Window Regulators reliability

[sleeper77]

Hello. So I have had my VRS for almost a year, & in that time two window regulators have failed. The first one (front passenger side) stopped working a few months after getting the car, the 2nd one (front drivers side) a couple of months ago. Thankfully, this was during the warranty period & both have been replaced at no cost by the dealership. I want to ask, is this a common problem with Mk II Octavias in general? I had a 6.5 year old Mk II Fabia for 2 years & never had this problem. If it is a common issue, how long will these regulators last, & is there a reason why they fail regularly?

[AVHreplica]

There have been mentioned times for failures and times that no problems regarding...

It's not something specific for the lasting but you can either get your parts from internet - cheap ones - and you'll fix every other time it may occur.

[sleeper77]

Thanks for the reply. So it seems I was one of the "lucky ones". What i noticed was the failure happened more often when the weather was damp. Maybe just a case of the regulators being more prone to the elements.

[mroberts]

How easy is it to replace the driverside regulator? mine had catastrophic failure this morning.

[mk2octavia]

10 hours ago, mroberts said:

How easy is it to replace the driverside regulator? mine had catastrophic failure this morning.

 

The regulators on the mk2 octavia are riveted onto the door. So to remove them, you will need to drill each rivet through.....

[mroberts]

1 hour ago, mk2octavia said:

 

The regulators on the mk2 octavia are riveted onto the door. So to remove them, you will need to drill each rivet through.....

 

Well that's a fkg bugger isn't it.

Any idea what size rivets? or can I replace with bolts when I re-fit?

 

Also replacement winders don't come with motors, so I have to remove that too and re-fit.

Any ideas how to re-fit the motor?

[mk2octavia]

22 hours ago, mroberts said:

 

Well that's a fkg bugger isn't it.

Any idea what size rivets? or can I replace with bolts when I re-fit?

 

Also replacement winders don't come with motors, so I have to remove that too and re-fit.

Any ideas how to re-fit the motor?

 

You can replace the rivets with nuts and bolts when you re fit it..... thats what I did for my drivers side rear. 

Its a bit if a pain putting the bolts through the other side and then putting the regulator onto them before putting the nuts on.

 

Removing and refitting the motor is quite easy. If I remember correctly, they have three screws on them, and a wire.....

[Redfab]

What ages are your cars which have these failing regulators? 

Mk4 golfs were prone to the plastic window clips breaking and the wires pinging off and windows dropping into the door.  That was 1997 to 2005 ish.

I would have hoped they improved the design for later cars as it was a well known and documented problem.

Kits were available with uprated metal clips for the Golf.

[mk2octavia]

20 hours ago, Redfab said:

What ages are your cars which have these failing regulators? 

Mk4 golfs were prone to the plastic window clips breaking and the wires pinging off and windows dropping into the door.  That was 1997 to 2005 ish.

I would have hoped they improved the design for later cars as it was a well known and documented problem.

Kits were available with uprated metal clips for the Golf.

 

Mines a 2005 Mk2 skoda octavia..... I dont think the mk2 octavias are as bad as the mk4 golfs. They have improved the quality of the cables etc.

However, doing the regulators on the mk4 golfs are a lot easier than the mk2 octavias. The golfs have 10mm bolts on them, whereas the octavia's panels are riveted. 

 

VW did improve the regulators on the mk5 golf though... they dont come with the big panel on them and they are a bit better in terms of quality

[sleeper77]

On 20/12/2017 at 22:26, Redfab said:

What ages are your cars which have these failing regulators? 

Mk4 golfs were prone to the plastic window clips breaking and the wires pinging off and windows dropping into the door.  That was 1997 to 2005 ish.

I would have hoped they improved the design for later cars as it was a well known and documented problem.

Kits were available with uprated metal clips for the Golf.

 

Mine is from 2011 new. I bought the car in November 2016. 

[mroberts]

On ‎20‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 22:26, Redfab said:

What ages are your cars which have these failing regulators? 

Mk4 golfs were prone to the plastic window clips breaking and the wires pinging off and windows dropping into the door.  That was 1997 to 2005 ish.

I would have hoped they improved the design for later cars as it was a well known and documented problem.

Kits were available with uprated metal clips for the Golf.

Mine is a 2005 mk 2

[AVHreplica]

The Golfs MK5 (2004) and Octavias MK2 (2004) and after, don't come with such problems.

[CrazyL]

In my own experience, so not saying it's gospel, but it seems to be a typical VAG thing.  My 1.8T A3 had a regulator pack up.  My Standard 1.8 A3 had the same thing on a different window.  My Polo 6n2 went on the front passenger side and the wifes 6n2 kept failing on the drivers side, though her issue is the motor.  I have replaced 3 out of 4 regulators on my Mk 1 Octy L&K and the wifes Mk 2 Octy has had one go, where I found the rivety caper.

 

Last VAG car to not fail was my Mk 2 Golf GTi, and that's cos it had a manual winder.

 

21st century, and the Germans can't make an electric window that doesn't fail

[mroberts]

can someone tell me the bolt sizes to rep[lace the rivets? I don't want to strip it all off without having all the parts in my hand to replace.

[Fr0d]

You'll need m6 bolts as replacements.