If your windows make a loud noise going up or down, or will go down but not up, you probably have a bad window regulator. If the window works partially, the motor is likely fine. In my case (and many others), the plastic clips on the regulator broke off. In this repair guide, I replace the window regulator on the passenger side door for power windows on a two-door MK3 Golf GTI VR6.

Tools and Parts required:

• 10mm socket
• 2.5mm hex driver
• T25 torx driver
• T20 torx driver
• Flat blade screwdriver
• Phillips screwdriver
• OEM Window Regulator VW Part #1H0837462A

Step	Description	Photo
1.	Door panel prior to work. Unscrew black door lock pull at the top.
2.	Use the flat blade screwdriver to carefully pry the cover off of the door pull. Start from underneath and work it off so no clips break. Unfasten the connector to the window switch.
3.	Unscrew the two phillips screws in the door pull. Remove door pull.
4.	Pop grill off of speaker. Unscrew speaker with phillips screwdriver, disconnect and remove speaker.
5.	Use hex driver to remove the screws from around the perimeter of the door panel. There are 3 on the bottom and 2 on either side (7 total) to remove.
6.	Pull door panel off. The foam and vapor barrier are now exposed. Remove speaker bracket (3 phillips screws). Remove the black plate in the upper left with two 10mm bolts. Remove the vapor barrier by unpeeling and cutting around the door trim pieces (the white plastic clips in the picture). We'll reuse the vapor barrier.
7.	I left the door handle on and simply held the vapor barrier up. Move window up so you can get to the window regulator carrier's bolts. Unbolt glass.
8.	With the glass loose, tape it up so that it is out of the way and won't fall. It's very important to tape the glass securely! I used electric tape and put a paper towel over the door to keep it clean.
9.	Unplug the regulator motor. The connector moves to the left and down. Unbolt the five bolts that hold the window regulator in.
10.	Remove the window regulator. It's a tight space and takes some wiggling effort. Here are the old and new window regulators. Use the large torx to unbolt the old motor. Use the small torx to get the motor off completely. Only remove the small torx bolts that hold the motor on; they will be obvious by looking at the holes in the new regulator.
11.	After you've unbolted the motor, it will look like this. Place the motor's gear inside the new regulator and bolt the small torx bolts on.
12.	Bolt the 5 large torx bolts to hold the motor assembly. This picture shows the old motor fully mounted on the new regulator.
13.	Wiggle and curse and you fit the new regulator into the door. Once it is bolted into the door with the 5 10mm bolts, it should be pre-aligned so that the glass carriers are showing through the door. Once the regulator is in, you can untape the glass and carefully place the glass into the carrier (as shown in the picture). Tighten the bolt on the two carriers to secure the glass.
14.	Reverse your steps. Place the vapor barrier back on. The old glue is very sticky and will hold the barrier. Put the black metal bracket back on. Put the speaker carrier back on. Place the door panel back on. Tighten the hex bolts around the door panel perimeter. Put the door pull back on. Put the speaker back in. Put the trim piece back on the door pull and reattach the window switch connector. Done!