Hi all,

This is my 1st DIY post so go easy, and feedback welcome!

It all started with a trail run in McLean Creek,AB, Canada (shout out to Untitled!). I was silly enough to leave my sunroof open when we went for a ptretty rough run up icy/rocky up-slope. I got to the top after 2 tries but realized that the sunroof was stuck in open position and was making a grinding sound whenever I tried to close it.

We tried taking the motor apart but there was nothing wrong with it. And the press and hold method didn't do anything either (other than make the grinding sound).

After much deliberation and research, we (my dad and I) realized we have to take apart the headliner and have a look to see what's going on.

We found this video was helpful for taking apart the headliner. IT's definitely "easier" to take it off than to put it back on!

Once the headliner's off, taking the sunroof assembly is easy.

Here's some pictures and videos of the sunroof and the mechanism

Video of mechanism
Shared album - Ashan Garusinghe - Google Photos

Video after fix, tilt and open (with cable/rail mechanism showing) - I haven't seen any videos explaining the sunroof mechanism so hope this helps.
Shared album - Ashan Garusinghe - Google Photos

Album with pictures of sunroof assembly, cable drive, and more!
4th Gen sunroof - Google Photos

What we figured is that the sunroof got jammed when we bounced around on rocks while going uphill and cables went off alignment. Once we took it out and manually adjusted the assembly back to calibrated position (see page 9 on attached TSB), it worked once, but got stuck again.

Then, we realized the starting position of the sunroof is behind the fully closed position on the track, so we pushed the sunroof to the front (which re-positions the cable drive assembly to its correct initialized place).

This part is hard to explain but the best tip I can give is this. You can see the the ENDS of the two cables that drive the sunroof through the transparent tubes. MAKE sure they are at equal lengths before doing the final alignment. IF THEY ARE NOT, move either of the tracks to get the cables at equal lengths.

Install was a bit of a pain and it's a 2 person job (so is taking off/putting on the headliner). And make sure you don't tighten the sunroof assembly too much or you'll break the threads

Be careful with the headliner when you're putting it back on, lots of chances to get snagged and bend the cardboard.

Attached Images

bo016t06 Moonroof Stuck.pdf (127.8 KB, 885 views)

Hope I never need this info but it’s nice to know it’s here. Thanks for sharing your experience and the fix.

This is fantastic, thanks for the amazing documentation.

I've been fighting the dreaded clicking noise (still opens and closes, see video below) for two years on my 2008 and am planning on pulling the headliner and assembly this spring - this thread will be invaluable. For now, I simply avoid using it.

Here's a video (not mine, but same problem) that shows my issue:
YouTube

That said, was this similar to your experience? Based on your newly acquired knowledge of the sunroof, is removal completely necessary for me to fix it? Are there parts that need to be replaced?

My plan was to get a used sunroof assembly from a pick and pull and r/r the entire thing. But based on this, seems like my existing parts are salvageable.

Thanks again, great stuff.

Can the headliner be removed without removing the rear lower trim in the cargo area?

Anyone have any advice
Sunroof is stuck open
Looks like the driver side track is broken
Motor still works
I tried the 15 second tilt with no luck
I also removed the motor and tried to manually pull it closed with no luck
Help!!!!!!

Edit: update
Put the motor back in and for the love of god she closed
I disconnected the motor cable as to never open again....

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Hello Ashan. Thanks for the awesome how-to post. Can you tell me what this sliding member within the sunroof rail assembly is for? I've attached a pic of it with an arrow pointing to it. Thanks!

Attached Images

 

@y=mx+b - This would be a great addition to the write-ups thread.