Fabia window mechanism failed

[dicko14]

Hi all

Just got back from Autoglass

Had to have the passenger front left window replaced as the mechanism failed and let the glass drop and somehow it smashed into a million pieces.

Does anybody know if the mechanism is replaceable or do I have to go to a Skoda dealership to have it sorted?

This started a few weeks ago on the drivers side with the window opening ok but then wouldnt shut until I removed the key from the ignition and then retried and it would slowly close.

any help would be greatly appreciated

regards

David

[Confused_Cheese]

Pretty sure its replaceable as have read on here about others doing it... you'll need to remove the carrier though which may be riveted on depending on when it was manufactured.

If i remember correctly its normally a piece of plastic that breaks.

[dicko14]

Pretty sure its replaceable as have read on here about others doing it... you'll need to remove the carrier though which may be riveted on depending on when it was manufactured.

If i remember correctly its normally a piece of plastic that breaks.

Its an 03 model

Will both doors need doing?

regards

David

[ollymonkeynuts]

Do a search for 'window regulator', if its fooked then its about £35 from Europarts and about £70 from Skoda. Its a DIY job, a bit complicated and took me 2hrs fiddling. Usually its one of the plastic clamps which were changed to metal on later Golf models due to this kind of thing happening. Good luck.

[Rob.]

An 03 model, you may well be lucky and find your door carrier is actually bolted in, in which case its a straight forward job.

I changed mine, the carrier with window mech was £75 new from a dealer..

I stripped the door, drilled out the old rivets (you may have bolts, not rivets) and then fitted the new carrier and mech..

Then I gaffa taped it into position and popped back to Skoda who riveted it back together for me for £20.

I'd planned to do it my self but they use some Maa-hoo-sive rivets that the average DIY store don't sell the tools for, let alone the rivets themselves.

If you've got bolts it's completely DIY.

[DapperDan]

i had to do my window regulator last week, my plastic clip broke resulting in the window getting stuck in the door. if its just your regualtor that caused the problem, they are £42.50 inc VAT from europarts, its just as good as the OEM skoda carrier i replaced. my car is an 04 and my carrier was bolted on, so im guessing yours will be a bolt on job too which will make it a lot easier. the only problem is you have to drill the rivels out of the speaker pod to transfer the speaker over.

[Rob.]

I wonder how the europarts ones hold up against the Skoda ones when it comes to letting water through? They might actually make a better seal if they're a pattern part.. lol!

[DapperDan]

to be honest, the spongey rubber stuff is the same on both! so probably just as bad haha

[Paul_Bowden]

I have a (02 reg) Fabia 1.9 TDI on 160,000 m from when I bought it new and experienced exactly the same problem a few weeks ago. I am not a capable DIYer and had the whole thing replaced by Unit 18 Autotomotive (http://www.unit18.co.uk/) at a very reasonable price - certainly comparable with what is being mentioned on here; obviously, I don't know where you are, but the fact that I drove 80 miles to get to them reflects how brilliant I think they are. BTW, the other window has also started to go now: apparently that's entirely normal, so you might be advised to budget for two at once! Best wishes.

[steve27bha]

This query relates to an X reg. Fabia 1.4 MPI with manual windows and locks.

The passenger front window winder will not raise the glass above half way, and feels to be jamming on something. There is some give in the blockage - it is not rigid from the feel on the winder handle.

Since it will not raise by winder or hand I cannot release the glass from the holders/clamps as instructed by Haynes. Neither can I manhandle by brute force the carrier unit from the door. I have the carrier unbolted from the door.

Since I do not know the layout of the innards of the door I can't work out what I can do.

So:- HELP.

Please.

Is there a technique to get the bits out?

Do I need to break the glass to get the bits out?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[viewer]

This query relates to an X reg. Fabia 1.4 MPI with manual windows and locks.

The passenger front window winder will not raise the glass above half way, and feels to be jamming on something. There is some give in the blockage - it is not rigid from the feel on the winder handle.

Since it will not raise by winder or hand I cannot release the glass from the holders/clamps as instructed by Haynes. Neither can I manhandle by brute force the carrier unit from the door. I have the carrier unbolted from the door.

Since I do not know the layout of the innards of the door I can't work out what I can do.

So:- HELP.

Please.

Is there a technique to get the bits out?

Do I need to break the glass to get the bits out?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

There's a good chance that the glass has slipped so that it isn't square to the door slides. Whether you try to move it up or down it will jam. Try getting a good grip on the top of the glass and push pull back and forth. A squirt of WD40 might help. BOL.

[steve27bha]

There's a good chance that the glass has slipped so that it isn't square to the door slides. Whether you try to move it up or down it will jam. Try getting a good grip on the top of the glass and push pull back and forth. A squirt of WD40 might help. BOL.

Thanks for the prompt reply.

I think I tried that earlier, but will pay close attention to it first thing tomorrow. I'll dig out the vacuum sucker thingie from the garage.

Any other ideas, anyone?

[Fabby]

My mechanism broke today :-(

Had to drill the 4 black rivets out that hold the vertical runners to the silver inner panel. This was to gain access to the inside, as the window was jammed at the bottom.

The plug on the central locking motor was a pig....

Just got 2 sticks of wood holding the glass up for now. Will try GSF/Euro Car Parts tomorrow regarding a replacement.....

[moley]

steve27bha,

If the manual windows use the same regulator as the electric window units I would say that the regulator is broken.

The link below is for a passat, but I used this for a guide when changing the regualtor on the Wifes Fabia. GSF used to sell Fabia regulators, but you have to drill out the old parts from the panel. Skoda regulators come with the panel, but you will have to drill the speaker rivets out and re rivet to the new panel.

http://www.taligentx.com/passat/maintenance/doorlockmechanism/

[steve27bha]

Fabby - thanks for the info on the rivets.

moley - thanks for the link - some useful stuff in there particularly the pic of the inside face of the carrier. Adds to the rather bare Haynes instructions.

Anyone else got comments on the questions:

Is there a technique to get the bits out?

Do I need to break the glass to get the bits out?

[moley]

You shouldn't need to break the glass. When the door card is removed you will see 2 plastic bungs, remove these and you will see the 2 hex headed screws that clamp the glass. I think these screws line up with the holes when the glass is in the top position. When the window won't line up you might have enough room to get a spanner onto the screw to undo them, 10mm spanner as I recall.

Once the glass is free from the clamps, you can lift the glass up and out of the frame at an angle.

[steve27bha]

moley,

Thanks again, but as I said in the initial question:

Since it will not raise by winder or hand I cannot release the glass from the holders/clamps as instructed by Haynes.

The link earlier in the thread to a fix for the Passat was most helpful with its detailed procedure and pictures. My idea above of using clamp-on sucker handles worked - I have two - and they allowed me to lift the glass while winding the handle, plus a bit of silicone spray on the cahnnels, and I got the glass high enough to see the clamps and undo.

I then used the suckers to raise the glass fully and repositioned one against the bottom of the window aperture to jam it at the top position. These things only work on the inside of the glass because of the curve.

After that the Passat info was used with Haynes and it worked, but Haynes instruction to loosen the lower key lock cylinder screw only three turns was not enough - I needed about seven to allow the cylinder to come out. I managed to drop the upper screw while rebuilding - it is a M5 x 10approx - and I used an allen head bolt from my spares, jammed on the key with some plastic bag scraps.

I had to get the special 12 spline 8mm bit to undo the lock unit from the door frame. This proved elusive but I found that Laser make a set (#0592) and got one ordered in a day through my local A1 Autostore - £11 for 5 bits and a 3/8 drive holder.

Removing the carrier revealed the lock support plastic bracket thingie was broken - not surprising given its flimsy structure. Some gaffa tape held it together enough for the rebuild.

I could find nowt wrong with the innards at all so cleaned everything in sight and applied a lot of silicone and white grease to the cables and sliders and rebuilt it all. First go and various operations did not work - could not find why - but a second go and it all does what it should. Tip: - tie a bit of string to the lock release cable that is detached from the outside handle and use it to get the end back outside to connect, as well as support the weight of the lock unit as you refit the carrier. A second set of hands is recommended for this part.

Once rebuilt I added loadsa silicone spray down the glass channels all around the car - and smoothed up their operation.

So, I fixed an unidentified problem for £11 and about five hours on the car plus a lot of swearing. Putting the tools away after showed that I had used a surprisingly wide range of equipment.

Edited 5 June, 2010 by steve27bha

[dicko14]

Has anyone got a picture of the back of the passanger side window mech, i have the kit but the I cannot seem to get the cables to marry correctly, although the old ones were very chewed up the lengths appear to be the same

updated info:

After lookng at a photo displaying the cable layout of a Passat http://www.taligentx...rlockmechanism/

(photo number 11)

it became apparent that the cables were the right ones and just needed a lot of jiggling around until i got them sitting properly.

Without drilling the rivets out i wouldnt have been able to release the mechanism.

Also I too found out that the central locking connector was a pig to release, just kept at it and eventually it released.

this is supposed to be a straight forward DIY project but it took me and a third hand a good 5 hours to remedy.

Hope this helps.

Edited 6 July, 2010 by dicko14

[nikzGfx]

Doh just had the front left side regulator break today, I put the window down and would not come up again!! Got me tool box out, took everything apart, luckily carrier was bolted, and the wire was snapped and all tangles up in the mechanism. Managed to get the window back up and taped it, will have to wait for a new part to come to fix.

[pstar2002]

Mine broke yesterday, gutted!! My skin is fully sound proofed and is fully tweeked for audio, brought a spare from europarts, stripped down the door and removed the inner skin and door lock as one assembly and replaced the carriers and cables with the ones off the europarts skin, fitting the wires is a PITA and prob wasted 1/2hr doing just that, overall spent around 4 hours but had to remove dynamat from the access holes and strip back dynaliner ensuring i didnt tare it. not a job for the faint hearted!!!

guide 1: http://uk-mkivs.net/forums/t/243313.aspx

guide 2: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1015107

Edited 12 July, 2010 by pstar2002