Moonroof problems

[PersonaNonGrata]

I hardly ever use my moonroof on my '02 but lately it has been rattling. I've had sunroof problems in other BMWs requiring new cassettes so I was not optimistic about my rattling but it wasn't that big a deal until today when I opened my moonroof a couple of inches to vent hot air. When I tried to close it, it started closing then went in reverse. It wound up going back about halfway and stopped. It would not move forward.

I busted out the hex tool to try and crank it but that didn't help. (I don't think it's my motor.) I was eventually able to get the roof closed to the within a couple of inches. Again, I was not feeling good because cassettes and parts for this fix are expensive as is labor to do it. The odd thing is that I was able to close the roof to this point but pushing up on the switch as you do when you want to tilt the roof up. Strange....

I went back to the issue after work and tried to re-initialize the moonroof by turning the key to position 1 then holding the switch up in the tilt position. After about 10 seconds the roof goes through a few motions and to my relief, closes completely including popping back up into place. The shade is stuck a few inches from closing so that still needs to be resolved.

I dared to try it tonight and the roof would open a little haltingly and with a bit of noise. It did re-close completely though. (I would rather have my roof closed and never use my moonroof again than have to fix it.) Perhaps I should open it up completely and grease the rails a bit? Any ideas or suggestions?

[1stE53]

It very well could be a friction issue. They do have a pretty sensitive sensor to reopen or stop if slight resistance is felt. I'm right there with you though about having it closed and not opening it again. I hardly ever open my windows at all. I don't want dust inside. Surprising how little gets in if you don't open windows

[o. l. t.]

You would LOL at what i used to have to do to get my sunroof on my E36 to close. It started out the same way and by the time i sold it i had to start beating it from the time it started to close to the time i got within 5 inches of it closing. At that point it had to be pushed up and the switch had to be tapped to edge it up to the brim. I was able to make it work better with litium grease for a while.

[skeetjunkie]

At 90K, my '04 E53 panorama's rear panel mechanism failed and it was stuck in the upright vent position. Was able to finally get it closed, but liner is now stuck in the open position. Will probably perform the dremel tool hack posted on this forum.

Seems to me that once the roof starts acting up, it likely will not get right again. Me? I'd let sleeping dogs lie if you have it completely closed at this point.

[PersonaNonGrata]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm half thinking about trying opening just once to spray/apply some lithium grease as it wouldn't hurt and might fix the orginal binding or friction issue. The other half of me is thinking about just leaving the damn thing and not risking it getting stuck open or having something snap due to the friction.

I was able to do a couple of quick opening moves last night after getting the roof re-initialized. It was a little halting but did re-close that's why I think greasing the tracks might help.

[PersonaNonGrata]

I decided to try and get some lithium grease on the tracks in hopes that my problem is merely a lubrication issue. When I tried to open the roof up, it definitely grabs and meets some resistance as the motor sort of grinds once it hits a certain point. I also noticed that the roof will not go into the popped up vent position. Pushing the switch up does make the glass go up but it pretty much stops once the glass is flush with the roof on the outside. The sunshade is stuck in the position that it retracts to when the roof is popped in vent mode. I think that is what the sunshade is stuck; it thinks the roof is open to vent.

I can't help myself but want to fix it. I know I run the risk of locking my moonroof open, which I don't want. It's closed now but with the sunshade open part way. I wouldn't mind this except that the sunshade keeps out quite a bit of wind and road noise. I would like to be able to close it.

Any suggestions?

[Weasel]

The motor that runs the sunshade is at the rear of the cassette, you may be able to hand crank the sunshade back closed by lowering the rear of the headliner a little. There are three different repair kits available to the dealer to source parts for repairing the panoramic sunroof, and probably 70% of pano sunroof failures can be repaired without cassette replacement now. About the same labor charge, but a fraction of the cost parts wise.

[Nik]

So, It is good to grease them sometimes?
EDIT: do to maintenance?

[Weasel]

Never a bad thing to keep the tracks clean and greased.