i have a 2005 Mazda 3 hatch. The front passenger window can be fully operated (up and down) from the passenger door.

However, from the driver door it only can be operated "up", not down. A few weeks ago it still worked, but sometimes seemed weak when operating from driver side. I had the feeling I had to operate the one window first since it felt jsut low voltage making it so slow.

Before I open up one of the doors, I wanted to hear if there is a guess on what I will need to replace? To me I think either the driver switch is broken, or a wire is lose (if the "down" is a different wire than the "up"). That lose wire could be on either door.

All other windows can be operated fully from driver door.

there seem to be some online guides how to open up the door. my fear is I will have to take it off, test the wiring or switch, then put it back on to order a new switch, and then open it up again.

I'm abut to sell the car, So I don't want to invest too much and go to the shop. I googled a bit for those switches and some that look similar cost $40-60 on ebay etc. Not sure if there is a better source.

any advice appreciated.

 

Chances are it is a faulty switch on the driver side door.

Electric Window Troubleshooting

 

Probably a faulty switch, or loose damaged wire. That said the driver's four switches are all part of a single large unit so presumably you'd be replacing the entire thing. I'm guessing the wiring is fine since if you unplug the driver's unit the other door controls won't work..... they're slaved to the driver's one. So it follows if the other ones work then the system itself is intact and the problem is likely the switch itself.

As far as opening the doors it's super easy. It's held on by two screws and a bunch of push clips. Remove the two screws and then work your way around the sides and bottom pulling firmly to pop the clips out (They're sort of like ****** pegs). There's also one in the center of the panel. Once those are all loose you lift the entire panel out to slide the top out of the window channel. Then you do a bit of contorting to remove the wiring from the back.

Once you have the panel off you can easily pop the little trim piece the switches are in out of the door. In theory you can do that without removing the panel, however the little hooks which secure it are fragile and you're less likely to break one if working from "inside" the panel. It only take a few minutes to remove and it goes right back on. In the event you break a clip you can buy more at most auto supply stores.