Reinitialise the Electric Windows

Lost the one-touch (auto up/down) on your Peugeot 308 Mk3 (P5, 2021–present) after a flat or disconnected battery? The window motor has forgotten its top and bottom limits. You re-teach them by hand in under a minute — no tools.

It’s a common surprise after battery work on the 308, and it isn’t a fault. The switches still raise and lower the glass; only the convenient one-press auto travel has dropped out. A short hold-at-each-end sequence teaches the motor its limits again and brings one-touch back.

What Happened

Each door’s window controller stores the fully-closed position so one-touch can stop neatly at the top and the anti-pinch can sense resistance and reverse. That range sits in volatile memory. Cut the 12 V supply — a flat battery, a disconnect for other work, or a blown window fuse — and the memory clears, leaving hold-to-move only. Nothing is broken; the controller just needs its end-stops re-taught.

First, a Few Checks

• Sit in the car with the door closed so the glass reaches its true top seal.
• Switch the ignition on so the electrics are live but the engine is off.
• Check the battery is healthy; a weak one can drop voltage mid-learn and abort it.
• Clear the window channel of ice, leaves or a sunshade so the glass seats fully.
• Do one window at a time from that door’s own switch.

Re-teaching a Window

1. Door closed, ignition on.
2. Lift the switch to close fully and keep holding a couple of seconds past the stop.
3. Let go, then press down to open fully, pausing at the bottom.
4. Lift again to close fully, holding a couple of seconds at the top.
5. Release and check one-touch both ways.

Do each affected window from its own switch.

If It Won’t Stay Set

• Hold longer at the top. The closed limit only registers once the motor has stalled against the seal for a moment — a quick tap won’t take.
• Do the full up–down–up cycle without releasing early; stopping halfway leaves the range half-learned.
• Shut the door. Learning with the door open can teach a slightly short travel because the glass meets the seal differently.
• Check the window fuse if one window is completely dead rather than just lacking auto.
• Rule out a tired battery. If it was flat enough to wipe the memory, charge or replace it, then re-teach — a sagging battery keeps dropping the learn.
• Repeat the whole sequence once more. The first pass sometimes only takes on one direction.
• If a window still only moves while held, a motor or switch fault may be stored as a code — look it up on autodtcs.com.

Once It’s Done

With each window’s range re-learned, a single brush of the switch runs the glass all the way up or down on its own, and the anti-pinch reverses if it meets an obstruction near the top. The setting is retained normally after that — you’ll only need to repeat it the next time the battery is disconnected or goes flat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my 308 windows stop auto-closing?

A battery disconnect or flat battery cleared the learned travel, so the controller no longer knows where the top of the frame is. The windows still work while you hold the switch, but one-touch stays disabled until you re-initialise each one with the hold-at-each-end sequence.

How do I reset the auto window on a Peugeot 308?

With the door shut and ignition on, lift the switch to close the window fully and hold a couple of seconds past the stop, then press down to open fully, then lift to close fully again, holding at the top. Release and test one-touch both ways.

Do I have to do every window?

Only the windows with one-touch, and each is taught separately from its own door switch. The driver’s window usually has it on up and down; the others vary by trim. Re-teach any that only move while you hold the switch.

Do I need any tools or a scan tool?

No. It’s all done at the window switches with the ignition on — no tools, no diagnostic tester and no garage visit for this everyday re-initialisation.

Why does the window drop slightly or bounce back near the top?

That’s the anti-pinch protecting against a trap while the range isn’t learned. Complete the full up–down–up cycle, holding firmly at the top with the door shut, and it will stop cleanly at the seal instead of reversing.

Could it be something other than lost calibration?

If a window is completely dead rather than just missing auto, check the window fuse and the switch. Persistent one-touch failure after several clean re-teach attempts points to a motor or regulator issue, which can leave a fault code to decode.

This is the most-missed step after battery work — see our 308 battery guide. For warning lights, look up the code on autodtcs.com.