Sunroof - Broken Tilt Track

[rwlewis]

2011 Premium, 3.8L, 28,000 miles...

Wife calls yesterday and can't get sunrooof to tilt closed. When she tilted it open it made a funny sound. Now when she tries to close it, one side goes down and one side doesn't. The motor makes a clicking/popping sound.

When I got home to take a look at it, I pulled back the little bellows on the side underneath and exposed the track. The track for the tilt function is a plastic piece with a contoured slot that a pin rides in the push the sunroof up/down. The slot appears to be lined with a softer material as a bearing surface for the pin to slide on. The track and liner material are broken in several places and the liner material is protruding into the slot, stopping the pin from sliding. I was able to gently pry the liner material out of the way with a plastic tool to let the pin travel in the slot and close the sunroof.

I inspected the driver's side track as well, and it is also cracked, but is not displaced enough to prevent the pin from moving properly.

I will be taking it to the dealer for evaluation, but I fear that this will require the complete removal of the headliner and a long wait for a non-stocked part to repair..not good....

 

[homeofstone]

2011 Premium, 3.8L, 28,000 miles...

Wife calls yesterday and can't get sunrooof to tilt closed. When she tilted it open it made a funny sound. Now when she tries to close it, one side goes down and one side doesn't. The motor makes a clicking/popping sound.

When I got home to take a look at it, I pulled back the little bellows on the side underneath and exposed the track. The track for the tilt function is a plastic piece with a contoured slot that a pin rides in the push the sunroof up/down. The slot appears to be lined with a softer material as a bearing surface for the pin to slide on. The track and liner material are broken in several places and the liner material is protruding into the slot, stopping the pin from sliding. I was able to gently pry the liner material out of the way with a plastic tool to let the pin travel in the slot and close the sunroof.

I inspected the driver's side track as well, and it is also cracked, but is not displaced enough to prevent the pin from moving properly.

I will be taking it to the dealer for evaluation, but I fear that this will require the complete removal of the headliner and a long wait for a non-stocked part to repair..not good....

Maybe not to bad unless someone pushed on it. It could be loose screws and it is out of alignment.

 

[dg_moore]

Sorry to hear about your problem. I personally don't like sunroofs and would never a car with one if it weren't an unavoidable part of an option package that I do want. I have had sunroofs in many cars and never opened any of them.

 

[scottdk]

Sorry to hear about your problem. I personally don't like sunroofs and would never a car with one if it weren't an unavoidable part of an option package that I do want. I have had sunroofs in many cars and never opened any of them.

What's your beef with Sun and fresh air?

 

[SmoovC]

Sorry to hear about your problem. I personally don't like sunroofs and would never a car with one if it weren't an unavoidable part of an option package that I do want. I have had sunroofs in many cars and never opened any of them.

I am with you on that. The only time they are usable is when it is 70 degrees and overcast.

 

[dg_moore]

What's your beef with Sun and fresh air?

I sleep from dawn to dusk and roam the hills by night...

 

[rwlewis]

In the shop since last Wednesday. They had to order the tracks for the sunroof for replacement.

Service guy told me that they would receive them Thursday and have the car back to me by the end of business Friday. We went and picked up a loaner on Saturday because they realized that it will take three or more days to remove and replace the headliner and sunroof components...I have my fingers crossed that they will be able to re-assemble it properly...

Once they get it fixed, I may just remove the fuse from it to prevent it from being used...

 

[Mark_888]

What's your beef with Sun and fresh air?

People who live in the south don't need more sun, and it is usually too hot to have the sunroof open anyway. A Sunroof lowers the available headroom about 1" and that is a problem for me, especially when I hit a bump in the road.

 

[rwlewis]

Dealer had it ready to be picked up yesterday (8/22).

When we got there, I popped the sunroof up to check it out and the bellows that covers the track on the passenger side was not attached properly to the car or the sunroof. They had two techs come out and see if it could be easily popped back in place. It could not. They concluded that they would have to order another part (presumably the bellows) and kept the car...

Not sure how much they will have to take back apart to fix it...

 

[bmbutler]

Gotta love competent mechanics and service centers - not!

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[rwlewis]

Service guy called yesterday (8/23) and said car was ready.

They figured out how to re-attach the bellows without ordering a new one.

Wife picked the car up. Everything seems fine at this time. I will be on the lookout for rattles and squeaks for a couple of months..fingers crossed.

 

[Shawno]

I just came across the same issue this weekend. was it covered under the warranty? If not, what was the price break down.

 

[xds77]

I just came across the same issue this weekend. was it covered under the warranty? If not, what was the price break down.

2009 V8 had less than a week when the tracks gave out and started rattling. I took it to the dealer and they ordered new tracks and took four days to get the parts. Price breakdown in Buford, GA was $153 for each track and 4 hours of labor. OTD price $818.

The ride was very quiet before the sunroof fix. Now there is a lot more wind noise coming from the front of the sunroof.

 

[Shawno]

2009 V8 had less than a week when the tracks gave out and started rattling. I took it to the dealer and they ordered new tracks and took four days to get the parts. Price breakdown in Buford, GA was $153 for each track and 4 hours of labor. OTD price $818.

The ride was very quiet before the sunroof fix. Now there is a lot more wind noise coming from the front of the sunroof.

I am looking for the correct parts to get this repair underway. Do you by chance have a list of parts or even better, the part numbers? Also did they just repair the tracks or also the window motor. Its winter season and I really need to get mine fixed. any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dowman]

Deleted

 

[Dowman]

Same thing happened to me. Sunroof wouldn't tilt closed on the left side. The tilt track and guide arm had become misaligned such that the tab on the tilt arm no longer lined up with the notch in the guide rail.

I took it in to a local shop, and after opening it up, they tell me that the motor was binding, and that's why it wasn't closing. They ordered the $400 motor, and had me bring the car back when it arrived. I told them about the track mis alignment, and when they went to investigate, they told me that the cable had some how gotten wrapped around the motor and was fraying, and I presume that was what was supposed to have pulled the track out of alignment.

OF course the frayed cables were unavailable for purchase without replacing the entire sunroof mechanism (he specifically gave me p/n 81600, which is the whole sunroof assembly, and retails for $2100. He found an aftermarket for $600 that he was willing to install.)

I didn't have them do that. I just told them to adjust the rails so the sunroof closed, and I'll leave it inop until I feel like dropping that kind of money on it.

I should probably drop the overhead console and see what I can see.