BMW Sunroof Preventive Maintenance

[Stewbie]

For shits and giggles I decided to pull off the sunroof and check the shade slider components. Since I've owned the car, the shade has never gone all the way forward. Here's what I found:

This is as far forward as it goes. It's not far enough forward to access the bolts for the rear slider, so I can't remove the shade.



From this picture, you can see why the shade doesn't come all the way forward. The slide driver (this is the part that pulls the shade back when you open the sunroof) used to move another 2 inches forward, but the dust and dirt indicates that it hasn't done so in a long time.



Any thoughts on why the slide driver isn't coming forward all the way?

[ELCID86]

All cleaned and lubed? No broken parts? Isn't there a way to reset the motor mechanism?


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[Stewbie]

Okay. Figured out how to remove the "wiper" which gave me enough room to get at the bolts for the rear shade slider. Then I was able to remove the shade. The driver and passenger side sliders are all intact and seem to be in decent shape.

From inside the car I can see this:



The slide driver's forward movement is limited by the coil-screw-spring thing with the yellow tip. I'm guessing this part is controlled by the motor. This DIY talks about adjusting the sunroof motor. Its not clear from the description whether this adjustment affects the glass panel or the shade or both. Does anyone know more about this? My glass panel was working fine.

[brettbimmer]

It's been a couple of years, but I have been in there (as far as you are currently) to replace a broken slide on the driver's side of the shade (PN# 54 13 8 246 027) as shown in the DIY link above. As I recall, it was tough to see the broken plastic piece in the track from the old slide which was thus causing the problem for me. I have searched my photos but don't seem to have any of this repair. That said, I do have the old part listed above (I replaced both while I was in there and kept the one intact) and can get another photo or two for you if you need it. Otherwise you may have good luck with the images here: http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Site..._027/ES157696/

Also, I did not re-calibrate the roof, but from the DIY link above it has to incorporate both the glass panel as well as the sliding shade in the recalibration as they normally move in tandem. That said, if the shade movement is impeded with glass panel in the fully-closed position (or mechanism in the fully-closed position with the glass panel removed), it sounds like something is not right and needs to be dealt with first. Again, I remember that part being in a few pieces which was causing my shade troubles. Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

[Stewbie]

Thanks for your post. I've inspected the part you referenced. Both are fully intact. One is a little worn on the edge that contacts the slide driver, but nothing serious.

Here is another photo where I've moved the slide driver back an inch or so by hand.



When I move the slide driver forward, its stopped by the yellow-tipped coil thing. I'm fairly confident that this is what is stopping my shade from closing all the way. How I adjust or fix the yellow-tipped coil remains a mystery.

[Stewbie]

While sleeping on it, it occurred to me that I had the mechanism in the tilt up position to get the glass off. I lowered it and the yellow-tip coil retracted towards the front of the car. I was then able to move the slide driver fully forward by hand. Doing so cleaned up the dirt that had been accumulating in the slide drivers path. I scraped out a bit of extra grime, vacuumed it up and reinstalled the sunshade. It now moves fully forward by hand. Although my sliders were in decent shape I though I might as well replace them while I'm in there, that is until I saw the price. The local dealer wants CDN $88 + 12% tax for the sliders! At that price I think I'll just lube things up and keep using the original sliders till they break.

[BMWCurves]

So the issue was just the grime?

[ELCID86]

While sleeping on it, it occurred to me that I had the mechanism in the tilt up position to get the glass off. I lowered it and the yellow-tip coil retracted towards the front of the car. I was then able to move the slide driver fully forward by hand. Doing so cleaned up the dirt that had been accumulating in the slide drivers path. I scraped out a bit of extra grime, vacuumed it up and reinstalled the sunshade. It now moves fully forward by hand. Although my sliders were in decent shape I though I might as well replace them while I'm in there, that is until I saw the price. The local dealer wants CDN $88 + 12% tax for the sliders! At that price I think I'll just lube things up and keep using the original sliders till they break.

Nice! Good call.


Thumbs, iPhone, TaT.

[Stewbie]

FYI - In my Google searches I came across the following in the comments section of Pelican Parts E30 sunroof DIY. Though I'd leave it here in case it helps anyone.


Comments: I have a 325i 2004 and my sunroof moves 1 inch at a time. open and close. i can still move it to all positions by pressing button many times.
July 6, 2015

Followup from the Pelican Staff: Try to initialize it.

--Push the sunroof button in the up (tilt) direction and hold. After approximately 20 seconds the sunroof panel will make a small down-up movement. Release the button for no more than 5 seconds and push and hold it in the up (tilt) direction again.
--The roof will run through a full open and close cycle.
Once this cycle is completed, the initialization and adaptation is complete.

- Nick at Pelican Parts