I've got a Fabia 1.9 Diesel Ambiente Tdi Pd 100 (manufactured in 2006). It's a 5 door hatchback. This morning I lowered the front (passenger side) electric window, but can't raise the window again (it is stuck in the down position). I suspect some debris may have fallen in and jammed the electric motor which raises the window. The motor still runs (or at least tries to) when I press the switch to raise the window, so it's not a power supply issue.

 

I've found a few DIY videos, and it looks like the first step is to remove the inner door trim. It then seems that I would have to remove an inner (metal) panel which looks a bit more tricky, and may involve drilling out rivets. Which seems odd, because I've always found that Skodas are well designed with a view to making maintenance easy.

 

So at this point I though I'd ask for help - maybe there's an easier way? 

 

I'd be really grateful for any advice which may help.

There is no way to remove the metal panel other than drilling out the rivets if it's a riveted one (early cars up to about 2003 used bolts).

 

It's possible that the regulator steel cable has snapped and tangled up.

Edited 10 January, 20188 yr by TMB

Thanks for the info. Having listened more closely to the noise, a snapped regulator cable sounds very feasible.

 

Having removed the rivets, can the panel only be re-attached (afterwards) by fitting new rivets, or is there any option to bolt the panel back on ?

3 minutes ago, gary6019 said:

Thanks for the info. Having listened more closely to the noise, a snapped regulator cable sounds very feasible.

 

Having removed the rivets, can the panel only be re-attached (afterwards) by fitting new rivets, or is there any option to bolt the panel back on ?

 

New rivets only.

I'm hoping to be able to tap the original holes out once the rivets are drilled out so I can use bolts to re attach the panel 

Don't think the metal of the door is thick enough to tap a useful amount of thread into.  The holes are already more than 6.5mm diameter so you'd be looking at M8 bolts, which means you'd then need to drill out all the holes in the carrier too.

It is a genuinely rubbish 'improvement' they made from the perfectly suited original M6 bolts/welded captive nuts. Cost saving can be the only rational explanation.

Edited 11 January, 20188 yr by Wino

7 hours ago, daz_vrs said:

I'm hoping to be able to tap the original holes out once the rivets are drilled out so I can use bolts to re attach the panel 

 

Absolutely no chance whatsoever. RIvets only.

On 1/10/2018 at 22:23, sepulchrave said:

 

New rivets only.

 

it is good practice to use new rivets. however when i bought my fabia vrs (6y) back in April, I needed to carry out some mods to the door speakers, 

as one was actually beyond repair and sounded awful.

 

Anyway, when I took my passenger side front door card off, I noticed that the aluminium skeleton, had previously been removed to carry out repairs, 

and on either side of the panel, there had been a self tap screw, into the body of the door, so there was one on the left most point, and one on the right most point. 

in my opinion, the previous mechanic had been lazy, but it proves that you can secure it back to the car with self tap screws. 

 

I didn't have the correct rivets or a rivet gun for that matter, and put the screws back in to secure it. as this was my most logical option at the time. 

 

I had the same fault as you with the window going down and not coming back up, it was the cable for the regulator that snapped, you should still be able to hear the motor working when you press the switch, 

and some very painful noises, you just need to replace the whole thing, i got mine for about £65 + vat from TPS - Trade Parts Specialists.  

PART NO. FOR THE PASSENGER SIDE REGULATOR - 6Y1 837 461  - this fits my car, pretty sure yours is the same - Skoda fabia 1.9 VRS 54 plate

when I had this fault, was when I went  back in and re secured it properly with rivets, as i'm certain that the screws were causing it to rattle (because it wasn't secured all the way round)

Hope this helps! 

 

P.S - this is my first post so please let me know if i've done anything wrong as that's usually the case! :p 

 

Luke. 

 

 

The problem with using a few self-teppers is the force the carrier is subjected to every time the window shuts, that torque will very quickly ovalise those holes causing them to come loose and rattle and may also contribute to repeated failure of the window mechanism. For the sake of a few quids worth of rivets it's simply not worth the bodge.

I agree to disagree.  My holes were not ovalised, nor am I saying the job should be bodged. I'm just demonstrating that it can indeed be done, if one does not possess a rivet gun. I did agree that the screw method is not a solution it's a temporary repair, hence why I've properly Installed the carrier, you can see the screw just below the rivets I'd put in that day. They'd probably been in there for about 6 months with no issue. 

My door carrier had been screwed with about 10 screws instead of rivets. It started rattling when shut and leaking so i took card off to find this arrangement and immediately went off to skoda to buy some genuine rivets. Been fine since and the paperwork with the car suggested it had only had the new carrier a month before i discovered it. The metal is just too thin and the carrier is too heavy to be screwed with self tappers.

You could put rivnuts into the door panel and then bolt up to them. Only problem is the stand slightly proud say <1mm and you may need a thicker sealing gasket or a bit of sealant to stop leaks but hey you have a bolt up regulator panel.

When replacing the rivets here are their id number N91078801 and you'll need a scissor riveter. For the time being use a sucker plug to hold up the window or sodden wedges. I ordered mine from TPS.