I replaced the first regulator failure about a month ago. I could have replaced just the clips but based on price of new OE regulator and visible wear I replaced regulator and clips with BMW parts. If OE lasted well over 100,000 miles I didn't see a reason to try aftermarket parts.

So I popped open the door panel last night to see what was up, and it looks like the clips themselves are fine. I hear the motor working and the window goes up and down an inch but no more than that, so I think it is the regulator that went bad. The trouble is that I can't put the glass up at all, it's totally stuck in the full down position and it's firmly attached to the regulator. What do I do in that case, try to remove the regulator to get the glass up and out of the door? I've never had a regulator fail in the complete down position before.

I had the exact same symptom when the window was in a full down position. Is the window sagging at all?

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In this case it sounds like you will have to cut the cables and unbolt everything in order to manipulate it enough to get access to the two 8mm (maybe 10mm) bolts that hold the window to the regulator.

The above is what happened to my last regulator repair (PS front window). I ordered a used OEM one, reused my motor, new OEM clips, and aftermarket sliders, zip-tie mod, and total of ~$50 later I've been back in business ever since. Oh, I also greased the window tracks as well just for S's & G's.

Gotcha. I'll have to get a better wire cutter then, those cables look pretty solid. My motor is still good so I guess I'll order a new window regulator and new clips. Based on how stuck the vapor barrier was, it was probably all original. The fact that it lasted 215k miles is pretty impressive, I guess the X5 regulators aren't as flimsy as the E39 ones.

The biggest pain is going to be accessing the battery to disconnect it so I can remove the side airbag safely. Some genius thought it would be smart to put the battery in the trunk under the spare and under the suspension air compressor...

Yep, they are TOUGH. I destroyed a set of decent cutters going through those cables.

I doubt that is an original regulator unless you are seriously lucky. That vapor barrier can be removed and reinstalled so that you could never tell it was touched if you are careful.

Battery access is a bit of a pain, but not too bad. FYI you can remove the regulator without disconnecting the airbag. I usually zip tie it up and out of the way with it still connected. I have the ability to reset SRS lights but it's easier to just tie it up out of the way.

It's a shame they didn't provide an easy-access main ground point like in the E34. Just pop a plastic cover in the rear footwell, undo one nut, and the battery was out of circuit. Genius!

Alright so I finally got around to doing the job with a friend tonight. I bought a brand new regulator and new clips and we got to work.

The door panel came off easily, the vapor barrier came off easily with a bit of heat gun, and we got to the regulator. Not sure what was broken but the window was solidly stuck. I used a heavy duty bolt cutter to cut the cables to free the glass, which worked somewhat. I ended up removing some more trim and breaking the old clips to get the glass free and removed the window regulator in pieces. Funnily enough, I saw a little zip tie on one of the cables, so I guess somebody's messed around with the regulator before. Believe it or not, it was the original window regulator from 2002! Crazy how it lasted 215k miles, I guess it wasn't really used much.

Then we swapped the old motor onto the new regulator and the regulator went in without any problems, much to my delight. Unfortunately we did run into a problem with one of the new clips breaking upon installation. Since I only bought two clips, it brought the progress to a halt for tonight. In the meantime I slowly rolled the window up to a closed position while I find some more clips tomorrow. The window rolls up and down without any problems though, so once I get a new clip I should be good.

New regulator should have a tie that goes around both cables that should not be removed.

Called the local BMW dealer, they have a whole bunch of those clips in stock, awesome! I'm used to the dealer never having anything in stock so this is nice.