I FAILED At Replacing My Audi A6 Window Regulator *It's Not Meant To Be Repaired!*

My 2011 Audi A6 is at the finish line. There was one little piece of the puzzle I didn't need to fix, but Diamond Auto Parts shipped me the part so it was decided that I had to. As I started taking the door apart I realized this was possibly the worst regulator job of all time, the entire window frame has to be unbolted and removed, then all the seals have to be ruined just to remove the regulator. Once I got the door apart disaster really struck, come along for the ride, it's a wild one.
Thanks To Diamond Auto Parts For Sending The Parts: diamondautoparts.com/
MERCH: shopWatchJRGo.com
Shop Motul: motul.com
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#Audi #Copart #AudiA6

[@martind5534]

wonder if you couldn't epoxy the broken bit back into place if you're really stuck. but at that point it's also how long is it going to last

[@WatchJRGo]

I planned on doing that but with tension on the cable it can’t be done 😬

[@Viewer19]

@@WatchJRGo It appears that ice on the window could keep it from opening and snap the plastic if you try to open the window.

[@jreyman]

@@WatchJRGo Can't never could.

[@jreyman]

Depends on how strong the chosen epoxy is, how well it bonds to that plastic, and how well it stays put through the curing process.

[@chasewalter8915]

Sad we didn’t get to WatchJRMow

[@BlooMule]

JR at beginning of video: "Awesome job Audi!" JR at end of Video "A good carmaker like GM or Honda....."

[@JM-kn9dh]

@@xabhax why not honda? Theyre pretty reliable

[@user-zv6xb9kx1j]

@@xabhax Honda is a good car maker. GM on the other hand...

[@JM-kn9dh]

@@xabhax i know their 15. Turbo had oil dilution issues, but i thought the rest of their engines were reliable. It makes me not want to get a new car when even honda and toyota keep having major issues

[@JM-kn9dh]

@@xabhax that makes perfect sense. People think that reliability means not needing to do maintenance, and especially now with auto manufacturers pushing 10,000 mile oil change intervals, itll only get worse

[@Mattsaulnier]

lol replaces engine...piece of cake, window regulator....utter agony lol

[@riwoof]

That's why I have respect for you and what you do. You show the good and the bad, win and fail. I'm always amazed at your can do attitude and fearless approach to the job at hand, whatever it is. The shop is looking flawless !! 💯👌

[@lukeskywalker4944]

JR forgot rule #1: "Always check and doublecheck first to see if they sent you the correct part before disassembling."

[@n9wox]

Replacement part was marked RR

[@greathornedowl3644]

Love the channel, love the car, an example of German over-engineering.

[@mmavcanuck]

“One foot long number two” Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, you’re 35 years old, don’t laugh

[@peterg.8245]

Why try?

[@danielseelye6005]

Fine then, I will! 🤣🤣🤣

[@robertsturtevant6185]

🤣🤣

[@elbarto4394]

Lol

[@SteveBassen]

Probably easier to source a whole black door with a good regulator 🇩🇪. Happy 4th! 🇺🇲

[@lyndelbeckwith1706]

Not cheaper

[@gasNmudtv]

Doors for audi's are made of gold. New at dealer they are 1600.00 canadian plus 200 for the top trim and seals. I just redid my driver door due to rust issues.

[@SteveBassen]

@@gasNmudtv just found a C6 black left rear door on eBay for $450 shipped

[@gasNmudtv]

Now you have to make sure the paint code is the same. Could be a number of shades of black. My ibis white audi can be 4 different shades depending on build date

[@gasNmudtv]

Not to mention the different trim styles on the door and window tint.

[@computerstuff8352]

The marvels of modern engineering; "It's Not Meant To Be Repaired!"

[@trvman1]

and this would be a $500.00 if not more repair if taken to an Audi dealer.

[@fanatic26]

Isnt that Audi's company slogan? Nobody builds more unreliable and impossible to work on vehicles lol

[@gasNmudtv]

Yes theres a company that fails worse then audi. Its Bmw hands down

[@djnone8137]

It's an easy job, he just received a wrong side regulator because he took a free part , which I don't blame, instead of personally checking first. His error, not the car. In fact there is a waterproofing reason they designed it this way.

[@VanisleNSX]

I’m loving the Watch JR Go Headquarters! That old concrete outside could look a lot better with an acid wash. Very inexpensive and relatively easy to do.

[@FixItRyan]

Happens to the best of us, not a failure in my book! Thanks for showing all that detail. That’s why you’re my favorite KZbinr!

[@ppeterson9359]

Looking forward to the day you have some workbenches.

[@SteveBassen]

He needs some stainless prep tables on casters to move around to each project

[@houseofno]

It takes Volkswagen Audi to put a computer inside a door. BMW says "hold my beer..."

[@100PercentJake]

Meh. My Buick has computers in the doors, seats, etc. I love the computers in my BMW, because they mean I can scan the car and it will tell me if my, say, headlight switch is shorted out or not. My Mazda has a computer in the power hardtop module that will tell me the ohm-rating of every microswitch in the mechanism. It's just a different type of thinking to diagnose computer-laden cars but they can be a huge asset to tracking down where a problem lies.

[@stephenhayes3765]

Every car made in the last 10-15 years pretty much has computers in the doors

[@ssnerd583]

yeah...like the new bug that you have to take the whole bloody fender off to replace a headlight bulb.....yeah

[@ChrisVargasrpht2000chris]

That is not a failure, just a postponement. You will get it done.

[@christopherwinfrey7758]

Thanks to you & Hoovie for providing countless cautionary tales of the inherent financial & mechanical folly of owning a German car! Sooo...how long until you start trying to buy/flip Jags? ;)

[@robertbeirne9813]

No one buys German cars, they’re leased

[@ssnerd583]

Hoovie = how to take a mountain of money and turn it into an ant hill

[@MrTimdtoolman1]

As a retired body tech I have built a lot of doors and I have never seen anything as insane as the process to change a window regulator out on a car. Tough break on the wrong part situation, as always you take it like a champ. It is a beautiful car though. I worked for an Audi dealer back in the day and their car are put together differently than any other car on the planet, and once you work on a bunch of them it gets easier once you learn the tricks.

[@cwheeler42]

Same basic design as my A3 (except for the non-reusable insulation--that sucks). Once you do one, it's really a great design and makes changing a regulator way easier than trying to stuff both your hands into the door cavity! Everything comes with tradeoffs, though... One tip, make sure the door frame goes back on and closes against the car in the same spot it did before. There are adjusters inside two of the holes where the large torx bolts go and you have to adjust the frame front to back to get the door to seal. I missed this step and ended up with water on my floorboard. Had to take it all apart to do it again, but now that I know, it's a pretty easy job.

[@shadihumeid907]

I would have never imagined in a million years that changing the window reg would be this complicated lol. But I enjoyed the vid it was very informative. Love ur work keep it up I wait daily for ur vids

[@scottrlynch]

Not a failure, a learning experience. Good content JR. keep em coming

[@superscribe6651]

Awww ur not a failure JR, it's just car inconvenience.

[@died4us590]

He looked so bummed, but it's not his fault, that one part should have been interchangeable. With the floors blinging, at least he won't be dusting the car. I had to do a regulator on an 08 mercury milan left rear, and what was a joke, is the rivets that had to be drilled out along with dismantling the whole door, at least he got lucky with just screws.

[@JerryR390]

Videos are looking a million times better with the shop upgrades, thanks for the good work.

[@vasekanxavier1649]

Man i have this c6.5 a6 3.0t and i have the same issue. So happy a youtuber is making a series on this car. I have a pretty entensive performance oriented build done on my a6. Would love for you to drive it next summer when this Covid bs calms down! Btw its getting a manual 6 speed swap from a b7 audi s4 and aiming for 600whp. :D love your vids man!!

[@bozodog428]

I can't imagine the Audi dealer doing this job for much less than $1k

[@haroldboyer1174]

Awesome video JR.

[@coolimpala71]

thanks for captions finally, althought things happen when asking for part sometimes not ship right part

[@toddcurry3448]

LOL…welcome to Audi World! Story of my life. I swear, after they bolt one together it’s like they never EVER want them to come apart again! 15 fasteners hold on every part on them things…lol.

[@moosedastonerguy4876]

i have 2010 that looks identical to that a6. my back window just started doing this 2 days ago. so glad you made this video.

[@JayOnzs03]

I admire how you don't get annoyed and can laugh at these things. I know I'd get it done but when I run into time consuming hiccups like window frame removal and the wrong parts, I die inside lol

[@devinjohnson8297]

You didn't fail... Dude you are so good at what you do I wish I could be that good💯 I love your content keep making more!!!

[@connorohoare7470]

I actually liked the way that Audi did it meant I could take it out in one go and put it on a bench , you didn’t have to fight with shit behind panels once when you’ve done it once you’ll do it in 15 mins easy

[@jorgengabrielsson6660]

Yaa.. it’s brilliant and sooo easy 👍🏼

[@ajw828]

It happens! Excited for your Cleetus level yard.

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

That was exhausting, JR! It's no wonder that so many cars end up in salvage yards. There are so many little pieces of plastic that so many complex systems rely upon. Nobody could afford to pay a mechanic to fix the constant little parts that are not meant to last 20 years. They make them to her reliable for the warranty period, that's it!

[@PadreDProductions]

You are the only person in the world I can think of that has enough patience for a used Audi the rest of them need to go to a wood chipper when people are done with them

[@jorgengabrielsson6660]

The A6 have hade That design since the 90:s… it’s brilliant and sooo easy. 15 min tops and the parts are Cheap 👍🏼🤗

[@fillg]

JB Weld!! I had a similar broken plastic piece on the throttle body of my Accord. It held the throttle cable for the cruise control. I JB Welded it and let it sit for a day with the promise to fix it right later. Later never came and I remembered it several years later when I sold the car. I've been a fan of JB ever since

[@ssenssel]

"A mistake I won't make twice" What, buy another Audi?

[@stevenpdxedu]

I'm shocked, I tell you I'm shocked! Crappy plastic parts and unnecessarily complex engineering? On an Audi . . . NO WAAAY! You'd think they were made by some idiots, like the ones from Volkswagen or something! Oh, well . . . that'll give you some time to drive your R8 . . . Right? Thanks JRGo. 😁🤦‍♂️👀

[@SteveBassen]

BMW had multiple generations of window regulators with the same failure (tabs breaking off) but were made out of pot metal, so it's not a plastic issue. Someone probably abused the window on that one to cause it to fail, they don't typically go bad that easily on the C6's, from what I know of.

[@stephenhayes3765]

Every brand of cars I’ve ever worked on has crap window regulators at some point. They all use plastic parts because it’s cheap and they don’t want you to keep a car forever

[@stevenpdxedu]

​@@stephenhayes3765 True that. Show me 2002 De Ville with rear windows that work and I'll show you a unicorn. GM let that crap go on for decades.

[@robertwhall]

@@stevenpdxedu Yeah, all the window regulators failed in my ‘00 DTS at about 125k miles

[@djnone8137]

Every regulator I've ever replaced on any car has all used that same plastic. Average length of time the general population keeps a car is 2 years, so they build them to last 2 years.

[@25Wineman]

No Mustie1 this Sunday but a Sunday Watch JRG. That's a win. Happy fourth everyone

[@alecamal]

What a nice clean floor, really stands out.

[@wrenchesinmotion3282]

Two things. First, I can't believe the whole window frame has to come out. On the flip side, it does give easy access to the regulator. Second, did the trans for the Cube ever come in?

[@themekfrommars]

That floor looks so good!

[@glassvial]

Happy 4th JR!

[@DanMosqueda]

JR, I enjoy your work a lot. Your videos are generally the first I watch in the morning. I’m super happy for the great investment you’re making in your building. It’s smart to invest your earning in a way that could benefit you for a lifetime. Well done. Will the new walls go floor to ceiling?

[@davetires7300]

Why don’t you get a “POV” camera so ya don’t have to go Single Handed?🤔

[@sh1pp]

That’s part of the style of the channel. Bluetooth funnels and one-handed engine swaps. I like it.

[@alanbeckham9093]

JR you haven't failed at all, not in OUR eyes!!

[@JonBlondell]

You didn't fail, you were Bamboozled!

[@ssnerd583]

+ 10 for bamboozled in a sentence correctly!

[@theannoyedmrfloyd3998]

You haven't failed yet! Your success needs more time!!

[@nickhannaford3253]

Wow! I did some assembly of prototype doors and regulators (Saab) when I was an apprentice. And they weren’t that bad😱.

[@djnone8137]

You should turn the torque of your impact driver down when taking off tiny screws or working around painted surfaces. Also, using two hands guides the tool prevents it from slipping and bouncing around. You def put a bite on the face of those screws, at least a couple of em. You want just enough torque to break the screw or bolt free. Always set an impact driver to 1 and let em free spin first, then click off till your at a setting to break them free. That will keep your customers bolts, screws, and paint flawless, even if they don't see it.

[@Bicketybam68]

What's surprising is every part of the housing for the door looks good quality and almost over engineered, all the way up to the part you needed, which looks flimsy as hell and you can see why this would be the failure point. Make it hard as hell to get to and replace/repair almost as if Audi wish to justify charging a set amount to replace/repair.

[@Victor-ox1no]

Glad to see newer audi's still have pita window regulators.

[@janineloftin2151]

Happy 4th JR! You didn't fail. Wrong parts......are just wrong parts. 🥳 🇺🇸

[@404-UsernameNotFound]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Exactly what happened to my A6. I would have gone insane trying to figure this out on my own.

[@paulpierson2137]

That plastic part holding the cable end is the same part that breaks on my Kia Sephia, but soooooo much easier to replace in the Kia. Love the floor, well worth the money.

[@bobwilson7384]

The clips on my MK4 GTI kept breaking. After several fixes and tired of removing the whole thing, I epoxied the clips to the window. Worked perfectly well for years.

[@albertlilly]

Don't blame yourself for Audi's ridiculous design.

[@peterg.8245]

Always Unusual Designs Implemented

[@hawktwofourone8268]

Wasn't the problem the wrong part from diamond auto?

[@albertlilly]

@@hawktwofourone8268, made harder to find the right part by the odd design and incredible difficulty in making a design such a challenge to work on...

[@mathewfullerton8577]

@@hawktwofourone8268 The wrong part is causing the delay but the design is what caused the unnecessarily time-consuming dismantling and, I am sure, re-installation.

[@jorgengabrielsson6660]

That design is brilliant and sooo easy … 20 min topps

[@jasonbeallie5535]

JR is wearing a SAAB t-shirt whilst fixing an Audi. When he works on his SAAB does he wear an Audi shirt.

[@rwdplz1]

German engineering: "How complicated can we make it?"

[@Sylvan_dB]

Yes.

[@jorgengabrielsson6660]

It’s sooo brilliant… 20 min topps

[@timbarrysr8826]

It's ok John, things happen in life you take the good with the bad and if that's your bad for the week your winning....Happy 4th !

[@dcar]

I’m on my 3rd Audi and only ever had one regulator go thankfully. My old boss has an A6 also and lost count on the amount of times he’s had to replace them.

[@ScottJ175]

LOL KZbin showed me an Audi commercial right in the middle of you working on your Audi.

[@djnone8137]

I've seen plenty of regulators that are specific to DF, PF, DR,PR. In fact, I've never replaced a regulator that wasent side specific. The guide rail slot on the molded plastic has to be facing a certain direction based on left to right, like a mirrored image. They are always going to face the wrong way if you tried to switch sides. Could be wrong, but I've done quite a few on various makes and models. Never had to remove 1/2 the door frame but with an import I would just assume something dumb would be discovered. The lack of glue and plastic leads me to believe they achieved a water tight seal with that methodology without requiring that stupid tar tack plastic that never goes on again. Bonus points for not needing specialized glue to remount the glass to the regulator. I cannot begin to tell you how often that stuff fails and the glass falls out of the mounting brackets made of plastic. This can either cost you a new glass panel when it shatters or another hour of booktime to rip it open again that you can't charge a customer for.

[@ernieleithes6545]

One of the golf models you actually remove the door skin its bolted in ,to replace the window regulator far easier.

[@BobbysBackyardAutoworks]

Wonder if JR watcvhed my video on Audi window regulators. LOL Great Job JR.

[@bren70ssss94]

I think the train driver likes to say hi in his own way :)

[@superscribe6651]

Missed your videos 😥 it's been too long

[@plantedinpr886]

Hey JR, I like the fails. Good content. The best content to me is saving an old very loved model truck. The fails are not bad. Thanks for sharing. :-D

[@Speedycat]

Demonstrates the Vorsprung durch Technik really well.

[@mds2465]

I’ve seen those crazy things go bad before. They suck. It happened on a friend of mine’s 2000 Audi TT. So we got him a window regulator and we got everything swapped out okay, but then when we went to reassemble everything for no explicable reason the window glass itself just shattered into a million pieces as my buddy was tightening down all the screws. He wasn’t using any force at all and the glass just broke. Thankfully the owner had glass coverage on the car so it did get fixed.

[@hungryhungryhummer]

How do you get your torx bits to stay in your impact? Is there some kind of magnetic adapter I can use with a ratchet or an impact? I’ve never seen one before.

[@29madmangaud29]

"SIMPLICITY", is always BEST!!!!

[@spuwho]

Audi doors are pre-assembled on a robotic side line and attached using a robot as well. It is one of the last items attached before going into QA. Only certain options in the Audi are installed manually, like the interior console, options for the roof (sun roof controls) etc. After the door is attached the assembly tech checks the alignment and attaches the cables for the mirrors, door controls etc. Neckarsulm, Ingolstadt and the assembly center in India all do it the same way.

[@brainndamage]

Epoxy that cable in, it'll be stronger than the factory design

[@bearing_aficionado]

Somebody else suggested it and he replied that it can't be done.

[@HillDill]

Great content John Ross. Keep grinding. Maybe work on non german cars. Lol.

[@martinp.9853]

Damn I wanted you to finish this project JR, oh well, it means more audi content.

[@transtubular]

Yup, gotta love the whole concept of things that are never meant to be repaired even when they break.

[@Stellashines17]

JR,s next project really needs to be building some work benches. Lol

[@MikeG_9]

That’s 💯 % Jake’s job‼️👍🤣😂

[@100PercentJake]

and I can't thank JR enough for not asking me to help with this nonsense 🤣

[@31dknight]

What a great video.

[@Timmayytoo]

I used to work for Brose, who makes the regulator, and those are not intended to be repaired because the home mechanic doesn't have the machine required to correctly set up the regulator to ensure that the anti-pinch mechanism works properly afterwards. That's what keeps the window from trapping your finger/arm/neck in the window when auto-up is activated. I doubt even Audi techs have the ability to repair one. I can tell you from firsthand experience that repairability of the regulator is never even considered during the design process because I've designed several regulators and it was never discussed. Mainly we were concerned with how we were going to get the regulator to fit inside the door and drop the glass as far as the customer required while also meeting all of our durability, function & cost targets, and getting all the other suppliers to make room for us in there. That regulator was designed in Germany, but I designed a regulator for a Hummer H3 that was based on a lot of those parts. I can also tell you that the phrase "German quality" is usually an oxymoron because, on more than one occasion, the US office where I worked was tasked with fixing problems created by the German HQ. There was one generation of the VW Jetta that had so many warranty issues on the regulators that VW made Brose start paying the whole warranty claim - parts & labor - and then the US office were given the task of fixing the problem.

[@ssnerd583]

I've been a car guy' since the 1970's....this whole thing surprises me not in the slightest......like the Mopar 1500 pickups with the designed to fail air blend door actuators. They ALL FAIL at just after the warranty is up and its an 8 book hour job + parts to fix at the dealer.....it was so bad that several of the LARGE dealers had 2 guys who alternated, weekly, doin nothing but these air blend door repairs. The BOOK calls for removal of the whole dash assy to do the job and the guys who do these a lot can get the whole job done in about 35-40 minutes without any problem. The Audi people KNOW this is an issue.....on purpose, but it really does take the 8 hours(or whatever it is) they charge

[@danpaul4975]

You'd think they'd use metal instead of plastic!! My A3 was the same, paid a garage to do it because of time constraints but on my VW I did them myself and replaced the plastics with aftermarket metal ones

[@_-KOEN-_]

JR is not having much luck with audi’s lately

[@theadventuresofjavier8698]

Oh the bad words I was saying to Audi designers in my mind the first time I did one of these regulators. Even after many replacements I still hate on them designers 😡

[@jaym9529]

Happy 4th of July

[@glennp827]

You keep verifying my disdain for Audi

[@bkuznick]

Once again, you and other channels have Reinforced the knowledge to all that rebuilders need to Stay away from BMW and any Volkswagen Group products since they are overly engineered and a royal pain to work on. Thank you for pointing out the obvious to all!

[@MichaelSmith-wb1es]

Hey JR… are those Sunex pliers? They look like they are.

[@paullevy561]

Thank the car gods they sent you the wrong regulator, so you could tackle this insanely complicated repair. I thought my Mini Cooper was an adventure to change a regulator.

[@will89687]

It's hardly your fault that Diamond Auto Parts sent you the wrong window regulator!

[@rickcollinsva]

For screws that require long drivers I use my rigid Bluetooth impact with ext Phillips plenty long and auto torque so you don’t strip

[@ElT1greVerde]

i feel your pain, i spent 8 hours and destroyed a regulator in the process of replacing one on my TT Quattro

[@unstablebobgable]

If I could work on the Audi A6 with Watch JR Goes I would drink the cold Bartle Skeets and puff on the Cannabis Cigars and get all schmoked up

[@MassiveTrackHunter]

You can always tell a repair shop that works on foreign cars. Acres of parking for all the cars waiting for those "overnighted" parts that take days to arrive. I own and work on Saabs, so I feel your pain. No such thing as a quick repair, if a part has to be bought. XD XD

[@brantleyhudson2892]

I think that's a great video to show that maybe replacing a window regulator on an audi isn't particularly DIY. Just looks like a pain.

[@onetime359]

You haven't failed you learned.

[@Parknest]

I've had to do the window regulators on both doors of a 2007 Beetle convertible. I got away with repairing one and the other had to have a new one costing £105

[@davedelarosa319]

Thanks for sharing the fail. Far too many channels have embraced the "Powerblock" m.o. of everything bolting together first try with no issue. Reality has a harsh way of proving that idea false.

[@ZP87]

The "Transporter" Audi is A8L W12!