Window regulator replacement frequency?
 

Gents,
I replaced my driver's side window regulator in November of 2012, and here we are 9 months later, and I'm facing the same repair again... lifting driver's door handle makes the "drop" sound, but the glass doesn't go down that half inch or so.. before shutting the door, I have to push the glass down by hand a half inch so it'll close properly. What's odd is that when I do this and close the door, it correctly pushes the glass up that half inch and seals it properly. Lowering the window with the switch makes awful awful noises :o

My question is, is this one of those parts that you don't want to skimp on and get OEM, or is it really that prone to breakage? The first one I had replaced was working for 4.5 years before needing replacement, and this one died 9 months in (ebay purchase).

What's the deal?

Instead of replacing my window regulator, I did this:
http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/25704-window-regulator-permanent-fix-stretched-cable.html

My original window regulator lasted less than 20,000 miles, and the one that failed was the passenger side, so it wasn't used quite as much as the driver's side. I thought it was absolutely rediculous that it failed at such a young age. It's been several years now with no issues since I did the fix above.

Someone reported that there is a plastic guide that breaks causing the excessive play in the cable. If you catch it before it damages the cable at the motor, this seems to be a permanent fix. Since your regulator is making noise already, it may be too late to salvage it in this case. If I was going to replace my regulator now, I'd add this mod when doing the job, so later when it starts to fail again, you could easily adjust the slack out of the system.

Ya, you don't want to skimp. For one, the cables on some of the after market jobs are thinner, etc etc. It's really painful to cough up 3 times $$ what you can find on ebay, but in this case I think it's your best bet.

Regards, PK

I was just searching the interweb as I went out to the car at lunch and low and behold, the driver's window won't drop.

I have no problem doing the door panel, and looking around (Hopefully the plastic fastener issue is it)
But disconnecting the battery is my fear. Mainly I don't think I have the Radio Code since I'm 3rd owner

Good insight DaveS on your fix

Just when I think 'Man this car is working well' , I get a little reminder

Radio code can be easily obtained online - don't let that be a worry. I don't have the link with me at the moment but will post it tonight (or maybe someone else will in the interim).