I ordered the part last week & it arrived shortly thereafter. I had a local technician replace..

My window drops when the inside handle is pulled, then goes right back up before the door is closed. Window works fine otherwise (dropping before top opened, regular operations).

I asked the service writer at one of the dealers nearby for pricing and diagnosis. The conclusion is either a bad microswitch or a worn regulator. Is there a way to know the culprit before taking the door card off? I like to have a better estimate before going in with an open check book.

unlatch the door but instead released the window should go up again. That the window drops is a good sign the door handle switches are working ok. You did not test by releasing the handle without opening the door.

That the window goes up if the door is opened could be the door latch switch.

When my 2002 Boxster's passenger window did this along with some other odd behavior -- door locks locking themselves or the horn sounding like something was ajar when I locked the car -- the problem proved to be the door lock module. This is the "biggie" in terms of complexity and thus cost.

When I had my car in the shop the tech read the codes from the security system and then after the door card was off did some tests to see if it the problem was with something other than the door lock module but alas it was with the door lock module.

All I can recommend is you get quotes for if a microswitch is bad, or a regulator (I don't think it is the regulator. When they are bad the symptoms are generally a window that makes a feeble attempt to drop when either handle it pulled.) Or the door latch switch or the door lock module.

Worst case I believe would be if the door lock module is at fault that runs several hundred dollars (close to $400 maybe more now with the dollar up) and toss in maybe an hour's labor. Could be close $600 what with taxes. I can't recall any better than that.

Both handles drop the window when pulled fully. Both drop the window when pulled partially and the window goes back up when the handle is released (and the door unopened) Once the door is open, the window goes back up again when it should stay down. No other funny things happening with the window or alarm.

Just to clarify, are there 3 potential parts at fault: the door lock module, regulator (unlikely culprit) and the micro switch (aka door latch switch, door handle switch)?

Thanks for your help.

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Tony in Whittier
Both handles drop the window when pulled fully. Both drop the window when pulled partially and the window goes back up when the handle is released (and the door unopened) Once the door is open, the window goes back up again when it should stay down. No other funny things happening with the window or alarm.

Just to clarify, are there 3 potential parts at fault: the door lock module, regulator (unlikely culprit) and the micro switch (aka door latch switch, door handle switch)?

Thanks for your help.

Based on what you posted regarding the behavior I'd say the door latch switch/assembly is the culprit. It is not singaling the latch is open and thus the window instead of staying down goes back up again.

I had one go out on the driver's side. I've had both regulators replaced, too. They just wore out. The symptom was the window made just a feeble attempt at dropping when I opened the door. The button lower/raise operation was ok though. Oh, but when I watched the window -- with streaks on it to make the glass more visible -- when it started down there was a lot of movement not directly in line with the window's direction of travel.

Curious to see what one looked like I asked the tech to save the old regulator. He did but he told me when he removed it the thing just fell apart. It was completely worn out. I looked at the old one but it was so worn and floppy I just tossed it in the trash. Both regulators lasted over 250K miles so I got my money's worth.

the broken one. I was a bit surprised in the size of the assembly. I was expecting a small plastic switch. Price is usually not an indicator of the quality or size of the part, especially when it is a Porsche part ($120 before tax and shipping).

It took the guy about 1.75 hours to R & R. He also tested the other micro-switches while he had all the parts out (latch, cables, brackets, etc.). The process seems to be more tedious than complex. R & R of the door cards and attachments took about 1/3 of the time.

Here are a few pics of the old part. The new part was identical, except the yellowish plastic part is now black. The parts rep. at Sunset Porsche knew exactly which part was the culprit, when I described the troubles.













It feels great to not have to lower the window before opening or closing the door. I have been doing that exercise for about 3 or 4 years.

and I'm sure more complex looking that one expects, although some complexity was suggested from the (mis) behavior attributed to it.

Before replacing it the tech checked some other components just in case as these are less expensive than the assembly but of course the most expensive part was the bad one.

I can't imagine tolerating that misbehavior for years though. Pretty soon after the window starting coming up on its own after the door was opened I booked the car in for this problem.