2004 BMW X5 Panoramic Sunroof - Faulty

Hi guys. I need your help. I just ran into the same problem with my 05 X5 where my back glass panel refuses to close. I want to follow sunny's directions but I am stuck. My front panel glass will not slide back, therefore I cannot view the spring from the top. My sliding door also stops when closing; I have to keep pressing the sunroof button to close it forward to close it. Any suggestions sunny?

Hello E53Owner,

I'm bor425 not sunny. I was able to fix my roof based on Sunny's instructions. Before you start you have to get the rear panel closed first. Otherwise you can not slide backward the front panel either. The rear panel can be closed (also in the instructions) using a screw driver and push back the two ramp fittings inside under the rear glass, each time left and right a little (1cm), you may have to use some force to get them going but not to much.

Once the rear is closed you should be able to push back the button which should slide back the front panel. That worked for me and then I was able to continue with Sunny's intructions standing in that back of the car and having a good top down view through the open window. However if the front panel does not open there might be an other problem. I have no experience with that.

Regards

Hi guys Sunny again the short movements you mention sounds like the roof is not programmed try pushing and holding the button upwards once you have the roof closed , you need to continue to hold the button upwards and do not release until the glass has gone through all its movements by itself . Can you move the roof reawards with the small movements because it would be a good idea to do the mod first before reprogramming also close the rear section once you have done the mod and then reprogram Good Luck Howard

thank you bor425 and sunny. I will post back my results when I do it this weekend. I hope everything quirked out for me. wish me luck.

Hi to everybody. Have been reading this forum for some time now, very good place, so much information and answers.

Couple of weeks ago I noticed on my 2004 X5 the panoramic sunroof is not functioning smoothly, when it goes to ventilation position. First (bigger) glass was like "popping" up from the 0 position, as there is some vacuum between the glass and rubber. Between two glasses should be a softening strip, which is visible only when you slide back the sunroof. In my car this softening had came off and is just hanging near the point, where it should be. I went to my local dealer and pointed the problem. They took the car in, said they took the glasses off, lubricated and adjusted the system, so everything should work perfectly now. When I got the car back, this softening strip was still hanging there and my sunroof did not go smoothly to a vent position - the problem remained. So the next day I went back, they looked and said nothing wrong with the sunroof, this softening I mentioned is not necessary and no worries, the sunroof is working just fine. So okay I left the dealer.

Now, a two weeks later, guess what. My sunroof is not coming down from the ventilation position. I actually used it two times after visiting my dealer. Drivers side rear corner is not functioning anymore, up it goes but not down. I managed to allmost close it manually with the special tool, maybe 3 mm (0,12 inches) still up. Today I showed this to my stealer They took the car, gave it back in 20 minutes and said they closed the sunroof completely, but the system is faulty and not usable. Actually what they did was exactly the same thing I did - manually closed the sunroof and still it is not fully closed. This means when I go to a carwash my bmw will become an aquarium.

From my opinion, I saw the small problem, tried to prevent huge problem and after reacting - huge problem already knocked on my door. Of course they are not taking any responsibility and now they are saying this is a very common problem and not avoidable.

I have two questions:
1) How can I fully close the sunroof? Do I have to take both glasses off or all the system with headliner must be removed?
2) What do you think, could be this softening strip removal and the rear glass fault related to each other or is it just a coincidence?

Thank you very much for any info you can provide.

PS! Sorry for my English, it is not so good, but hopefully you all can understand. I made some pictures regarding the softening strip also, if just anyone could help to load these somewhere...

Just finished putting the rear panel down. I have not mod it yet in the front. Will do it soon. Thanks guys for your help.

Has anyone tried the repair kit from ecs tuning?

Can we have mored details please about ECS and what the kit does to fix things?

I stumbled upon this.. fortunately I don't have any issues as of yet, but I'm wondering if it's worth buying the kit as insurance against BMW discontinuing it. They mention that they have an install guide on-line but I can't seem to find it.

Here is a link to their website.. http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E53-X5-...erior/Sunroof/

Hi my rear part of x5 panoramic roof is stuck can you please email temporary fix instructions thanks

hello sunny43.5,
If you could email me how to close it and get that fix for my bmw x5 moonroof issue, I'd be really appreciated.
My email : julius00007@gmail.com.
Thanks a lot.

JuliusX5,
When my 2004X5 rear panoramic/moonroof won't close I went to the dealer and guess
what. They want the whole thing replace, and it will cost me thousands of dollars. So I went to my mechanic, and he removed some parts to manually closed it permanently and removed the fused. I can still use the front with no problem. It only take my mechanic an hour to do, and only charged me more that a $100.00. Good luck.
cjc

Hi Howard

I'm in Melbourne with a 2006 upgrade e53 it's got the pano roof. Can you send me the info please? email to allan.young@bigpond.com

much appreciated

Al

Originally Posted by sunny43.5

Hi all from down under , I have spent 30 years plus working with sunroofs and only recently did I figure out how to solve the malady of the X5 sunroofs being stuck open . DO not spend the ridiculous money that dealers and the like want to rob you of , the fix that I have discovered is so simple it that I am surprised it hasn,t been disclosed before . First thing to point out here is that the repair will render the rear part of your sunroof totally inoperable , what I mean is that you can still use your shades and slide the front glass open and tilt the front glass but the rear will remain permanently closed . Obviously if there is any other problems with your roof other than the rear stuck open this will not help. As a newby on this forum I will not disclose the fix in public if you wish to find out please feel free to contact me and send me your email so I can send the photos and details . The fix can be done by any one with some simple home tools and believe it or not takes no more than five minutes to do . Howard

Hi Howard THANKS for the INFO - I would like to see how you do this- I am interested in a 2005 X5 and now I'm worried about the Pano it has? Is this a problem on ALL these Pano sunroofs or just the older ones? What yrs do they not have problems ie. 2005-06,07,-current or is it the older models?? Thanks

I am not sure of the year that this problem started being a problem all I can say is that the X5 and X3 both suffer . Howard PS the photos and details are on page 2 of this thread scroll down to the bottom its all there .

Now some information to all you budding BMW mechanics , if your Panorama roof is playing up BE WARNED do the fix I have posted or / its a whole days labour for an experienced person to completly remove the hood trim and remove the whole sunroof assembly . Once removed the number of plastic parts that are affected by time heat and age is quite daunting . I recently had to repair the two sunshades on an X5 what a mongrel job after dismantling the whole sunroof to replace the parts , I found that BMW here in Australia have their parts stock all F&*%#d up . After removing the whole roof the kit supplied by BMW did not have some vital parts to complete the job , they ordered another kit which had more different parts than the first one !!!! finally a third kit arrived with all the correct parts {note here all three had the same part number } but came from two different locations . The car had to be reassembled and returned to the customer until the correct parts came in , then you guessed it remove the whole damn thing a second time to fix it . Moral of the story these roofs are a real nightmare to fix blinds or the rear glass so unless you are a glutton for punishment do not attempt to fix the actual broken parts that cause the rear panel to stay open just do the fix I have posted and leave the rest alone . I would rather flail my back with a whip than put myself through this much trouble if I owned one myself Howard . East Coast Sunroofs Australia PS the only reason I fix these myself is because I get paid to !!!!

Hi Howard, Thanks - I think I will just get an X5 with a regular sunroof!?!

Hello M's BMER. I have a Pano roof Jan 2005. The problem is in the rear part not the front (front seems solid). After disabling the rear part as describe (takes no more then 30 min) you can still enjoy the pano roof.

Thanks for the info. Is it a problem to disable the rear Pano roof and should you do it before you have problems?? Again Thanks

Disabling the sunroof as described by Sunny does require some skills with screw driver etc.. however is fairly easy and takes max 30 min. If you do not have the problem I would not disable it , maybe it never breaks. Only fix it when it does not work anymore.

THANKS Bor425,

Thanks for responding- ok last question (maybe), so is the problem more on the X5's 2006 and older? So 2007 and earlier 08-09... don't have the issue?? My concern is my luck is a magnet to get one that the roof collapses completely - lol Thanks

I'm not sure with the newer version but age will certainly be a factor. So changes are that a younger roof will hold longer then a newer. Even with a faulty rear panel there is no fear of roof collapsing or anything, it just does not close anymore and prevents the front part from closing. Good Luck

Hi

I have just bought a second hand 2004 X5 and have the same problem with my sunroof, it is now stuck open on the venting at the back. If do the above as you have pictured, does this fix the roof or just repair so it stays just?

Sounds great can you send me the details to delightfullyfresh@gmail.com I have a 2005 X5 that the dealer has shut the rear section on then closed the entire roof. I would love to be able to use some of the sunroof.

Hello Howard - I encountered the rear panoramic sunroof problem today for the first time. We never used the panoramic roof in ventilator mode before. Please send me the fix and the photos. I would sure appreciate it. Thanks in advance. Best regards, Kal