/easier. Now I just need to unbolt the motor and disconnect the speaker and that interior skin should be ready to pop out. Looking ahead, I've noticed on my 04 model it appears there are only 2 big T45 bolts, one on either side, whereas yours seems to have two on each side. ref 9:20. You seem to have a top and bottom on each side whereas my single is more in the middle. Unless I'm missing something.

[@spottedeuros1529]

Nice work. It may be slightly different.

[@andygnatovich]

@@spottedeuros1529 Finally finished this project today. Had to wait a week to get my regulator part in. (Thankfully my motor gear was in good shape) Had few snags along the way, especially with re-riveting the regulator onto the frame. I bought a rivet gun specifically for this but it was not strong enough to install the massive steel rivets that are required. (I went to the VW dealership to get the factory spec ones) So I had a hell of a time with those. If anyone plans on doing the rivets definitely buy a heavy duty rivet gun, those hand guns won't work. Lastly, I had a hard time getting the weatherstrip on right and my exterior door panel doesn't sit perfectly, and i don't know why. It's good enough for the clips to hold it in so it's not too far off. Thanks for making this video, it gave me the confidence to try this project.

[@andygnatovich]

Also, my window frame DID have two big bolts on either end, like yours. Two were masked under a trim piece at the top that I didn't see at first.

[@wenhaotan2789]

Hey, when I tried to remove the internal panel, the wires are tangled up between the two sides and I cannot seperate them. I have a 04 touareg too

[@maruk84]

De ce nu se mai închide ușa bine după montaj?

[@mrdefinitely8769]

I see that Jersey plate there! What exit?

[@spottedeuros1529]

John Merklin I grow up in Phillipsburg, NJ. Last exit before you hit PA.

[@mrdefinitely8769]

@@spottedeuros1529 I know the town and the drive well. Good video man.

[@spottedeuros1529]

John Merklin thanks. Hopefully it’s helpful. Thanks for watching!

[@dh7277]

thanks for the motivation Josh. got my door apart tonight and i can confirm you don't need to drill out the rivets. i removed the lock bolts so then no need to drill out the lock rivets it all comes out together. mine is a 2009 tdi so it has the harness to the door handle that must be pushed through the black panel. if you disconnect the door harness plugs you can push them inside the door so no need to disconnect the wires on the black panel.

[@williamwilliams5351]

Great video! I have the same issue with both of my front doors! Ilove my Volkswagen Touareg! Great video! You have the best video on this subject!

[@michaelcrowe8208]

Hi Josh, found your video on replacing window regulator on VW Touareg very helpful ,thank you. Regards Mick in Ireland

[@piuricricardo5455]

thank you for the video, amazing!

[@billbillw]

Thanks! This is definitely your most informative video to date. I changed out a couple of regulators in my old E55 AMG (W210) and it was nowhere near as difficult as what you just did. I remember buying a rivet gun just for that job...not sure I've used it since!

[@spottedeuros1529]

Bill Williams Thanks man! There really isn’t much out there so I figured I’d make a video. I still might go back and re rivet the skin in place.

[@dharmendrabengali2714]

Thank you for the video, it was perfect and helped me replace the cable management. Only thing I will say is that, you really don't have to drill out all the rivets, just the two together on the right, since they are attached to the plastic that holds the locking mechanism. If you drill or cut those out, you should be able to lift the skin without any problems.

[@xxmeanyheadxx]

NICE!!

[@LentikileJosephDitlale]

Thank you for the infor about the rivets coz my window had to slide down when I was driving on gravel road but now Im ready to sort it out

[@ogalief]

Thank you so much for making this video. I know that my regulators are gonna go eventually (since it's a common problem) and there is little info on clubtouareg about it. Tried to take the door skin off once and got scared off by the rivets Also, I highly recommend that you spray silicone lubricant in your power window tracks (scotty Kilmer did a video about it). Makes your power windows work much faster, as yours seem kinda slow. Much less stress on the window regulator and motor. Had an Accord that you would need to "help" the windows up. That $5 can made them work like brand new again

[@spottedeuros1529]

Yea, I was a little nervous the first time but drilling out rivets is super easy and I haven't noticed any rattles or anything since. Thanks for the silicone tip!

[@orangeclaudio]

😊 gracias !

[@Brados1221]

This video helped me without a doubt. Very clear instructions. Thankyou very much.

[@conradpaul489]

You do not have to drill out any rivets. There are torque screws all over the side of the door which you can remove

[@icoeltex3274]

Muchas gracias por tu ayuda 😊

[@maruk84]

suruburile dupa lateral au o ordine anume de strangere?

[@abdulnasserlawi7619]

Just got replaced mine, i have replaced it with copy ones still fine as of now but kind of scary

[@LentikileJosephDitlale]

Very informative

[@stuart4858]

This is the perfect example ofsomebody destroying a system by not knowing what yhey are doing. The whole door card including window regulator comes out in one unit. If you know what you are doing. Four bolts in the two ends of the door then it simply slides up and out. This video is a a perfect example of what NOT to do. Poor bloody car!

[@spottedeuros1529]

Excited to see your video!

[@berczigabor]

Those white pins that hold the cable harness in place on the inner door skin... you can safely remove them once you have the skin off, by pushing their clips on the backside of the skin together. Then once you've done that, you can guide their "wings" back into the cable harness, and once you put the skin back on, you can just push them in place. So, no need to zip-tie the cables to them.

[@spottedeuros1529]

Thanks for all the info!

[@pauliroha5506]

Hi, thanks for the video. A little observation, there is a slack towards the top of the left rail. That will definitely cause the regulator to fail again because I have done this three times on my '08 Touareg. The best thing would be to drill out the rivets like you did after removing the door panel. Those de-rivettig are really not needed as a section of the window can be removed . At all times the cable along the rails have to be tensioned. Thanks again for the video.

[@spottedeuros1529]

Thanks! Thanks for watching.

[@ДмитрийПрокопов-т1ж]

Спасибо друг, очень помог 👍🏻

[@IslandFloydo]

Thanks for this video. I knew this would be twice as difficult as all other vehicles (it's a Touareg, my first), but it's always easier with a guide video before starting. NOW, if only you had an easy way to repair/replace the Touareg glove box lock. It appears the only way to do it is to nearly destroy the skin or replace the entire glove box (i.e. the entire right side of dash)???

[@Sam33r00]

This is the best video on this subject. FYI is the exact same setup of the Porsche Cayenne 955 and 957... 2004 to 2009 models. Even the ridiculous rivets and the motor for the window!

[@soycastelo]

I appreciate so much your video. The replacement was easy following your indications. From Nicaragua, thank you very much and best regards, Ant

[@shadyomran5797]

Would anybody happen to know what could be causing my window tint to get scratched as it rolls up and down? My regulator also makes some squeaks while it rolls, not sure if some pad for the window could be missing

[@xxmeanyheadxx]

hey i noticed something wrong with your motor you are missing four cylinders :P thank you for this video i'm so glad i didnt waste money on a nutsert rivnut tool !!

[@frankjubelius5875]

I work long time for. This problem... It s very good ... Finish.. thanks

[@dh7277]

thanks for doing this Josh very helpful. i am in process of replacing the inner door handle as a body shop damaged the handle holding mechanism so much the door handle will not stay on the vehicle. i am hoping i don't need to drill out the rivets holding the lock as i have never done rivets. there is a Cayenne video ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5zcaICfZ9qVosU ) that i think shows you don't need to drill out those rivets for window regulator replacement. agree there is not a lot of Touareg info out there so sometimes it helps to search for Cayenne or even Q7 help.

[@boricuapitbull]

I wish I would have seen your video after helping my brother, it has been b far the most dificult car I have ever worked on. Im on my way to fastenal to buy rivets...I went to far..ouch

[@adamgroves1188]

Looks like a pain in the ass

[@adamgroves1188]

But I am glad you posted the video cause I have to do it. Because my dumbass tried to roll down the window with ice on it. So thanks

[@basharalnasser]

Man, it seems that everything is more difficult on the Touareg. I swear, nothing is easy to fix on these SUVs. Oh wait, I just remembered, changing the wiper blades is easy. But that's the ony break you get with this car. Great detailed video. Thanks, Josh.

[@DarrenFarrelly-v3y]

Hi Josh fantastic video was a great help but what a pig of a job...thanks

[@KKEDRINE-wq4uo]

Absolutely technical.. good work 🥰🥰🥰

[@nrgsaver]

Thanks Josh, that saved me buku $$$$$

[@greggude5781]

I a few days I'll be tackling this same issue but on the Drivers side door. Takes way longer than it should and this will be the second time I've done this. There are a couple more rivets on the 2004. This video was a good refresher and helped me get motivated to get the project started. Thanks

[@spottedeuros1529]

Greg Gude it’s a lot easier the second time around. I bet you will cut your time in half. In my case I’ve done this three times now. Haha a lot easier now.

[@prestondanielgrant2152]

I am in the middle of this process. There were also more rivets on the 2004, up the the top, holding the skin onto the frame plastic pieces. I would also suggest using a pliers to pull out the rivets that are in the middle of the skin, makes drilling 10X easier. I also ran into the two wires being connected, not allowing the skin to come off. Had to snip them and will reconnect with the classic red 20-16 wire connector tubes. Wish me luck on the rest of it!

[@spottedeuros1529]

Preston Daniel Grant nice man! Hope the video helped. It’s not too bad once you have done it once.

[@prestondanielgrant2152]

@@spottedeuros1529 this video was a life saver my man. Saw a different video first and it was entirely different. When I pulled the inside panel off I was immediately stumped until I found your video

[@spottedeuros1529]

Preston Daniel Grant I went through the same thing myself. Couple touaregs and regulators later decided to make a video.

[@prestondanielgrant2152]

Update: window is working. Yay!!! Apparently I ordered one that had smaller circumferences of the 4 plastic pulleys. Sooooo it was too tight to get on the old ones. 4 (pulleys) X 1/4 of 2π(R-r) ends up being about 1cm. So.... I ended up shortening the inside tubes to get the distance the system has to travel to be less (making the tension less) and then I was able to get it on. Also, I don't know why, but my 2004 V8 had two wires going from the security/door luck (top right) connecting to the big black bundle that went into oval gasket (middle left). Needless to say, I had to splice those to get the skin off and connect them using the red 22-16 gauge tubes. All that being said, no rattle! Everything popped back in! If any of the plastic snaps stayed to the door frame and not your inside door panel, make sure to remove them from the metal door frame first, otherwise you'll have a hard time. Thanks for posting! Glad this project is done! I'll take a regulator on my 1971 VW Transporter anyway over this.

[@spottedeuros1529]

Nice man! It’s crazy how involved this job is. Other cars take no time at all to switch out the regulator.

[@MrWitchTube]

Thank you for making this video, i was afraid to do it after removing the second skin, but your video gave me necessary confidence to proceed further!

[@spottedeuros1529]

Glad to hear! Really isn't bad at all.

[@Dreancaidi]

That is very helpful thanks.

[@trevordavis9591]

Thank u now my mind is at easy

[@findingforever72]

So stupid question: I'm stuck with my 04 with wires from the door latch and speaker are actually tied together. I figured a a way to just remove the entire frame but was wondering if its crucial to know the position the motor was in prior to being removed? I removed what looks to be a relatively new motor and cable but really don't want to get everything back together and have the new motor keep going up or down if it's not already. Not sure if these are on limit switches or memory.

[@spottedeuros1529]

It's not that sophisticated. The motor turns on and off. When the window can't move anymore up or down it stops.

[@onlyonecannoli3952]

I know that you're trying to help, but this video is pretty useless. You need to have someone film you doing this or have a camera on a tripod so you can show each and every step. Otherwise, this ends up making sense only to you and those who have already performed this repair.

[@jamesc1484]

I could not disagree more. The window regulator on my 2009 Cayenne failed. I watched several videos for replacement on a Cayenne and a Touareg, which have different door trim, but the innards of the door are the same. At the time I viewed the videos, I had not tackled this project, so I had no idea what was involved. While all videos could be improved to some extent, Spotted Euros' video was by far the most complete and helpful of all the videos I watched that dealt with this topic, and showed me not only the position of the bolts and rivets to remove to get down to the regulator, but more importantly gave me an idea of what to expect and the tools I'd need to replace the failed regulator in my Cayenne. Has I not watched this video first, I'm certain I would have made a lot of mistakes and butchered the inside of the door. Thanks to Spotted Euro for his contribution to KZbin, which I greatly appreciate. Please post more "how to" videos.

[@JamesBond-ec4st]

I want to ask about the bolt you talk 20:07. Does that bold adjust door placement? Because i did everything the same but now there is a upper gap. Its anoying then driving because you can hear wind blowing. Also in my touareg that 1 bolt doesnt tightness.

[@spottedeuros1529]

Yes, there is adjustment with the 4 bolts. Try loosening all four and move the top of the window close to the car. I had to adjust mine too.

[@lubeck6482]

Mine just went. Dude u have been a life saver

[@edwardgorey8225]

Thank you so much for this video. I have replaced window regulators on several cars before, never have I seen one so difficult. It really is German Over Engineering and turns what should be a fairly simple job into a terribly ridiculous and difficult job. Shame on Volkswagen engineers. However, your video is TOPS!! Never would have been able to do this job without your help, thank you so much for sharing this.

[@spottedeuros1529]

Glad it helped! Really is crazy how complicated a simple regulator replacement is. I will say it's a lot easier the second time around.

[@edwardgorey8225]

@@spottedeuros1529 I hope to never have to find that out :)

[@Noudantochniet]

Tnx for the video. I believe it’s not necessary tot drill out the rivets, you can take the frame including the plate as one piece from the door. For the mechanisme you work from the other side.

[@spottedeuros1529]

You have to drill them out to get the regulator in the right spot on the backside.

[@Noudantochniet]

@@spottedeuros1529 , unfortunately you’re not right at this point. Just remove the screws you already did. remove the lock/cilinder (when it s there) and the 4 torx screws on the sides of the door and The 2 spline 10 from the lock itself. No drilling at all. And you can take the door apart. You’re Welcome

[@jakepersad5566]

Excellent video instruction, Touaregs are always intimidating to work on , your video has helped me tremendously in being more confident to do my own repairs. thanks once again.

[@spottedeuros1529]

Really not hard. Rivets are the worst part.

[@matemeszaros8352]

⁠​⁠@@spottedeuros1529Thanks a lot!😊 may i have a question pls? If I wanna remove my door lock, remove the black plate too? Or just a 4 T45 and all in one ?

[@abdulnasser6258]

what's the revet size?

[@spottedeuros1529]

I don't know

[@AK-yw9qs]

you have destroyed the originality, no need removal of blind rivets, just remove the front and side screws, the entire door assembly will come out along with the glass.

[@rodrigocoronaalvarez529]

If the guy said you cant do it without popping the rivets, can you expans on ypur suggestion?

[@AK-yw9qs]

@@rodrigocoronaalvarez529 I have already given the procedure in my comment, there are two torx screws side of the door, if you remove them the entire glass door assembly will slide out from the top.

[@rodrigocoronaalvarez529]

@@AK-yw9qs got it. Will give it a try once part comes in. I changed the driver side and i had to punch out the rivets that time.

[@AK-yw9qs]

@@rodrigocoronaalvarez529 make sure you have additional two set of hands, to slide it out safely.

[@abdulnasserlawi7619]

Can you do the back door as well?

[@spottedeuros1529]

Abdul Nasser Lawi the back is the exact same as the front.

[@jurmo2]

Thank you for all the info I have a 2006Touareg 6cylinder Im now repacking my left window regulator,this is my absolutely last penny I put in this car.what a piece of junk with the name VW . 86000 Miles nothing but Repairs thanks again