Review on Dorman 749 509 Passenger Window Regulator by Jared Tovar

The passenger window in my 2011 Grand Caravan suddenly stopped working. When the engine starts, there is a crunch, and then the window stops and opens a couple of inches. By ruling out, I decided the problem was in the controller. Well based on previous owner experiences I wasn't expecting this to happen on a 3 year old van but that's a review for another day. I figured it wouldn't be that hard to replace the regulator so I ordered one at a reasonable price. First let me say that while Chrysler has made some nice improvements to the Caravan over the years, these changes have not been made in relation to maintenance. Accessing an existing controller and installing a new one is no easy task. Instead of the usual vapor barrier plastic behind the door panel, there's a hard plastic shell bolted to the door, which you have to partially remove and then try to do the dirty work. The wiring harness and door lock prevent this panel from being completely removed without seemingly adding much more work. So I removed the old controller (it was more likely to fall out after a few maneuvers) and saw a kink and wear on the cable. . My theory was confirmed, and now I was sure that my suspicion was correct. However, the part looked very different than the new controller. The Dorman website shows a picture of the factory part that comes new in the car, not the replacement part that they ship in the box. The black plastic gear will not attach to the bracket on the new regulator. What you really need to do is remove the gear from the old regulator and reuse these bolts to attach the gear to the new regulator's strut. And by the way, there are no user manuals or instructions. After a lot of maneuvering, profanity, and using various household items I'd never used before while working on my cars, I managed to screw a new regulator into the back of the plastic door panel and then lower the glass onto the clips. Now it works like new. Hopefully it will never be replaced.