VW New Beetle Convertible 2003-2010 - Rear side window regulator remove and adjust - DIY Repair 

Great video. I think I'm going to take my wife's VW to the lake. To the bottom of the lake.

This video saved my marriage... I couldn’t figure out how to remove the back panels so my wife started questioning my man hood

I think this video is great & after watching / re-watching it step by step as I went, I have succeeded in this project. However, I feel it skimmed over the adjustment techniques. The 'adjuster bolt" (at 6:50 mark & supposedly used spl tool # 1739) requires to be placed on the inside of the car / slot for the regulator assy. The bottom two -- screw in all the way into the reg assy and then be careful when adjusting. The top 'adjuster bolt' (behith the front seat belt) should also be inside. Then I could match the 13mm nut to lock in the settings (all 3). I fought with this aspect (unknowingly) for 3 days. Once I re-started and caught this item, all worked within 5 minutes (then an hour to re-assemble the rest of the car). Thanks guys. I hope this helps someone. 2008 VW Beetle Convertible.

Thank you for this video. There are many videos on how to repair it, but I couldn’t find one on how to get to it! Thanks again!

Thanks for helping me to decide that my wife will no longer have a convertible. It’s now a soft top.

Great video. The VW tool VAG 1739 is available from Snap-On tools. I made my own by duct taping together a 3/8 drive 13 and other deep well socket. For the 4 mm Hex adjuster I used a long 4mm Hex driver. This setup is sufficient to adjust and tighten, with final tightening done with just a 13mm deep socket. I was able to remove my regulator without removing the window, thereby making only a minor adjustment on reinstallation necessary. Thanks for the video - great help.

Thanks to your uploads I was able to repair boths those items myself.

Just fixed the rear regulator on my VW cabriolet - this video was very good for getting at the parts and putting them back and adjusting but didn't cover the replacement of the wire in the regulator which is the core problem, so used some other RU-vid clips for that. I pulled off the external weather strip to improve access for fitting the rear window but had to super glue it back.Otherwise reasonably straight forward.

Fantastic video. Thank you very much. I don’t think I could have changed the rear regulator without your vid. VW must have had planned obsolescence engineering in mind when they made this car. Window regulators break frequently, the dealer broke the headlight mount changing a bulb (only I change the headlight bulbs now), 2009 model has no key entry for the trunk so when the electronics go out there is no easy trunk entry, mechanisms to raise and lower top broke (fortunately the dealer fixed for free), steering sensor broke, brake calipers leaked, ignition coils go out every 30K miles, car only has 65K miles, blah, blah, blah.... should have bought my wife a Honda Accord. Did I mention that this video is a life saver? It’s a life saver!

Great! you are fantastic! Thanks your tutorial I fixed my rear window (I spent a day, 7 hours, in the car and 30 euros) thanks a lot - andrea from Italy

Lots of thanks. Saved me a ton of cash me being able to remove and install the regulator.

Thank you for these Beetle Convertible videos. I love my rare car and keeping cash in my pocket from fixing it mysef!

This seems so complicated!!! My back window has seemed to come off the "track". I hear the regulator whirring and moving but the window does not go up and down. Taking off the back seat and side panel seem like so much work for such a little problem and what should be a simple fix....siiiigh* good thing I love this beetle.... =op

I was originally thinking that it is a shame that the non-convertible version doesn't have opening rear windows. Now, I realise that this is an advantage!

Video davvero super prezioso, grazie mille!

Thanks for posting this, i used it today and it worked great. It took me a little less than an hour to remove the regulator, not sure how long it will take to reinstall though. Parts wont be in till tomorrow. All in all it was pretty simple, i did however find out if the window will not move the easiest way to get it to move is to hold on to the window and cut the control cables. now sure if that is the right way but it works. If you have any auto skills it shouldn't be a problem to do.

Great video On a 2009 eos rear side window is the set up the same as the beetle cause my window is just sitting slightly lower than the door window cause all I need is some adjusting

Now whats not clear here you dont need to take the glass out first , and you dont need the special tool unless when you install and you've moved the top alignment glass nut. when I took the frame/glass out I marked the top adjustment nut so not to muck up the adjustment. Also not clear is the top retainer plate , they make mention of it but do not show its removal , you have about 4 side bolts, one long top bolt and two hex screw heads, follow the rest of the vid and you can remove the whole mechanism to replace the wires , replacing the wires are the easy bit , its getting the whole thing in and out and putting the inner panel back in place , there are a few good other vids on youtube about the replacement of the wires , also mentioned on other vids is non vw replacement wires are very tight and some suggest they will not last long if this is the case , mine was tight but still had some slight spring movement in wire stretch , will update in time to see how mine holds out , again there is another youtube clip how to lengthen the wire if you dont have spring play , I will follow this if my newly installed wire does not last long , I think my non vw replacements were about $40 delivered to Aus. Also note the rear window buttons on drivers door can also be faulty , if it doesnt go up on the individual button try the main button to operates all windows up and down , good luck. Also forgot to mention taking the whole unit out and back in is very tight , you can see scratched from the top adjuster that when the vehicle was manufactured even the workers must have had to put some force to get it down , take your time but it will eventually go in with some force. UPDATE, been 12 months and no issues , its the wire that stretches and frays and gets caught up in the mechanism , I recommend you do not lower the rear windows all the way down if you dont want to replace these again , just let the auto lower them when you pull turn the convertible top handle , it will just lower the rear windows slightly , otherwise expect to replace them frequently if you want the rear windows all the way down.

What size are the nuts that are holding the window to the regulator? I have my window up as high as I can get it. I can see the nuts, they're at an angle, but I'm not sure what size they are. I've been trying to figure it out with the tools I have, but I might not have the right size.

This is actually an SNL re-run right? two guys and all that to replace a regulator? really? Naaahhh... they almost got me :) I'm still laughing ...I figured it out at 13:19... hilarious

How do you lower the window, if it is in the top position, but the regulator is inoperative? The cable is all wrapped up around the regulator. Is there a way to manually lower the window (to get access to the lower window mounting nut)?

very good thanks a lot. only quality video can be better

I thought I wanted a New Beetle, I purchased a 05 and since that time had to figure out why scan codes wouldn't work (after taking it to three mechanics) disconnected the K line in the aftermarket radio and it now works like a charm, did my own plugs, wires and ignition coil (none of the three shops would do it without the scan code readouts) and now have it running like a top and figured I would look into the window and convertible top issues. After watching this I am ready to give up. I have spent two days on line trying to figure out where the fuse for the top is even located, with no success, and having to remove the entire back seat to fix a window is just too much. Can we say German Over engineering? I have a 2000 Nissan Frontier Pickup, with 285,000 miles, that I have kept running with less time and trouble than what I have wasted in three months with this car.

thank you so much，my wife love this car，but it is too hard and expensive to fix it。

This is great, BUT I can't get the seat belt BOLT off to remove it! How the heck do you do that? Joanie!

Yep. Discovered the same problem when I obtained a new regulator, removed seats and panels, then tried to get the window out. What now? Since faulty regulators are reportedly the most common problem, how have others out there removed the window with breaking something?

great, folks!!!!! g

What if window regulator is broken? How do you remove glass??

This is a good overview video but doesn't mention the two bolts that holds the regulator to the top bracket and that the entire bracket has to be removed to get the regulator out (another 3 bolts and couple torques). Lots of missing elements that I had to figure out on my own. Had I known that bracket came out I could have left the window attached and pulled the whole thing out in one unit. This video makes you do a lot more work than you have to to fix that bad regulator set up.. Some good info, but a lot of missing info.

Been nice if you showed procedure to remove bottom seat

How do you remove the rear seat?

A couple of things on my 08 NBC are different from this video. 1. The large flap top hinge cover being adjusted at the 16 minute mark does not exist on 2008 (and I suspect from that year on). Only the small flap that moves down and then forward is part of the rear side panel. You still have to disconnect the connecting rod with the ball socket and then remove the clip and cable. Once you have the side panel up and away from the body, you will see these items. But NO hinge cover anymore. Also, seat back uses triple square bolts that appear to be 7mm. That bit is a rare item - $30 from a supplier in Tennessee. Google it. You might get by with a hex bit, but if you mangle the 12 splines in that nut head, you may have a hard time removing the bolt. This video would've been more valuable if they had bothered to mention socket and tool sizes as they removed things, but it still a good foundation for removing these rear regulators.

I am on my third window of a 2005 Beatle Convertible, First window was the rear passenger window and the dealer charge me over $500 to repair regulator. The second window was the Drive side front window. Dealer said it would cost over $1100 to repair. I wrote the dealer and protected the excessive cost saying I would ask the local new paper to comment on same. Dealer agreed to do the repair for $100 + parts. It cost me less than $200. Now for the third window, the Drives rear window, I asked the dealer to fix it for a reasonable price and the will not respond with a reasonable price or a $100+ parts. They say it takes longer to do the rear window by several hours. I have watched this RU-vid and several others and have decided to try it myself. I have had several older VW Beatles and Rabbits and they worked very well except for Head gaskets of a Diesel Rabbit (replaced thee times under warrantee). I will not buy another VW unless they totally redesign and fully warrantee almost everything.

Well, I know its an old video, but un-informed at the beginning is the lack of info on the top support bracket and its removal! Fortunately, having watched the video a few times, I saw the top bracket was off, nothing to say its held on by at least 6 fixings including 10mm bolts with locktite and torx whereas video shows just 2 being removed. But the remainder was ok

why is this a thing. i hated every min of this but it did work i guess thats all that matters haha will never buy a vw again!!!

Some non bitchy comments, the seat belt latches don't have to come out, there's nothing that will scratch them. It is much easier to pull the window and the regulator as a unit, leave the window attached. It eliminated any need to adjust the windows.

OMG - It this car made by MG?? I have to do both rear regulators. I might just sell the car instead.

And why are they to discontinue the beetle?,!

Every time I fix something on my girlfriend's 2006 Beetle, something else breaks. Today the drivers side door check literally sheared off of the door where it was welded! The door check is perfectly fine, but where it welds to the door itself broke off. I replaced the window regulator, but then the door panels came unglued. So I fixed that and then the door handle itself broke off in my hand a few months later. I replaced that with a metal one, and now the rear panels are coming undone. Arghhh! I thought German engineering was the best in the world?

Holy shit u gotta be kidding me... lol really tho all that for the back window.. smh

Ow and dont forget to grees those sliders well.

Every window in my VW Beetle Convertible has had to have the regulator replaced at least twice. I am a VW Lover but the new ones suck. Not only the windows but the headlights. I actually called VW when my warranty was up and I only had 18,000 miles on it. They pretty much said tough s---! I read about so many having the same problems and they won't do anything to help out. So disappointed........

how the heck do you get the regulator out? Clearly you have to get rid off some part within the window itself because my window won't come out like that.

Can you do this repair without taking off the convertible top?

😰 barely any information on the rear side flap mechanism...

You guys assume that we already know the steps you so inconveniently skip. How do you get the plug loose from the regulator? Show pulling both of the window nuts out. Do you remove the top black plate? Can we adjust without buying a $100 tool? On the 1 to10 misery scale, this is about a 10.

I wish I had known about all of these problems and did more research before buying my used 2005 GLS convertible. I thought Volkswagen had more pride in what they put their V.W. badge on...I guess I was wrong this and several other problems seem to be common sadly. I now have to have all four replaced...Volkswagen should be ashamed of itself!

Thanks for the video, but we have purchased our first and last Volkswagen. My daughter just had to have one and it has been the worst car to have every been parked in our driveway. My son had a Dodge Neon and even it was not a terrible or poorly designed as a Volkswagen. It isn't worth the hassle it has been, so I'm going to buy a burner phone and sell the hunk of garbage.

The convertible beetle is the worst car VW has made in a long time. All these NBC have horrible windows. If you own one of these cars the windows will fail I promise you. The only way to avoid window problems is by not opening them or using the auto roof. Rough shifting and valve body problems with the O9G are also to be expected. These guys make it look easy because they filmed this video when above car was new and their window is not broken and jammed up. If you are watching this now your interior is probably falling apart. Good luck removing the interior panels. Enjoy your lemon.

I bought this $200 manual and the contents of this video are not in the manual. So far I am extremely unhappy with Bentley manuals. They are incomplete and missing very important information!

Our VW dealer just said there was a window actuator warranty extension, but only for front side windows and for only 7 years. He suggested we contact VW's main service center at (800) 822-8987. That rep confirmed the dealer's info, but said if VW recieves enough continuing complaints of a particular issue, they could consider making it a warranty issue. So if this actuator problem is as prevalent as it appears to be on various car maintenance blogs, please everyone, call VW and report it.

What a pain in the ass

Homer Simpson rage , gave up for now as ran out of time. Put all back together left plug of window regulator . All back together ....roof won't work. Strip car again to attach plug. More homer Simpson rage! Beer time. Half the nuts fell into body cavity so window wedged up for now. Start again fresh and I bet more homer rages

This is why I fing hate VW