So, ever since I had my Mini (10/20), the power windows never worked fully. They would go up and down, breaking the trim behind the window exterior. I took it to a local auto shop and they fixed them. They had said the power windows assemblies we're bad, and had replaced them. They worked fine, though I had always heard a snapping or dragging of plastic, from inside the door, as they went up and down. Then one day I rolled it down and I hear a pop. The Windows still rolles up but they were dragging against the back exterior trim. And they didn't close completely, though it was left with a 3 inch left to close. I was easily able to slide it open to close the window. It just dropped back down whenever I had open the door. I decided to open it up and look at what had happened.

The collar resting in that little groove had popped out and sheared the edges of the groove. The wire itself was still in place, but the collar was now outside the groove, still on the wire. So, I got some JB weld, and glued it back in. It still popped out.

I give up and just order a new assembly. I get it, and replace everything. It worked beautifully...for 3 days. The same symptoms as before, snapping/popping/grinding of plastic as the window goes up and down. And soon I hear the loud pop. Except this time the window is stuck open more than halfway and it would not go up at all. I opened it open once more to investigate. Well, the damage was quite different. And a lot worse.


That plastic cap held the wire in place and firm in line. It had completely broken off, and the entire wire was untangled. So, due to this, I had no way to mount the window back on, as the assembly held the window. There was no way that I could manage to re wind that wire. I just took the car to a European Specialist shop who were certified on Mini's (screw the dealership. They wanted $2.6k to fix both the windows the first time.). They fixed the driver side window and it works great as of now. However I've been hearing the same symptoms as last time and also, the passenger side has now broken again. Though it had never had a problem since I took the car in to the local shop.

So, does anyone know if this is a common problem for the assembly to break so easily? And is there a alternative solution like a assembly that works completely different than the original, that fixes this problem? I fear that it's something I'm always going to have to deal with.



Sorry for dragging on so long. I wanted as much information in it as possible.

 

I suspect that during all of the previous repairs the glass was not aligned properly causing excessive drag on the seals/gaskets.
The proper procedure is pretty involved and I wouldn't be surprised if this was ignored/skipped.

 

Holy larceny, Batman!!! Did I read that correctly? The dealer wanted $2,600 to fix two windows?

 

These are pretty cheap. I’ve had luck with after market ones.

think your better off replacing them. Replace whole assembly. Be sure to get the clip kit for the cables. Holds everything in place and out of way…

 

[QUOTE=(screw the dealership. They wanted $2.6k to fix both the windows the first time.).[/QUOTE]

$2,600 ?!?? - Surely they jest!
I'm sorry I can't provide a solution to this problem.
The driver side window regulator failed @35k mi on my 04 R53 - out of warranty.
The cable on the track popped off and frayed. Took it to a local garage who replaced the regulator with a new aftermarket - P&L = $325... (I think the motor was ok)
12 years later, @80k mi - I'm lucky it still works.
I may sound silly, but have you shopped it around? - You're right $2,600 is insane.