How to Replace a Window Regulator
Last week I got into my truck and attempted to lower my window. As I did, I heard a loud noise and the window subsequently stopped moving. I took off the inside door panel later that night to take a look around and it turned out the wire that’s part of the window regulator just tore in two. I ordered a replacement regulator from car-stuff.com and it came this week. Removal and installation this evening went without a hitch. Once of my colleagues needs to do the same thing on his car so I thought I would help by documenting the process…
Driver side window regulator replacement on a 2002 Chevy Avalanche.
1. Remove the door panel. There’s a 7mm bolt that’s exposed just under the door handle and another one that’s behind the control switches. You’ll want to remove the triangle shaped trim to the right of the window as well as the trim cover behind the door lever. Disconnect the wires from the control switches and slowly lift the door panel. There’s another connection to the speaker you have to remove, and then also the door light bulb and wire located towards the bottom of the door.
2. Next you’ll need to remove the water deflector. I’ve done this a couple times so mine came off pretty easy, but make sure you don’t rip it because you’ll need to replace it. I removed the bolt that holds the door lever. It slides off and I just let it hang there. I did end up having to cut a slit through the plastic in order to get the deflector over the door lever.
3. At this point you’ll need to raise the window all the way up. If your wire has broken like mine it should be pretty easy to do. I secured the window with blue painter’s tape. Use a lot of it and you’ll get the same strength as duct tape, but without the residue.
4. Remove the wire harness that’s connected to the window motor.
5. Loosen the two bolts on the clamps that hold the window.
6. On the Avalanche, there are a total of six bolts that hold the window regulator in place. Remove all six.
6. Once the bolts are removed you should be able to jiggle the clamps loose, collapse the window regulator in on itself, and rotate it 90 degrees in order to be able get it out from inside the door.
The failed regulator:
The new regulator:
7. Now to install the new regulator simply do everything in reverse. Before I placed it inside the door I loosened the two bolts on the window clamps. After getting it in the door, I added all six bolts back in place, and once was happy with the way everything was situated, tightened them down. At this point I also reconnected the motor’s wire harness. The window clamps were just a few inches lower than I needed them to be so I temporarily reconnected the wire harnesses back to the control switches and raised the regulator up. This was also a quick way of testing to make sure the new motor and regulator were working properly.
8. Once raised, tighten the two bolts on the window clamps.
9. Remove the tape, and test the window.
10. Replace the water deflector. I used a weather-proof plastic tape to help the membrane stick back onto the door. You should double check exactly where your door panel will go back on to make sure no tape is revealed behind it.
11. Replace the door panel.
12. Celebrate the fact that you’ve got yourself a working window again.
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Hey there colleague… Nice instructions! Wow that looks like a project and a half! Do you know off hand how long it took you to complete, excluding the picture-taking time? My Cavalier, while still a GM product, is a bit different from your truck but I don’t doubt the internals of the door are every bit as concealed as on yours. From reading I’ve done, many people have mentioned there being rivets instead of screws in the door. Did you find yourself grinding off rivets to remove the old regulator? Just curious… Congratulations and enjoy the rest of your weekend!
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Meant to mention this in my first post – good idea on the painter’s tape – I wouldn’t have thought of that but will definitely pick some up!
May 4th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Nope, no rivets at all. Since you have a GM vehicle it’s probably a very similar setup as mine. It really wasn’t all that long of a job, maybe an hour and half, but I took my time. Some people I’ve spoken to have said the toughest part can be figuring out how to get your door panel off.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Wouldn’t ya know… the same damn thing happened to my front passenger side window about two weeks ago.
September 9th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
I had the window regulator fail on my 2003 Avalanche too. Forget if it was driver or passenger side. Fortunately, especially after seeing all the work involved, it was still under warranty and the dealer took care of it.
Did your instrument cluster fail? Mine did – intermittent speedometer reading. Again, a warranty job. I’m on my own now! ;)
Thanks for posting the details in case I have to do it in the future.
Joe
Souderton, PA
October 7th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I’m so glad I came here! I have a 2002 Avalanche My driver side window crapped over a year ago. (Lost weight, no drive-ups!) I just ordered/rec’d a new regulator/motor and need instructions on how to replace it. I will probably become very good at it as all my windows are dying on me now. Oh and my gear shift light/odometer crapped on me about a year ago too. I have to lie everytime I have to report my mileage which I have no idea what it is! Anyone else get wet carpets like I have the past several years. Thanks agan! I hope I can do this…
October 14th, 2008 at 3:56 am
Thanks for this post. The same thing happend to my driver side window last night. The symtoms are the same. Tried to roll window down and then a pop noise and the window stoped moving but the motor kept going. No worrenty left. Have to fix my self. So once again, i would like to say thanks for the post. Hope that that is the problem……………………
January 1st, 2009 at 11:21 am
GREAT INSTRUCTIONS TOOK ABOUT 45 MIN.. THANKS AGAIN
January 10th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i just replaced mine in an 02 avalanche
did the rear view mirrow while i was at it
thanx for allllllllllllllllllllll your help, couldnt a done it without ya
mike
January 11th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
That’s awesome. Glad to hear these instructions have been a help to some people. I had to replace my driver’s side regulator again just recently. The one I put in crapped out on me. But good news was carstuff.com gave me a full refund and a discount towards another one.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:34 am
what to do about the odometer light???
February 16th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Just wanted to say THANKS! My driver side regulator failed Friday driving home with the window totally down at 21 degree outside temps. No manuals at the auto store so I searched the web and found your link. Awesome directions and the pics helped a ton – It made the job nice, easy and straight forward. Thanks for posting this for all to see.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Wow, deja vu. Driving to work yesterday afternoon in my ‘02 Avalanche, reach over and begin to roll the driver’s window up and – POP! Thanks for the tutorial. Gonna get a new regulator on the way.
April 24th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
U Da Man!
Had to replace drivers side regulator. Didn’t care while it was wintertime but now I need to get some spring air flow! Best instructions yet! Any other repairs that you have done would also be appreciated. Seems like all the Chevy trucks have the same repeat issues.
November 1st, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Hi, i wonder if there should be a recall on these regulators, My driverside went to on my 2003 avalanche
November 1st, 2009 at 6:40 pm
I also like to say thanks for taking the time out on your how to do. Chuck
November 9th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
My drivers side rear just went out over the weekend. I was bold enough to get the door panel off and once I saw the inside, was a bit hesitant. After reading your post, I’m going to give this a DIY a try. Thanks for the good detailed instructions…
November 9th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Excellent instructions! Just what I needed. Thanks for taking the time!
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:26 pm
thanks, i was rushing against day light and with your instruction i got her done. thanks again
January 6th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Great explanation and pics. Can you advise what brand regulator motor is used as OEM? Dorman or ACDelco or other? Thanks!
January 6th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
I don’t know whether it was used as OEM, but I ended up using Dorman to replace both of mine.
January 9th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
I have to replace my regulater in my 02 Avalanche (no sound or movement, so I hope I’m right) on the passenger side-front. I also have to replace the lock solenoid on the driver’s side rear. I think this process might be very similar. Any comments on that?
Thanks for your work on this though.
January 9th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
I’ve not had to replace the lock solenoid but I imagine the process would be similar. I found a post on cafcna that talks about it and even has some illustrations that may help.
See http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php/topic,4679.0.html
February 1st, 2010 at 4:21 pm
Hi, it appears that my cable may have snapped. Is the regulator and the cables two seperate installations, or a single unit? Thanks,’
BG
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:23 am
BG, It’s all one unit.
February 2nd, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Ah, thanks man..
February 15th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Good tutorial, but I think the average man will be scared to do it himself lol.
March 7th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Thanks for instruction. Just replaced mine today and these instructions helped a great deal. Took about an hour. You probably saved me 1/2 hour to an hour because I didn’t have to figure out how everything worked on my own.
One additional thing I did figure out is that the handle can be easily removed. The small white clip that holds the rod into place can be flipped to the side and then the rod will just slip out of the handle. Then the handle can be removed and the water deflector will just slip over the end of the rod.
Thanks again.
April 18th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
It’s nice guys like you and, me that make the world go around. My issue is with my passanger side just clicking with no window movement. It’s been doing that for a couple of days now but just yesterday stopped completely. I think it may be time for a new window motor and,your instructions just made the job a lot easier. (at least I hope it’s just the motor). I will post anything new or, different but, if anyone wants to know how my project turned out just e-mail me. rayford_jeff@yahoo.com.
May 21st, 2010 at 1:49 pm
came across your web site by mistake. My passanger side frount stopped working. With your clear instructions ordered motor/regulator combo. changed out in 45 minutes. Job complete works great for only $68.95. SUPER SITE.
May 22nd, 2010 at 8:41 pm
Fantastic instructions. I replaced both my driver’s side and passenger side regulators on my ‘02 Avalanche this afternoon in just under two hours. The dealer wanted $360 per window. I bought the regulators on-line for $140 and with the help of a friend, we had the windows working in short order. Thanks!
June 19th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
I lost use of both front windows within weeks of each other. Your post allowed me to have a great dual father son project. Now my 16 year old has staked a claim for my Avalanche. Total cost was $111.42 for both window motors and regulators. Total time was less than 90 minutes. Thanks.
June 27th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
My 2006 Avalanche drivers window broke today, found your instructions and will look at the assembly tomorrow. Many thanks, this will make pulling the door panel much easier
July 2nd, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Ohhhh Thank GAWD!
What a FANTASTIC Set of Detailed instructions! My drivers window on my 06 Avalanche went out today…the shop said $265.00 for a Window Regulator PLUS Labor! I found the Window Regulator at 1aauto.com for 65 bucks, and as soon as I get it Im gonna do this Myself!
Thank you SO much for the savings!
GREAT Set of Instructions!
July 31st, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Can you replace just the regulator cable ? Lust wondering and trying to save a few bucks to keep my 02′ on the road. Thanks.
August 23rd, 2010 at 2:19 pm
You have saved the day. My passenger side on my ‘04 popped Saturday night, 101 degrees out. Got home and immediately took the panel off. Found the broken cable. I had no idea how to fix it until I found your site. Found a replacement for $40! The pics helped. Funny how these Avalanches all have the same problem. My talilgate latch broke a few months ago (fixed it for $20) and my instrument panel and lights are compeltely shot. (There is a factory recall on this…if you have less than 70,000 miles). Good to know I can search the internet for help. Ha.