Porsche 996 Window Regulator Replacement

[@bizzybooth83]

Just completed this job thanks to your video. I kept the airbag in and didn’t touch it (didn’t replace the zip tie though). I unhooked the battery when working close and then hooked it back up to adjust the window. No airbag light. Almost broke that plastic triangle piece that covers the mirror wiring that needs to be removed before taking the door panel off. Good reminder that it needs to be slipped up. Took me 4 hrs going slow but could do it in an hour next time. Thanks again.

[@AZdroptop]

That is great to hear and I am glad the video was helpful. Nice job on the airbag! I goofed that one up. :).

[@1eevahn]

My experience: the mirror triangle start at the bottom and gently pry out, then lift up to detach the top clip. Foam was hard to take off, I used a heat gun, and tried to avoid melting or stretching it (60 degree weather) . The window motor harness plug was extremely difficult to remove. Hold down pins on both sides and use a flat head or clip remover to push to the left and out. When you remove the old regulator, leave it on the floor to compare, and insert the new one in the correct direction. My 2004 had a zip tie holding the cable and another wire harness. Loosen the bolts on the new regulator before installing to help slide in the window. Once bolted up, carefully close the door to avoid crushing a wire harness, connect the battery and check if the window goes up and down. You don't have to install the foam and the door panel to check how well the window slides in the new regulator. Also, don't assume this will take 1 hr. Take your time and do it right. 2.5 is more realistic Thanks for the video and advice!

[@Engineerboy100]

lol I was so scared that airbag was going to deploy at 10:40 when you plugged it in lol😆

[@AZdroptop]

Ha ha. Me too! :)

[@crkproductions5000]

Making this replacement now. This is truly one of the best instructional videos for window regulator replacement on a 911

[@AZdroptop]

Wow! Thank you very much

[@crkproductions5000]

@@AZdroptop as a doctor and professor, I can tell you that details matter. Your attention to detail was amazing. Every time I thought I was about to have a problem, you solved it for me before I had to search.

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you so much! Glad it went well.

[@ramicerone7238]

I just did it tonight...after watching your video over and over again. This, and the Pelican Parts write-up, made it short work. Thank you for posting this - and my goodness, what a beautiful sound not having 'crunching' anymore ;)

[@AZdroptop]

Awesome. Glad it was helpful for you and great job on the repair!

[@stefaneulenstein]

Thank you for the video! Best guide on the internet. I used it as a guide in my 2004 C4S yesterday. Just a few notes for anyone who does the job in a C4S. There is no screw in the storage cubby and many screws were different (t30 instead of t27, P1 instead of T20). Other than that, the process was identical. One tip, I used a heat gun to warm up the glue on the sound deadening to make it easier to remove and put back on

[@AZdroptop]

Wow, thank you very much. So glad it was helpful and you got the job done! Awesome.

[@RayMelville]

Very well done video and instructions. Just finished doing the passenger door on my 2004 40AE. Didn't disconnect the airbag or remove it, but made sure the battery was disconnected. Just removed 3 nuts and loosened the 4th nut holding the airbag box and worked around it. Even replaced the factory installed zip tie holding the regulator's two cross members behind the airbag box. Didn't need to remove the door liner. Just carefully unglued the upper and lower halves of it and left the part behind the airbag in place and worked around it. Tried to diconect the motor but didn't know of an wasy way to do it, so left it connected and worked around it. Pretty easy procedure thanks to your very clear and detailed video.

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you Ray, awesome that it went so well! Great job sir.

[@Engineerboy100]

Good job on the video Rick. Just what I needed. I'm getting ready to do this job and I just needed to see the basics so I didn't have to learn everything from scratch. Thank you for doing this it really helped a lot. I might make a video of this repair as well, ... we'll see. lol

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you Clint. Glad it was helpful and best of luck. It is really a straightforward repair.

[@Engineerboy100]

@@AZdroptop Well I did the replacement, made a video too. I forgot about the plastic screw inside the glove box smh even after you pointed it out but it wasn't too bad, I can do it a lot faster now if the other side goes. Thanks again for posting, you saved me a lot more learning curve than I would have had to climb.

[@AZdroptop]

Very cool! Glad it went well and I hope there isn't a next time. :). I had to do it twice.

[@davidlessard6378]

Rick, I want to Thank You for posting this video. I labeled it (the best window regulator video) in my favorites. I just replaced my driver's side because of the noise you mentioned and the widow no longer dropping down when entering and exiting the car. You made this job look fairly simple! There are 2 steps that could reduce the time involved to perform this job. One is the regulator and motor can easily be removed out the bottom of the door. The second, (with a do it at your own risk disclaimer) is that you can leave the airbag in place, tape the grey plastic door liner up over it, and still do all the work necessary while being able to constantly manipulate the window up and down. Do not unplug it or even touch..When finished, no airbag light.

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you David! That is nice of you to say. And thanks for the helpful ideas. I thought about leaving the airbag plugged in, but the scare the heck out of me😃. I am a FF paramedic and have seen some nasty airbag videos in training. Nothing like getting an air bag to the face. Lol. Have a great night

[@corychecketts]

You’re my hero, Rick. I just completed the job on my driver’s side window tonight. My old regulator wouldn’t go up. Luckily there was enough room at the bottom of the door for me to loosen the window clamps. All in, it took me 2.5 hours to do. This video was indispensable.

[@AZdroptop]

Hey Cory, thank you so much! Means a lot that the video is helpful and glad the job went so well for you! Awesome stuff.

[@corychecketts]

@@AZdroptop It went better than planned. Dare I say that it was enjoyable? Take care.

[@AZdroptop]

That is great!

[@hardwaresecuritymodule]

About to do my 2002 turbo - your video has given me the confidence to tackle it .... thank you!

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you very much and best of luck. It Is a pretty straight forward job. Just be sure to have the air bag plugged in when you are adjusting the window!

[@janbjernfalk2821]

Excellent video - thank you for posting! One note in case it helps others: I have a Porsche-specific code reader (iCarSoft POR II), which has a menu function for reading and clearing the airbag light, however it simply did not work on my 2003 C4S. Fortunately a friendly local Indie mechanic with a better code reader than mine (I forget what type) was able to clear it!

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you Jan! I need to buy one of those as well. Thank you for watching.

[@debsisson4559]

Great job Rick! That takes guts to disassemble a Porsche door (3-4 times).

[@AZdroptop]

Hi Deb, gobble, gobble. :) It was an interesting install, but overall not too bad. Thankfully it is working.

[@skirrtmainey2405]

Hey I thank you for taking the time for this video and for doing it well

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you very much! Sincerely appreciate it. Hope it was helpful.

[@lawrencenewman4252]

Thanks Rick for a great video. Ive been procrastinating attempting this job but now that I've seen the interior of the door I'm much more confident. You inadvertently addressed the problem I'm having. The previous owner installed a new regulator and now the window does not go down all the way. I'm sure he forgot to remove the little screw that changes the regulator from a Boxter unit to a 911 unit. Problem solved!

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you Lawrence. It was a little intimidating the first time through, but it really is pretty straightforward once you get in there.. That screw definitely through me for a loop. :) Best of luck with it and I hope that fixes your issue.

[@rfk-k1951]

Kudos to you for fixing this yourself, I recently took apart a Dodge truck door to replace the lock mechanism, your fix was more complicated.

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you! It honestly wasn't too bad...just a lot of steps.

[@user-df7oc6ww8h]

Thanks for posting this video. Helped me with the installation!,

[@AZdroptop]

Glad it helped!

[@dwarfyh32]

Hi Rick. After my previous post my regulator went tits up so used your video as my reference. Very easy to follow and very informative, great work.

[@AZdroptop]

Sorry to hear that you had to replace it...I have done both fronts and had one rear done so far. I am waiting for the other rear to go at some point. :) It is great to hear that the video was helpful and congrats on getting it replaced. Have a great weekend.

[@apsirotin]

Thank you so much for this video. I need to do literally the same job as you recorded. I have been putting it off for a while now but having to open the door to talk to a person who comes up on the passenger side is getting to be very frustrating. I was afraid to do this but it looks pretty straight forward. Thanks again, I really, really appreciate you taking the time.

[@AZdroptop]

You are very welcome and thank you for your kind words. It isn't a bad job at all. Just take your time and it will go great! Best of luck. If I can do it anyone can!

[@scottmills6174]

Really nicely done brother...clear, concise and geat production quality thanks and very much appreciated. Saved me hours and did wonders for my blood pressure I'm sure.

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you so much Scott! Very appreciated and its great to hear it was helpful. Have a great weekend.

[@sgttombailes3380]

As for decades, Porsche has one of the most Over Engineered Door Panels as opposed to other car manufacturers. But, by golly they work extremely well !!

[@rodbuss1505]

Great video. Thanks. The airbag warning light came on afterwards. Maybe you referred to this, and I missed it. Reset with Durametric

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you! Yes, the airbag light came on mine too and reset by my mechanic. Trick is to plug the bag back in when moving the window. Glad you were able to reset🙏🏻

[@Kiwiangus]

Very useful ...thanks !!

[@AZdroptop]

Glad it was helpful and thank you.

[@dwarfyh32]

Not sure what it is called in the USA but Blue Tack is great for sticking awkwardly positioned screws to your driver to get them started in the threads. Might be useful for the screw behind the airbag label you mentioned

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you!

[@jrgenfriborg3508]

Very nice video. About the door and not you, as a lot of KZbin are “the person who make the video” thanks. Nice job.

[@AZdroptop]

I appreciate that! Thank you!

[@vunguyen-bi2jz]

thank you

[@AZdroptop]

You're welcome

[@michaelweatherhead9470]

Nice job Well done Rick.

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you Michael

[@douglasnorman8748]

great video. my window is making a clack sound when it reaches the top or the bottom and cannot figure out where it's coming from

[@douglasnorman8748]

i should say i have it apart to replace/repair a door latch. also an FYI.....my solder joints inside the door latch between the connector and the board, were broken and easily re-flowed. works fine now

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you Douglas. Looks like you found your noise? Sorry for my slow reply.

[@douglasnorman8748]

@@AZdroptop did the URO brand regulator seem to be the same quality as the porsche original?

[@AZdroptop]

Yes sir, it worked out well and didn't seem cheap at all as far as I could tell.

[@corychecketts]

@@douglasnorman8748 I just put a URO regulator in my car and it looked superior to the OEM part.

[@pl7868]

Thx alot :)

[@TheSelec71]

Awesome video very well explained in detail, thank you ... Rico ...

[@AZdroptop]

Glad it was helpful!

[@arvidkarlberg5845]

Actually the window goes down a bit when you pull the handle on the coupe as well, at least on my 1999 c4 :) Great video overall Rick.

[@AZdroptop]

Oh cool! I didn't realize that.Thanks for the info and I appreciate it very much.

[@MrJearley6]

Thank you for the help!! Thank you

[@AZdroptop]

You are welcome Jerry

[@27degrees]

It took me far too long to do it, but you need to magnetize all your screwdrivers. Then you would be less likely to drop screws down behind panels.

[@AZdroptop]

Amen NIck. That is for sure.

[@iangoddard4658]

Great video. Thx

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you! I just finished replacing that side again today, just about 18 months after I did it the first time. The regulator looks brand new so I'm not sure what happened? New one is in, fingers crossed it lasts longer this time. :)

[@guygiacopuzzi160]

You got an airbag error message because you tested the regulator w/o the airbag being connected. When you disconnect the airbag, of course, make sure you disconnect the battery first. Then, refrain from testing the window, unless, you reconnect the airbag. In order to test my window, I took some small bungee cords and tied the airbag to the inside of the door, but clear of the window movement area. As a result, I had no air bag error message afterwords. Otherwise, a great video, Rick

[@AZdroptop]

You are exactly correct! :) I was thinking I could use my reader to clear the code, but had to go to my mechanic to take care of it. Cheers and thank you for watching!

[@ricardomedellin943]

How much did it cost you to clear the code?

[@guygiacopuzzi160]

@@ricardomedellin943 Well, I never got a code to clear. Rick got a code. To clear them, all you need is the "enthusiast" version (cheaper one...) of the Durametric program. Interestingly, about a month after I finished the regulator, I got an airbag error code--it lit up the warning light on the dash....when I got my Durametric, it said something about a seatbelt...I cleared it and it hasn't come back.

[@mariofalfan2997]

Mi amigo you have a lot of patience, just viewing the video explains why they charge 2 hours of labor !

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you. Sometimes it is definitely better to pay the mechanic fees. No question. :). This one really isn’t too bad though thankfully.

[@Christopher28fair]

I don't like it when guys say a job's not too difficult, and then WOW, way beyond my abilities. The question I have, though, is; did you determine what was making the grinding noise? That's what mine is doing, and I was assuming that something had just come loose. I MIGHT be able to remove the door card and tighten up a loose bolt, but if that's unlikely to be the problem, I doubt I could install a whole new regulator thing successfully. Thanks for the video, though.

[@AZdroptop]

Hi Christopher, it really isn’t a bad job...just follow along with the steps. A little bit of a pain, but not too bad. The grinding was the bad regulator.

[@mwjunkbox]

This video explains the grinding: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWbEmJyAq7N0nrM I think you can see the same broken blue piece in Rick's old regulator. Great video Rick! Thank you. This is my next project.

[@clifft7832]

Hi Rick, thanks for the video. I did mine last week, but...there are two plugs to unplug to disconnect the door card. One white connector, one black. Whatever switch the white connector attaches to disassembled itself. I don't know a part number or name for that switch. Any ideas?

[@AZdroptop]

Hi Cliff, honestly I do not know the info on it either. It has been awhile since I have done the window switch. Sorry I can't help.

[@nickmuir8690]

Worked brilliantly for a day but now I’ve got a constant whining noise and no movement. Guessing the connection to the motor is loose!

[@AZdroptop]

Bummer Nick! Sounds like that could be it. Best of luck and sorry you have to take it all apart again.

[@davemcguigan218]

Great job Rick!!! At first I thought you had yet another Crosstrek recall! Thank God not another. How is your driver's side window?

[@AZdroptop]

Ha ha. No, :) Just a Porsche repair. The right one has been done already. ha ha.

[@andyallen5221]

Hi Rick nice clear video. On a related subject on my gen 2 996 cab with the roof gown and windows up they rattle every time I hit a bump. Ive stripped the door, following your video and everything in tight. Any thoughts ? Is this a normal 996 issue?

[@AZdroptop]

Hi Andy, I am not sure if it is normal for them to rattle, but I have noticed of late that my driver's side window rattles a bit under the same circumstances. I have not figured it out yet myself. I would like to figure out a way to quiet the top when it is up, but have not come up with anything there yet either. Let me know if you come up with anything and thank you very much for watching!

[@harleyrider9166]

Didn’t need to disconnect airbags. Could have let it hanging. Just an FYi

[@AZdroptop]

Understood...Just being careful. But you are correct not necessary.

[@harleyrider9166]

@@AZdroptop I mean it’ll save you a trip to the dealer if you’re not comfortable paying to have them clear the code. Both ways are okay though. Great video👍🏾

[@LuisHernandez-gz2dr]

What are thoses micro switch really call 2:47 I broke the white one need to find one asap ?

[@AZdroptop]

There are a couple in the door so I'm not sure which one you will need, but here is one on. Suncoast parts. They should be able to help you find the right one.www.suncoastparts.com/product/sku9x6dtswx.html

[@tomblair1220]

Good helpful, does that motor control the small amount the window opens when opening the door?

[@AZdroptop]

It can be the problem from what I understand. There are also a couple of micro switches that some say can cause that problem as well. When my other window was not dropping I tried the micro switch but it did not help the problem. I told my mechanic what the window was doing and he immediately went to the regulator. That fixed it right away.

[@tomblair1220]

@@AZdroptop Thanks, where did you get your regulator?

[@AZdroptop]

I believe it was from Part number: 996 542 076 04

[@herschelwalker591]

What if I told you, there's only 2 screws that hold your Crosstrek's door panels on and about 10 push pins.. This reminds me of the MKIV GTIs and Golfs window regs that failed.

[@AZdroptop]

Really! That's amazing and oh so simple. I guess you were in there for the stern stuff? Nice. You should see the rear window replacement on this thing! It's insane and the part is $800.

[@herschelwalker591]

@@AZdroptop Kicker 6x9s in the front doors, and 6.5's in the rear... The pricing sounds about right for a VAG part...thankfully no one rides in the back right, lol.

[@AZdroptop]

Ha ha. Have you decided anything about a different car?

[@herschelwalker591]

@@AZdroptop I'm on the fence, Jeeper me knows this car doesn't have enough power but there are a few mods I would like to try, sensible me knows I have a decent car, banker me knows that 0% financing on a Mustang GT is pretty damn tempting. So yeah, I'm tripolar at this point..

[@AZdroptop]

Ha ha. I love mustangs so I'm no help. I will say we had one on vacation one year as a rental and the visibility was horrible out of it and the hood was huge! The 5.0 would be joyous to rag on though. The new GT500 is pretty sweet as well, but crazy money. If my car keeps having problems you might see me in a 4Runner.

[@elbmw]

Hello Rick, that was very informative. Great job. Thank you. I wanted to ask you, as I have the exact same car (2002 - C2 Cabrio) with my window making those sounds but looking at the parts list I see the one you mentioned (99654207604) which is listed as generic in the list but further down there is a specific electric motor listed for the cabrio ( 99662410106). Is that an additional part just for the cabrio? Or should I just get the regulator (99654207504 - mine is the Left door.) that you used? Thanks

[@AZdroptop]

Thank you very much! I believe the other part is the motor that runs the regulator. If your window is making noise when you push the button my guess is the motor is ok and you'll just need the regulator part. I am definitely not an expert, but I think that is the case. Best of luck with the change out. It isn't too bad of a job, just takes some time.

[@kevinmarkland1884]

What type of noise did your window make prior? Mine is squealing and wondering if this is the same issue you had.

[@AZdroptop]

Hey Kevin, it made a nasty grading noise and then kind of dropped and would not go back up.

[@kevinmarkland1884]

@@AZdroptop thanks for your reply!

[@AZdroptop]

Hope yours is an easy fix! Doing the regulator isn't difficult at all, just takes some time. Unfortunately I had to replace the same one just a 2 month ago. Annoying! :)

[@kevinmarkland1884]

@@AZdroptop I appreciate it, and the video! Mine is making a wild squealing noise. No grinding. I think I’ll replace the regulator soon.

[@AZdroptop]

My pleasure.

[@2purplesprites]

I’m In for some work huh

[@AZdroptop]

Luke, it really isn't all that bad. Just take your time and it's pretty straight forward.