pano sunroof fix - anyone tried this?
 

hello all, ok my pano sunroof rear section opened and stayed tilted open...managed to close it by pushing backwards the 2 'ramps' that sit under the glass, but was wondering if anyone has tried the 'fix' that actually disables the rear section on the pano sunroof altogether ? (but the front will still slide open and tilt) found the fix on another site and looks straight forward but be good to know if anyone has tried it, apparently its this or a massive bill at the dealer

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Hi again all I have decided to post the repair for all to see , I don,t always check the actual website page so some will miss out on a reply . So here it is .
Regards From Howard
Hi there thanks for sending me your email . I have included two photos for you its really easy to fix the roof , just open the front roof {slide back ] look down from the top and you will see two plastic fittings one on each side remove the metal spring that you can see then the link arm will probably drop down just remove it and discard along with the spring , the next thing is the very front part of this plastic part is sort of triangular in shape . You only need to remove the front piece the first one I used a Fein saw the second one I just used a pair of side cutters much easier , once you have done this on both sides close the roof and make sure you have closed the rear one if its still vented just push the two wedge shaped fittings on the underside rearward and the back glass will close down . Then reprogram the roof press and continue to press the centre of the button for about 60 seconds the roof will then go through all its functions do not remove your finger until the roof closes and the blinds have finished closing , then all should be fine Regards Howard
PS if you only want to close the roof just push back the two ramp fittings inside under the rear glass , push them backwards a bit at a time each side you should then be able to close the front glass , remember not to use the roof again until you do the modification or you will have to reclose the rear glass again ."

This is one of those amazin quick fixes that I wish I had found years ago.I did it myself after the roof being out of action for 2 years.It is great to be able to get almost full function of the pano roof again.To be honest the tiny fact that the back glass doesn't now tilt is totally irelavent

ok thanks fella so sounds like you are happy with the fix, good,, my only worry is that i mess it up and get stuck with the sliding roof open! so will wait till summer i guess at least that way i can drive it still, hmmm and also run the risk of my leather being fried by the sun out here!

Did it on mine as well. Corner piece was already cracked off and missing, so I didn't have much to lose. Very satisfied.

happy new year to all, thanks fro the reply, just waiting for summer to try this out and gives me to time to pluck up courage, just real worried that i slide back the sunroof to get access to retaining clips etc to follow the diy, and the sliding sunroof gets stuck in open position! oh well we shall see

Did mine about a month ago. Just don't tilt the roof until you do the DIY. It still rains in the summer. :D
Give it a go!

ok will do thanks, we hardly get any rain out here in the summer, things start to dry up in may and stays that way till end of sept!

the other fix is much faster.
unscrew the two torx screws in the back pannel that are showing when small pannel is open (or even closed actually). this stops the small glass sheet from tilting open and does NOT cause any issues with operation of the large glass sheet. took 2 minutes to do this fix and no I LOVE my pano roof again (minus the rattling I does when closed, unsure why). RobX5 did a small blurb about this on the forum here. super fast/easy/revertable fix.

I would really really appreciate any photos of where these 2 torx screws are please?

this is a modified Quote from X5_Rob
"open the sunshade all the way and vent the 2 sheets of glass.. Then climb in the back seat and look at the middle of the 2nd smaller (rear) panel on either side (driver and passenger sides of the car).. You will see a single torx screw on each side.. Unscrew both of those screws .. Those screws hold the panel guide in the open or vented position. Now get out of the car and give the panel a firm push downward.. It will close down.. That's it.. The entire sunroof should now be fully functional minus the ability for the 2nd panel to vent back open"

thanks fella and you think i can get away without operating and tilting the sunroof as such as it stays stuck open and thats the issue.....so i just retract the large glass panel all the way back so as to expose the small back portion of the glass and then take out the 2 torx and done

look for the two torx here on either side of the rear glass. remove these with the window not even tilted. I did easily. BUT to just be safe, once out, I still got out of vehicle and pressed down on the glass to make sure it was seated properly. and it's worked perfectly since, thanks to X5_Rob.

I just did mine last weekend - easiest fix ever. The torx screws are pretty easy to get to. I removed them, pushed the rear glass down and gave the tracks a good clean before spraying some silicone lube on them. One done, re initialised the system and bingo - functional sun roof again :thumbup:

Appreciate all the feedback from clockwork and spidey and all thanks, much easier fix than the other cutting clips trips etc.....

Hi guys, I tried this fix today but unfortunately after tilting the large panel up after removing the torx screws, it would not return back down? Like the small panel had moved forward a tiny bit? I don’t know if it is because the “ramps” still move forward? I couldn’t get the roof to tilt down fully, or open at all? Any ideas please gents? Thanks

dang, so is the smaller rear glass sheet stuck up too, or did it not move at all when you "vented" the front glass sheet?

if the glass is still in Vent mode, press the sunroof button closed and hold it as far forward towards vehicle front for a few seconds and an override to close the sunroof should kick in.

The rear glass did go up, but pushed back down…but the front glass wouldn’t come down at all. I had to put the torx screws back in and knock the little ramps back to get the glass down. Now it will open, but not tilt without rear glass getting jammed.

So I have a 2005 model and the last time I opened the sunroof was about 6 years ago. I have a rear drain leak problem so I want to open it to clear the drain pipe from the rear using a bike rubber coated shift cable. If it actually needs clearing. Anyway I am not keen on pushing that roof button but it has to be done. I think when I do it and nothing snaps and it fully opens I will employ this fix and lubricate (never been done). Thanks for the tip.

cheers

Just helped a friend sell an E53 X5...The sunroof and its tracks were very crusty with dirt and tree debris...it had not been used in a while, and it was unclear if it worked properly. I told him to pull fuse 58 and tell any buyer that it works but that we pulled the fuse as a precaution.

Sure enough, the first real buyer, who didn't bother test driving the car, insisted on watching the sunroof open and close....So we tried it and it worked...phew..

But you can access the rear drains from the rear hatch opening...that's not enough to clear them?

Probably is, but I wanted to see the cable come through the other end because if it doesn’t it means the drain pipe has come off the sunroof connector ( I am thinking very unlikely). Its a funny thing curiosity. If the sunroof will work or not. ��

Its probably getting time to sell this car but I have done so much with it. Hard to let it go.

Actually, I do have a simple question about this tip. After removing the torx screw and pushing the rear glass down. Is it possible later down the track to replace the screws. I am assuming it is just a process of lifting the rear mechanisms with a screwdriver?

Absolutely.

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Thanks, good to know. I have already tried opening it with no broken parts yet so I was able to clean and lubricate the first half of the rails. The main glass wouldn’t go back all the way which is suggesting the friction is too great and the emergency kicks in and brings it forward. Going to try the 75sec trick next to see if I can reset it. Will post later on the outcome.