Originally Posted by JCL

I've never failed a door latch or a window regulator, so can't know for sure....

But I wonder whether there is a correlation between failed latches/mechanisms/carriers and whether or not the door latches are lubed annually as per the BMW service guidelines? It is part of Inspection I. I use white lithium grease. YMMV.

With the window regulators, I think there is a correlation between closing the door with the window all the way down (and therefore not fully supported) and the clips breaking on the window regulator.

Both of the above were taught to me by a master mechanic 35 years ago. Every oil and lube service in his shop got the door hinges and latches greased. He knew that it was those types of things that customers noticed (more so when the latches didn't continue to work correctly than whether or not they had fresh grease on them).