just a small piece of advice for getting the regulator arm 'balls' out of the plastic clip, I found taking a rag or piece of cloth and wrapping it around the arm, then getting it as close to the bottom of the arm (where ball meets clip) as you can get and giving it a good pull will pop the ball out a little easier than just using your hands.

Mine is for sure going to break again soon, so this write up is going to be real handy! :D
thanks jess!

Great tip on using the rag. I'll have to try that on the next one I fix. Sorry I haven't uploaded pics, I'll take my door panel off sometime soon because I have to replace the clips holding the side molding on the exterior of my driver's side door. While I'm in there, I'll snap a few pics of the regulator process.

brilliant write up :D

to the tee perfect!

Jess i just wanna thank you for the great write up. I finally got my window working good again. Also it does help to use some kind of cloth to pull the socket out of the clip.

yep it was a good write up! i used lithium grease i think and it works great. its meant for metal gears and door latches and hinges

Well sean told be about dry lube and it works wonders. That stuff is hard to remove and glides the clips like nothing. The dry lube company states it wont wash away, freeze, or harden. So far it works good and i have no problems. So yea i would also recommmend the dry lube.

Window problem FIXED... great thread saved me $$$$
 

This thread saved me hundreds of dollars, dealer quoted me like 4 hours of labor WTF!!! With a little patience this is an EASY fix, everything is easily accessible.

This definetely isn't rocket science, the grease in there gets hardened up, and the regulator arms bind up causing them to bend over time. taking the time to clean all the old grease out and any moving pieces in general, replace the plastic clips, etc. you'll have it working like new. I spent 10 bucks on plastic sliding clips, bent the regulator arm back, and an hours worth of my own labor. Piece of cake, works like brand new. KUDOS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just did this over the weekend, used the white lithium grease. It was extremely cheap and the guy at the store said it would be my best option.

My passenger side regular arm was bent inward at almost a 90 angle, damn hardened grease. Has anyone considered sanding out the channels on the windows? The one channel has some damage on it that kind of hinders the motion of the clip. Its not a grease buildup it seems like an actual rut in the metal.

I followed the write-up and two weeks later...pop goes the window. Not cool as I have to have a functional window for ingress/egress from my parking deck and I need this to be solved for once and for all (or else). I am well versed on working on all aspects of vehicles (rebuilding engines, fabricate my own performance parts, etc), so unless I missed something very simple about the procedure, it appears as it if needs an addendum that at some point you must replace some parts and some conditions for when that needs to happen.

At what point have others called the regulator "done" and it needs replacement? There is a visible "bend" even when straightened out and I believe that once they reach this point, it is a structural weakness and it is where it will continue to bend time after time.

Initially, the fix worked fine and as instructed, I slammed the ever-living *expletive removed* out of the door (to the point I was cringing, as in I would NEVER, EVER, close a door in that manner on a car) to test it and thought that I was done but I guess not...

Question:
Has anyone replaced ALL of the parts (regulator and tracks) and had this work properly for a decent service interval? There appears to be a part number for the window tracks and I swear I saw there was a bolt for one of them but it has been a while since I stared in there intently (I just forced it back to upright for now). Also, has anyone consulted the official manual (not the Bentley - it's better than a Haynes manual but it is not a real service manual) from BMW on this subject for install/adjustment procedures?

I am considering welding some additional support structure (if there is room for it) to the arms on the new regulator to prevent them from bending. Has anyone else considered this?

Perhaps you do in fact need a new regulator and/or new sliders? Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've been able to straighten the regulator arms with much success. I do agree with you that there has to be some point when the regulator just needs to be replaced. I've actually thought about beefing up the regulator arms too, however it shouldn't be necessary. I was even on the verge of retrofitting manual windows into my car, lol. Anyway, best of luck to you.

not being funny, but with the time and effort involed in "fixing" the problem, you may aswell buy ALL the repalcement components (lifter, runners, guides, inserts around inside the doorframe) as these ARE 100% going to be a contributing factor to the faliure of your windows again.

The aforementioned fix is good, and will help, but it is inevitably going to fail again, and always at the wrong time (raining, on the way to a important meeting, just before you need to go in to work...)

Get the components needed, and then if you have the time DIY. if not then get it to a specialist , and i mean someone who HAS done this before, not necessarily a workshop at all :)

Your windows will function QUICKER and give you another 10 years WITHOUT problem if done correctly.

Please dont take this as a slight on Jess´post as its not. More as a recourse for those it hasn´t worked for

My passenger side went out last week. This is after replacing the regulator on the driver's side, and fixing the passenger's side previously.

New parts that are PROPERLY installed, will buy you some time, but this problem is never going away.

My belief is that the window goes out of the track not because the grease gets hard, but because the front and rear rubber/felt guides bind up.

There are black rubber/felt guides in the front and rear of the door. When the window binds on them, they either shift, or fall out of the metal rails that hold them in. That is what eventually dislodges the window.

I just opened the door, and put the rubber/felt guides in place, and reinstalled the window. No guarantee this will last forever, but it should do ok, until it happens again, which it will. Also, makes sure the bolts that hold the regulator onto the door are tight. If they are not, they could cause the binding on the guides and cause the problem.

exactly ;)

I glued those rubber guides into the metal channels. Mine seem to be holding up fine.