Anybody else's power sunshade motor seem to struggle while raising the shade? Mine sounds normal just as it starts to raise it, then gets much slower during the process (almost seeming like it may stop halfway up) before completing it's job near the top when it speeds up again as the supports get closer to straightening back out. I mean, I understand the hardest part of its job is when those supports are bent the most, but just seems like it's under too much strain or something and I guess I worry about if it will hold up years down the road. Curious to get others' thoughts or see if I'm alone here.

Thanks

 

rawbutt - I have had my power sunshade up 24/7 for the past five or six months, but, inspired by your question, I decided today was a good day to lower it for the winter. While lowering it. I ran it up and down at least a half-dozen times, and watched its movement very closely. The speed both directions never varied during any run. Smooth as butter, and quiet.

I suspect there has to be binding of some sort with your sunshade. I think I would start by checking the channels that control the direction and movement of the shade. Try to feel every inch for anything that is not completely smooth. Make sure all channel openings are large enough to allow free movement of whatever sticks out from the shade and sticks into the channels to keep the shade in position. Have someone else raise and lower the shade while you sit in the back seat and watch each side from up close.

And let us know what you find.

 

lightonthehill...

thanks for the reply! wow...i can't believe yours is smooth and the same speed all the way up. i definitely have an issue then. when you say "channels", do you just mean the openings on the left and right of the shade where the supports move in and out of? also, for what it's worth, i timed it this morning with a stopwatch. with the car running, it takes exactly 4 seconds to raise. i'm not sure if that's really any slower than yours or if mine if just working harder, but there has to be something going on b/c if you heard mine raise, it's anything but effortless. one other thing that comes to mine, have you checked and see how hard the sunshade is pressing up against the glass? i have no idea what's normal, but it's fairly hard for me to pull it off the glass at the top of the shade.

 

lightonthehill...

one other thing...if you raise your sunshade with the radio off and while you aren't moving (so you can hear the sound of the motor very well) does the tone of the motor at least get lower and "slower" while it's raising it, or when you say it's "smooth" does the tone of the motor actually stay pretty much the same all the way up? Also, I'd love to know if yours takes about 4 seconds to raise as mine does...that would kind of show us whether mine is taking longer than it should.

 

I timed the raising of my sunshade. It took about 4 seconds and it's action was smooth.

Because of the "scissors" type hinge, the motor may act in a linear fashion but when translated through the hinge, result in a non-linear motion of the sunshade. Perhaps this is what you are experiencing.

 

CT,

Thanks for taking the time to time yours...glad I'm pretty much in line with yours. How about the actual sound of your motor...does it distinctly change tone...i.e. sound like it's laboring quite a bit harder during lets say seconds 2 and 3 ? Or does it almost sound like a power window....same tone from start to finish?

 

rawbutt - I've been busy all day (drove a different vehicle than the Maxima today anyway), and wasn't on the net until now. I will check the things you suggested tomorrow and let you know what I find.

 

sounds great...thanks

 

rawbutt - Thought we might finally have a rain-free day today, but we are still in that month-long monsoon that has wiped out a few thousand homes in the Georgia area during the past month. Rained lightly all day long yet again. We are supposed to get a break tomorrow.

Previously, I had just observed my power sunshade operate from the driver's seat. Today, I had my wife operate the shade while I sat in the back seat and watched up close. I was really surprised to find there are no channels. The screen comes up out of its slot, with nothing to guide it but the plastic arms that push it up.

The next issue shocked me: this thing rams itself up against the rear window, and scoots across the glass until fully extended. Why does this shock me? Because the plastic arms raising the screen scrape across all the rear window defroster wires, which are attached to the inside surface of the glass. NOT GOOD. Now I know I will continue what I am doing - raise the screen in the spring, then lower it in the fall. Maybe that limited use will preserve the defroster wires.

It takes about 4 seconds to go up or down; I measured between 3.8 and 4.2, so 4 is probably right. The only noise is a soft, slightly quivering hum. The sound stays the same all the way up and down. Nothing seemed to catch or grate or hesitate or slow down or speed up. All I can suggest is that you make absolutely sure no defroster wire has come loose (which could slightly impede the arm's movement). If the arms are moving smoothly across the glass, then the problem is elsewhere. The point where the arms cross (they form an 'X' when rising, operate like a scissors jack, and are attached where they cross) could have a misfit, causing drag at a certain point. If that attachment is fine, then the arms might be rubbing against the slot where they rise out of the parcel shelf. If the problem is not there, then it has to be inside the mechanism near the motor which raises the arms.

It may be that the dealer may need to check this out. He may have a way to reach the mechanism from inside the trunk. Good luck.

 

lightonthehill....

i did some more observing this morning and still can't decide if i have an issue or if it's operating as designed. i can say for certain that the motor definitely changes tone and works "harder" during the middle portion of raising it than at the very beginning or near the end. a couple other things which are minor points but, since you mentioned theml, thought i'd comment on. the "arms" on both sides appear to be metal and not plastic and they actually have small rollers on them at the top where they contact the glass, so technically they "roll" across the glass and not "scrape" across it. the reason i mention that is because i originally thought the same thing...that it was just pressed up against the glass and scraped up and down, but then i felt around to the back side of the top of those supports and felt the little wheels, so i felt a little better about the design. i think what would make me feel much better at this point is to go to the dealership where i bought it, have my salesperson grab a couple sets of keys to other 09 maximas that they still have on the lot, and see how they are. that way, i will know immediately if it's how mine is or not.

 

Excellent idea. It is difficult to 'compare' questionable mechanical situations with words, but actually seeing another shade operate will let you know immediately if yours is fairly normal. If it is obvious yours is not operating correctly, look the service tech right in the eyes, and raise your eyebrows as if to indicate - 'What are you going to do about this?'

Thanks for the roller catch. I should have caught that. Certainly makes me feel better about the design.

 

so i went to the dealership today and observed the sunshade on a 2010 (they had no more 09's on the lot). basically, it was pretty darn similar to mine! the tone of the motor might have been just a bit less "strained" than mine, but all in all, i think what this tells me is that mine is probably "operating to design intent" which is a phrase the service dept. likes to use when they can't fix your problem

one thing i would love to do though, is be able to figure out how to access the assembly so that i can check to see if all the parts/hinges are greased well. maybe mine is a bit dry or the lube guy/robot got lazy that day at the factory. mine also seems to "click" a little more when it locks into place both in the up and down position than the one i observed at the dearship, but who knows...maybe that's fairly normal as well. if anybody happens to know how to access that area so i can check for greasing, please let me know. i looked in the trunk and doesn't seem to be any access there so i'm assuming you have to take some panels out or something back there on in the interior side.

 

As for the 'click', I would not let that bother me in the least; I love some indication that a mechinal function has completed successfully, and that final 'click' sounds good to me.

One other thing I might do if I were you: place a tiny strip cut off the end of a white adhesive bandage across the rolling face of both black rollers, then stand behind the car as someone sits inside the car and raises the shade. This will enable you to visually confirm both rollers are rolling completely free, instead of dragging. I know they roll free when you pull them back fromthe glass, but when against the glass and operating, the curvature of the window will force the wheels toward the center of the car, and this test will confirm they are not catching against the inside wall of the roller assembly when under pressure.

If you were not able to see a way to the shade mechanism from the trunk, then that probably means this would be a 'parcel shelf removal' task. I don't know if anyone here has done that. I do know several here have removed the high mounted brake light when adding a spoiler with its own brake light. I seem to remember removing that brake light off the parcel shelf was very easy, and it may be possible that temporarily lifting the brake light out of the shelf would enable you to hold a mirror over the hole and look down at the shade lifting assembly. But who knows?

I'm glad your shade lifts somewhat the same as a '10. If it will console you somewhat, the motor lifting my shade sort of 'quavers' as it lifts. The shade seems to move steadily upward, but the motor sort of goes 'whee-a . . whee-a . . whee-a . . whee-a.'

 

lightonthehill...

fantastic suggestions. thanks! i want to make sure i understand what you're saying about the test with the tiny piece of adhesive bandage. exactly what part of the bandage am i trimming off? the actual bandage with sticky on one side....or are you referring to the thin, slick white paper that i pull off the bandage and usual disgard? sorry for the dumb question

 

I was meaning just a tad of white adhesive tape (or anything that will show up clearly against the black rollers) just so you can stand behind the car and be able to easily see if the rollers are turning smoothly (no sliding or 'catching').

 

now i understand what you mean! thanks...will try that (hopefully tonight) and report back.