Moonroof closes half way then reverses!!

WHen using the remote or key to close the windows and sun roof the sun roof will only close half way then reverse and open back up. this also happens when i push the overhead automatic close switch. the only way to get it to close is to hold the close button in manually the entire time. is there anything i can do at home that may fix this? what is the most likely issue?

Mine does it sometimes as well. From what I understand it is a built in safety feature....more specifically, the tracks your sunroof slides along are dirty and when it is attempting to close and meets resistance it opens/stops. So, clean and then lubricate your tracks and that should solve your problem.

Sticky guide rails triggering the protection mechanism is definitely a possibility. I also recall a recalibration procedure for the sunroof, needed whenever it had been replaced or adjusted and to get the auto open and close functions to work correctly, but I might be confusing this with the corresponding procedure on the frameless coupe door windows. Don't have my TIS on hand right now, but you could try searching around for this.

Did this start all of a sudden? Has any work been done on the sunroof?

i bought it used just a few months ago. when i got it the sun blocking door for the sun roof was off track and the slides were bent. since i don ever close that thing anyways i just removed it. it was not worth it to me to spend hundreds of dollars to fix something i don't use. and it looks just fine without it. the way it was off track i couldn't use the moonroof. so i guess you can say this problem was there since i got the car a few months ago. i have health problems which have made me unable to work for 2 years now. so any solution that doesn't require me to spend any money is always best.

Well i went outside to study it closer and i also looked at a cutaway diagram online of the sunroof. and best i can figure it since the sun shade was off track with broken tabs when i got the car im thinking the little bumpers that push the sun shade to move it with the sun roof are possibly bent up and binding up in the tracks. i say this because after looking again. the sunroof has about 4 inches of smooth operation in either direction then suddenly it starts dragging like something is jammed in the tracks. the only thing that i can think of that would act this way both forwards and backwards are those little gizmo's that move the sun shade automatically. first cool day i get ill remove the glass and get a better look. if it is those little sun shade mover things with the glass removed i should have a clear view of those and operating the tracks with no glass if those are in fact what is dragging i should be able to see that happen with the glass removed.

Dug around the TIS and came up with a bunch of docs on how to address this issue. Here goes the primary set. Hope you don't have to go via enclosure 3, entailing the removal of almost everything inside.
Had to do some creative splitting due to the forum's 1MB PDF filesize limit.

Here go the support docs. Good luck!

Well thanx for the documents recall appreciate it. ill start that project probably next weekend. i was going to do it today but when i went outside and put the windows down the passenger rear window regulator cable snapped. what luck i'm having huh? i ordered one aftermarket from napa. they seem to have the best product for the best price. hopefully it will work out ok. then ill get back onto the sunroof. My key fob stopped working too. i am having all kinds of good luck this week. LOL!

Sorry about all the bad luck! Are you going to replace the window regulator yourself? If so, are you going to do the zip tie trick? Many people seem to swear by it. Apparently, there is a DIY on E46Fanatics. Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

I'm not sure what zip tie trick you are referring too is it something i should know? i couldn't get the window up because the cable was not broken. it came off of the spool. but it has a few kinks and pinches in it. ware it was jammed in there even if i re spooled it the cable would most likely pop right back off. so i removed the door panel and removed the motor so i could get the window up. i had to because rain is coming soon. i have not yet removed the regulator only the motor but from what i see it looks pretty easy. i was thinking about recording my repair efforts and posting it on my youtube channel. only because i haven't made a video in a good wile and car tutorials tend to get a lot of hits. i don't expect the part to show up until thursday, its coming from out of state. but when it dose i think ill turn it into a youtube video. and then do the same when i explore whats wrong with the sunroof. we'll see how it goes. :-)

FWIW, when I got my Bimmer back in Winter '08, noticed that the "pusher" on the glass assembly that pushes the cover back was starting to jam and ride up against the cover. Even though it came with the Official Fix installed from the factory (being an '06 MY). So, I've cleaned the rails as far back as I could, lubed them up with DuPont Performance Teflon Dry Lube and make sure to open the cover by hand before engaging the auto-open for the glass. No more jamming, no more problems and smooth noiseless operation (for now).

If you lube, be sure to use one of the so-called "dry" lubricants. Otherwise you will have a dirt encrusted grime ball in there in no time at all...

I believe grime on the rails is what causes the sunshade tabs to get broken off to begin with- people push/pull on the sunshade trying to move the stopper on the rails, and break off the little guide tabs. My sunshade was broken when I got my car also.

Clean the tracks.

Well i figured out my sunroof problem. the small arm that slides freely with the sunroof had issues. it was the small arm with the bumper on it that rides on the drivers side of the track. its purpose is to bump into the sunshade to open it with the sunroof. well it has these rubber bushings that sit into hard plastic slides that run in the track. well these plastic sliders were worn out and pretty much gone so the rubber bushings run it the tracks instead. it was literally putting on the breaks. one rubber bushing was split in the center making it bind up even worse. i just removed the glass slid this arm back about 6 inches past the sunroof opening and it pops right out. since i have no sunshade right now i just took off the arm and left it off. wile i had the glass out i lubed everything and its working great now. just need to get a sunshade repair kit and the bushings and slides for that little arm. and ill be good. thanx for all the info you gave me it helped in finding this issue. :-)

E46 Sunroof problems have been a known issue for a long time. So much so that BMW has created an OEM repair for this...

Click HERE to order or for more information.


Please let us know if you have any questions! Feel free to shoot me a PM or email.

Best,
Joe

Hi, sorry to thread jack but I just ran into a sunroof problem tonight. I had the sun roof open about 3/4 of the way and it wouldn't close or open after that. I had to manually close it and it didn't seem like anything was blocking the pathway. When I use the power button I can hear the motor clicking and the interior lights dim as well. No crunching sounds and the sun roof won't even budge.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Well if you read my above post that arm i talk about would be my first suspect. but the best i can tell you is to remove the glass and have a look. the glass comes out pretty easy. three screws on each side. t-25 torx i believe. putting the glass back in might be a 2 person job because the screws that hold the glass in slide. so you need somebody looking at the glass to tell you when its lined up. there is a special tool that measure the lift on the glass to lining it up is easy. but i took a straight edge and just eye balled it. as long as the body is slightly higher than the glass in the front and the glass is slighter higher than the body on the rear. then your good. it is only a millimeter above and below thats what the tool measures. setting the glass this way eliminates wind noise. if you don't have it lined up right the only thing that will happen is wind noise at hi way speeds. but yeah. the only thing i can suggest is to either a remove the cover over the motor. (the panel that the switch is mounted on) remove the motor and inspect the gears, and remove the glass the inspect the tracks and that slide arm i talked about earlier in this thread. if you cant find your problem by doing that then the chances are the headliner will have to come out and the sunroof cassette be removed in order to find and repair the problem. also look at the sunshade very closely the plastic slides on the passenger side can sometimes pop off. if one of these is missing then there is a good change it is wedged in the track and jamming the sunroof. just go over everything you can easily get too with a very careful eye and if you cant find anything with the glass removed or even the sunshade removed then the entire unit will most likely have to come out in order to find the problem. good luck!

Interesting. I'm on my second moonroof (original was replaced by BMW within the first couple of years of ownership) and I am having the exact same problem with the thing not always wanting to close. It is really hit and miss. Couldn't get it to close all the way last night no matter what I did. This morning, it closed no problem. Anyway, appreciate the advice above, so I'll go take a look at it and see what I can do. Any particular suggestions on lube? I know I need to do that after a clean the runners. TIA.