My experience with X5 window regulator
 

It's been almost 2 years since I got my X5 and it's been love hate relationship.

One thing is clear: While E39 has it's share of problems, the build quality of X5 is clearly lacking in some departments.

Both front window regulators replaced by PO at dealer at very early age. Rear right replaced at dealer just before I got it and then it failed again about 1.5 year into my ownership.

While I generally avoid Uro, Dorman etc... at that point I decided to get Dorman brand for around $50 bucks. I compared it to failed BMW part and I could not see any difference in quality or fit whatsoever.

Another advantage of Dorman is lifetime warranty. Sure, I have to replace it myself but BMW part is only 2 years warranty and they have to replace it. I'd rather take a trip to the moon before I let dealer work on my car.

At the moment, it's been almost a year with Dorman regulator operating flawlessly.

So just yesterday my last original window regulator failed and I ordered another Dorman regulator. I'll post periodic update how both of them are performing.

What's really funny is the fact that are probably millions of 20+ year old POS's on the road and with original electric windows operating.

But, after just switcing to Bilstein HD struts and shocks, refreshing front and rear suspension and deleting rear air suspension, the beast is handling and running flawless so I'll forgive her this little mishap.

IMHO, it's a design issue, not a quality issue. Note that the windows of the X5 are much larger, and thus, heavier compared to the e39 or e46. But yet, it's using a similar plastic mechanism as those on the e39 or e46, which have lighter windows. FYI - My 12yr+ old X5 is still on its original rear regulators. Having said that, now watch it fail when I jump in the X later on today :rofl: Over the years, I've always make a note to close the door with the windows completely shut to avoid any unnecessary force on those plastic clips.

I used to mention, and sort of brag that our 15 yr old 3.0 X was still on its original window regs...like the golf announcer saying he hasn't missed a putt all fookin day.

In the past year, I had my first win reg go out: the driver side. Then, the pass side rear window, and last week the driver side rear window. Just waiting on the pass side front window, ;)

Fwiw, in almost 54 years of cars of all brands and all levels of 'quality', this is the first car that has had its window regs break. Must be part of the Ultimate Driving Experience...:rolleyes:
GL, mD

Agree it is more a design issue. Middle of the road Plastic part supporting heavy glass part was not smart to begin with. Just be a gentleman and do not allow anyone else but yourself to gently shut doors


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I'm curious as to why a trip to the moon is a negative thing.

I have a GREAT solution to our weak window regulators. If it wasn't for parking tokens, I NEVER would even open the windows. Why let dust and dirt in?

Our doors have been 'slammed' only a few times, in 15 years of this X, and not by 'us'...

I like my driver window down or cracked, if it is nice out vs A/C.
Just odd, or maybe it was 'just time' for 3 of the 4 of them to go kaboom in past year.

I am getting my local Waynesville Indie to do the R&R tomorrow, as he is quick, skilled and doesn't charge too much. All I have is 'some time' left, and I won't spend it on a window job. Almost wish I had him order the pass side reg and do them both, as I know that last of four regs is gonna go in the next 20 mins or 20 days/weeks. :)

I still don't get why these are so susceptible vs all the cars I have had over the decades.
GL, mD

You could argue that not updating the design to cope with different windows is quality issue. You're probably right.

:thumbup:

Yes its true that the build quality of the E39 is superior to the E53 X5 no contest. I attribute it to made in Germany vs Made in USA with vendor park around the plant. None the less I still love my X5.

mD - sorry to hear the window reg worries, glad you got an indy that would take care of it for you at a reasonable cost, its not a terribly hard job, but just tedious.

IMO, there are 2 failure points on the regulators, yes the pulleys can fail and cables can stretch etc, but these are more rare.

Its the black plastic window clips which we always discuss for $2 apiece, these 2 pieces of plastic take a lot of abuse from age, heat cycles, etc - but in addition, its really the plastic/pot metal "slider clips" that the cable clips into that wear to the point of failure -

If both these pieces aren't replaced preventatively or before total failure, you most likely will not need to replace your regulator - I have done both front windows with a pair of "slider clips" available from RegulatorFix.com and a pair of black "window clips" from BMW, and my regulators are still going strong up front, next year I will do the rear regulators preventatively, but they never even get rolled down to be honest, maybe once in 5 years.

Yes its a dumb design that BMW didn't update for the heavier windows from the E39, but once you see how much heavier duty the "slider clips" are from the aftermarket, you will feel better - the OE clips on the regulator are pretty flimsy.


Obviously best practice is to not shut the extremely heavy doors with the windows rolled down and unsupported in the window frame, which I have been diligent about since I've taken ownership - If I want to crack the window when parked I make sure I shut the door very gently when getting out, or just crack the moon roof instead -

My recommendation is since the door carriers tend to be a common failure point, that when you go in the door to do your window regulators preventatively (or vice versa if repairing a door handle carrier) - make sure to do the door carrier. This way you get 3 parts prone to failure fixed and hopefully don't have to pop the door panel off again any time soon.

Time will tell, but so far, so good, since my door carrier failed this year and I replaced with an aftermarket that sticks on my passenger side a couple years back, I decided 2 OE door handle carriers and to do both sets of window regulator clips while it was open. Not a fun job in the least, but not bad at all.

When you compare the regulators from yesteryear to those of today the most obvious thing is how light the modern regulators are to help meet government fuel economy standards. Every last bit of weight is shaved off and you are left with the junk we now use.
I was surprised to find that even Toyota has switched to these lightweight units and they have the same problems. I just wish some retro-engineering company would design an old fashioned replacement that would last forever and who cares about the weight.

For these era of BMWs, they all suffer from broken window regulators. e46, e39, e53 all of them. Major design flaws from factory.

Great choice with getting the one with lifetime warranty :thumbup:

? Brand Name
 

- My 2006 X5 128K miles, Both FRONT windows have new clips (attached to glass) and sliding clips (attached to cable system) done in 2017. Things are working fine, but for LF regulator, once in a while when I lower/raise glass I hear a faint noise, probably pulleys are getting tired.

- So soon or later, I may need a new regulator, it is down to brand name:

1. Dorman as in this thread. As the O.P. said he usually avoids Dorman and I am the same, I usually avoid Dorman, unless someone tells me Dorman lasts more than > 5y.

Budget is not an issue, what I don't want to get into is:
a. Redo the job in 2-3y.
b. Park the car at airport, then while I am out of town, the glass goes down on its own = not fun!

2. BMW: $177, which should last some > 10y/100K.

3. VDO is made is Taiwan, about $90. VDO (and Siemens) has good name.
Does anyone have any experience with VDO?

4. Any other brand?

I just ordered A/C Delco Pro. Their serpentine drive tensioner looks like an improvement over the original, hopefully window reg might be too!

I think a lot of regulator breakage can be avoided with some powdered lube on the window edges. My driver's window goes up 60% faster And that obviously puts tremendously less stress on the window hardware. Preventive maintenance avoid breaking in the first place.


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Andrew,

Thanks for the lubing info, it makes sense. The problem is the tight fit of the rubber molding in most cars (for water tightness and to reduce wind noise) creates friction when the glass is going upward.

Anyway, I just came across a listing on ebay for the rebuild kit, which includes everything necessary:
1- Sliders x2
2- Cables
3- Pulley x1 (why 1 pulley when 4 are needed?)

Anyone has used this kit and can comment (I see a lot sold on ebay)?



---

It looks to me like that one pulley is the one directly driven by the motor. None of the idler pulleys are included.

I bought a China brand regulator that lasted 2-3 years and then had one of those green things in the photo break. Inspecting, it looked like the plastic parts were all substandard. I ended up transplanting the regulator clips from that China brand one to my original BMW one (that I had saved, and was in pretty good shape except for the failed regulator clips), reinforcing them with JBWeld, new window clips, a few more door panel clips, and it is running great.

I would guess based on price and origin that the quality of those plastic parts in the eBay kit will be comparable to the stuff in my full Chinese regulator that failed.

So I would not do it. Not worth the effort to use your skills on second-rate materials.

Six (6) months report on VDO win regulator.
Installed in Nov. 2019.

It is made in Taiwan, about $90-$100 online.
The build quality is very good.
Nice and quiet operation.

I avoid using it as much as I can lol.
When coming to work, I open my driver door
(to avoid using the win reg) to swipe my
Electronic card to open the garage door at work.

Anyway, VDO win reg is so far so good...

- Another report VDO window regulator.
- Installed Nov. 2019, 9 months later still OK.
- However, I hate this job of replacing win reg so much that I minimize the its use, i.e., I avoid lowering the glass if I can.

LOL - thought I was the only one here that does that.

• I won't take the X if I know that I need to go through some type of drive through :rofl:
• I constantly have to remind my wife not to use the windows unnecessarily :bustingup
• I hate it when I take my collegue(s) out to lunch and first thing that they do is drop my passenger side window :slap:

FYI - my cheapo URO front driver's side regulator is pushing 4 years and hadn't broke yet - although it's making some noises when I do use it.

I just ordered a second URO regulator. I installed one in a back window earlier this year which is still working great, and not making any noises. The price is good so I decided to use another when my passenger window failed last month. I was impressed with the fit and finish, and I don't recall the country of manufacture, but it wasn't China so I was good with it.

They break because the guides need and never get lubrication. Run left and right simultaneously you'll see the driver side will usually run 30-40% slower. A shot of Teflon dry window lube can speed up window 60% and of course drops the stress on all the parts equivalently.

We don't restrict the use of windows because when I notice the window goes up much slower than down it gets another shot of silicone or Teflon. 6

- Another report on VDO window regulator.
- Installed Nov. 2019, almost 3 yrs later, still OK.

- However, I hate this job of replacing win reg so much that I minimize its use, i.e., I avoid lowering the glass if I can. So:

1. No drive-through coffee! I stop at the shop and walk in for coffee, the old-school way lol.

2. At work, where I need to swipe a card to open the gate: so in order to swipte the card, I open the driver's door instead of lowering the glass.

So far the VDO win regulator seems fine, nice and quiet. It is a good company (Continental-VDO), they just happen to use a factory in Taiwan to make it. The whole engineering thingy is bad anyway: a whole bunch of plastic pulleys and cables...eventually, something will fail. I still prefer the "scissor system" as used in Volvo, which is essentially bullet-proof, except for the cheap plastic sliding blocks ($5/each for Volvo sliding blocks).

3. On hwy, if I need fresh air, I just crack the LF glass down a few inches and also the RR glass down a bit to allow air to flow through.

Anyway, VDO Price reasonable.

- VDO WR51136 (for left front) = $85-$90 or so.

Thanks for the update. I just did a full clip and regulator refresh on 3 of 4 windows this past winter. I was sick of paying for BMW parts that still failed within 4 years so I went with VDO as well. So far so good, but frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if they failed tomorrow. The left front door has a very distinct clatter when I close it that I’ve never been able to figure out.

To be fair I don’t avoid using the windows, especially between mid October and mid May when one can enjoy the breeze here in the Deep South. One of the problems though with having to redo these things too often, particularly as our cars age,is that the old plastic and glue fail on the door cards in some way, every time they come off now it seems.

I did a full re-glue job on the front door cards last spring as well. They will need to come off this fall to ugrade the speakers and address an airbag cluster light and code implicating the front pax bag, and I’m already worried.

trying not to use windows at all
 

I'm quite aware of the problems the X5 has with windows and sunroof, so I disabled the sunroof entirely, and never use the window switches at all, on mine. As far as I know, the windows, door handles, and associated gear are all 21-year-old originals, so I'm vey wary of using them.

I had window problems on my '86 S-10 during the first two years of ownership (bought it brand new), replacing the switches twice, and the driver's window track once. The last time, after the track & switch were installed, I never used that (or the other window) again, for the next seventeen years (but I'm sure the wife did, when she drove it, during its' last coupl'a years). Never wanted to chance it, at least on my part.

I've since used windows on my succeeding cars (both crank-up and electric), but very sparingly, and now knowing the propensity for failure of the X5 parts, I'll probably never tempt fate. I'm sorta gentle on the door handles, too, and have never broken the inside door handles on my '09 HHR Panel (which is infamous for broken handles), so I must have a light touch on them. No broken parts makes me happy.

On my front window regs where they attach to the glass I replaced the bolt (through glass) that expands when tightened with a standard nut and bolt with nylon washers. The bolt has to be short enough or it will catch the inner door strengthening bar when lowered.
The windows now have a solid thunk feel to them when opening or closing.

What glue are you using? What's the recommended glue to use on these door cards that can take some heat and won't fall apart since it does get pretty hot in the summer? Thanks.

Something like this...

https://image.dynamixse.com/fit/300x..._529540474.jpg or https://www.permatex.com/wp-content/...OZ-82180-1.jpg

https://www.jbweld.com/product/ultim...k-silicone-3oz

https://www.permatex.com/products/ga...maker-3-35-oz/

Spread on a few thin "worms" or "pucks" of this and that sucker is never coming apart again. ;)

I have been using JB Weld Plastic Bonder and am happy with how it holds. It’s got a Tan colored syringe.

Thank you :thumbup:

I have been using the cheap $28 window regulators since 2015. They fail right around, or just after, the 3 year mark. It is like clockwork.

Note that I never lubricate the windows/rails and I don't restrict lowering/raising the windows either. The car also sits outside through the Texas heat.

From my recollection, the first window regulator failed when the car was still under the original warranty. It was the first time I'd heard of such a thing failing in a car.

Anyway, I am on this thread because I replaced the rear right one 3 years ago and (drumroll) it just failed, so I was searching for a regulator that lasts a bit longer than the cheap ones, but it sounds like it doesn't exist (it certainly is NOT the BMW parts, at least not based on my experience). So, back to ordering the cheap ones.

** Correction: the regulator did not fail! It was the 3D printed plastic bracket that broke off, sending the window down. The regulator wire, pulleys and plastic pieces are still intact!

Cheap plus jb plus lube the slides you won't have to replace again.


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@Andrewwynn: yes! I saw your advice in this and another thread and will try to do that going forward... hopefully these will not break for at least 5 or more years now with your lube'ing procedure. Thanks!

Just to add on to this thread.. When I replaced the driver side window regulator in mine a few years ago I just bought one off ebay for about £25.
What I noticed was that the plastic sliders were tilting in the track when the window was operated. They were clearly to wide so I wedged in some small cable ties and greased it up.
Then I binned the nut that expands the plastic bit that attaches to the glass and replaced it with a stumpy nut and bolt with nylon washers.
This made the glass have a solid thump and a more positive feel when being used and I open mine every time I drive it. The clatter some people report when closing a door is part of the regulator tapping on the door frame. Just a small week here and there eliminates it - followed by sound deadening inside the door skin.
It's little things like this that improve the original design errors over the years and make the user experience better. When I recently replaced the blower motor I installed additional sound deadening materials on the bulkhead and inside the dash wherever it would fit and the difference is noticeable.