I heard a funny sound the other day while opening my sunroof (1996 GLE). Thought nothing of it until I tried to close it and it wouldn't! :o( I have to manually push it closed and even then it won't seel up completely. It will still open though, I just have to manually close it each time. It will not tilt either. I took it to the dealer and they want $1400!!!! ($900 part/$500 labor). I simply can't afford that. Has anyone had this happen? How did you resolve it? Any advice would be appreciated. At least some quick advice of how to wedge it closed so I keep water out would help a lot. Thanks guys, I appreciate it.



5 years and 120,000 miles of trouble-free driving until now.
:o(

 

happened on a volvo i had. the cable that opens and closes the unit was broke/stripped. the sunroof is pretty complex, not something that I would want to try to mess with by myself again!

i don't have a fsm, but dan b may be able to help you with how it looks inside. there's probalby a cable that opens and a cable that pulls it shut and either the cable broke or one of the ends broke. you can try taking apart that area where the switches/motor are located and take a peak (at your own risk!) but the worst thing that can happen is that you have to bring it in to the dealer and pay anyway to get it fixed! (that's my philosophy, might as well try myself if I'll have to pay either way!)

-V

 

platohed, My sunroof did the same thing about a month ago, but I can still tilt mine luckily. There are other threads about this topic. Some people say that the metal clips in the rails usually break over time. I guess that's what happened to mine. If you hear of anything on how to fix it, e-mail me,
mmswim@hotmail.com

Thanks and good luck

 

Sorry to hear this. Mine did the exact same thing about a month ago. Your dealer estimate is about right. It is a big job involving headliner removal, seat and even steering wheel. I will eventually cough up the bucks to get it done but not right now. In the meantime, my local dealer was able to close it by activating the motor and "helping" along the broken side (it seems one of the cables broke). It seems sunroof problems are popping up like weeds these days.

 

It's true, if your cable is broken then it needs replacement (the cable is sealed in the assembly and cannot be fixed). I had it happen on mine and had to replace it. I went with an assembly from a junk yard and it cost me $300 with the labor. I don't see any reason one would pay $900 for the assembly (the new one actually costs around that much, but you can still find it cheaper).
Just find a good unit that works- even if does break later you can replace it 3-4 times for the same money!

PS just to give you guy an idea of how overpriced this is- the sunshade that slides under the sunroof cost $540 (now, you can find it cheaper, but $540 is the dealer price)! Is that a rip-off or what?!

Anyway, good luck.
Roman

 

I appreciate the responses! :o)

 

Counting my blessings that mine still works. Although I rarely completely open it because it takes too damn long to open and close. However, I always am tilting the thing.