Window regulator brand quality
 

I am getting good at fixing these regulators. But on my third in the past 12 months, finally I am not getting away with replacing clips for $20. This one broke the clips but then the cable got all twisted and chewed up too.



I am curious -- is it worth trying to get away with non-BMW part? Pelican has the one I need (rear left) for $191, but URO is only $91. Anyone think that it is worth it? I hope to keep this car for 3-5 more years, so I do not want to fix it again. Any other brands worth considering?



Thanks in advance...

From my google-fu, the internets seem to think Dorman is OK but URO is crap.

FWIW - My front driver side URO has been flawless for over 3 years and counting, but I may be lucky on that one. Need to do the other 3 windows soon - may give Dorman a go if I can find it.

Thanks for the input. Looks like Dorman is actually cheaper. I found URO for $75 on ECS, but Dorman is $52 on amazon.

Thanks for the heads up on the Dorman regulators from Amazon! I just order my front passenger regulator as well as both rear regulators.

Don't forget to get the clips for the regulators! Front takes 2 on each side and rear takes 1 on each side. Note that the clips for the fronts are different than those from the rear

You mean the sliders or the plastic clips that hold the windows to the sliders?



I keep a stock of the plastic clips now, but I was under the impression they were the same front and rear. This is my first rear that has broken.

At least for my 2001 3.0i, probably for all ...

The rear (51-35-7-011-680) and front (51-33-8-254-781) window clips are indeed different.

Comparing one vs. the other, the little step at the bottom of the clip that the bottom of the window glass sits on is about 4.5mm higher for the rear clips vs. the front clips. Other than that and color, they appear identical. And the rears cost 4-5x what the front ones do. ???

So if you try to use a front clip on a rear window, it will fit, but the bottom of the glass won't be sitting on that little ledge like it should be. Instead it will have 4.5mm of air in that space, meaning more of the load is carried by the through-hole part of the clip. Should probably work for a while, and may even outlast the next thing to break on the window assembly.

I recently had a rear regulator failure and it was not too surprising when the pretty new BMW rear window clip cracked upon removal (had been solid until then). Not having any spare rear ones in stock, but with plenty of front ones, I glued a 4-4.5 mm spacer in there to make it work without having to make a special order for this one part.

BTW, with many decades of fixing my own cars and currently with 6 cars in my family, I have yet to have a single window regulator failure of any type on any of these cars. But I have had every one of the regulators on my 2001 X5 fail within about 4 years of ownership. Just bad luck, I guess. ;)

This is absolutely true. The X5 is the only car that I had ever owned that requires periodic window regulators replacements :dunno:

Early 2000's VWs are pretty much the same - and throw in funky door lock failures for good measure... :rolleyes:

(and probaly the same for that same generation of Audi cars...)

I’ve read lots about window regulators failing on the E53 but it’s only just happened for me, after 14 years. It was the passenger front, and the black clips had disintegrated. My thought is that this is possibly thermal - why would that window have the problem? The car has been parked for eight years in the same orientation during the day, and that door gets all of the sun. The rear door is screened for much more of the day by foliage.
I think that you folk in warmer climates just get more heat for longer, and these little clips don’t like this so they give up quickly. A theory to be shot at!
I also found that to replace the clips you don’t need to remove airbags and all of the foam like liner. Just the bottom third gives access to the fittings. ;)