[tditom]

On both my 99 Beetle and my 05 Beetle on a cool morning <50 F the PW are very sluggish and will react as if they have encountered an obstruction and will reopen w/o closing. If I am persistent they will roll up. Is there any way to lubricate them since the original lubrication is probably dried up.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Yes but to lubricate the guides you have to remove the inner door skin. It's possible the window regulator is partially broken and catching. Read this for the procedure on how to get access to them:
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q_how_to/multi/windowRegulator.htm

I'm not familiar with the New Beetle but it's probably very similar.

Another idea is that the window seal is out of alignment. This could make them hard and stiff in cold weather and create resistance to closing the window. Too much resistance activates the pinch protection.

 

[BillK]

2nd, this is the pinch protection. It's probably not the grease, it could be bad clips.

 

[tditom]

sluggish PW

Problem fixed with spraying the window gasket with silicone lube and rolling window up and down several times
tdiTom