Sunroof shade off its track

[Ed Presson]

Hi,

I'm new here, and I have a small problem with my 2004 BMW 325xi: The
sunroof
shade seems to be off its track. With the sunroof closed, the shade can be
opened
only about three inches. If I raise the sunroof, the shade does not
retract, and it
can be slid back a few inches manually. I've looked at it and don't see any
obvious way that it could be fixed..

The dealer recommends the BMW sunroof repair kit that, with labor, runs
about $325 plus tax installed. An engineer friend suggested posting here to
inquire if there is a simpler or less expensive fix. (I am not handy with
cars, my
hands no longer work well at fine mechanical manipulations).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ed Presson

[Jeff Strickland]

The E46 sunroof shade is easily repaired at home. The shade has glides that
fall off. You need to open the shade and tilt the roof up.Remove three Torx
screws from each side of the roof. These screws hold the roof to the
mechanism. When the roof is removed, pull the shade closed and you will be
able to see the glides. the driver side of the shade has glides that are
attached by screws, the passenger side glides simply fit over some metal
tabs. The glides on the driver side are available in two sizes, the
difference is the spacing of the holes for the screws. You have to know
which ones you have.

The passsenger side glides can fall off, and if this has happened, you can
generally find them inside of the roof. You'll need a flashlight and a coat
hanger to fish them out.

When you are putting the glass back in, the holes are larger than the
screws, you will have to adjust the glass so that it aligns to the
surrounding roof, then tighten the screws.

Theh hard part of the job is NOT getting fingerprints on the headliner.

"Ed Presson" <pe...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:hddc96$tf9$1...@news.eternal-september.org...

[Ed Presson]

Jeff,

Thanks for the detailed and clear instructions.

Ed Presson

"Jeff Strickland" <crwl...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:hde2g5$7ml$1...@news.eternal-september.org...

[Jeff Strickland]

It's a pretty easy job. There are two glides on both sides, four glides all
together.

The two on the passenger side are the same, and the two on the driver side
are also the same, but there are two flavors of them.

A strategy you might consider is to buy all six glides, then return the ones
you don't need. If you wanted to do this on the cheap, buy one of each (the
passenger and both flavors of driver side). Odds are very strong that you
will not need two on the same side of the car, so if you need one on each
side, you will have one to return -- the driver side glide that has the
wrong hole spacing. You could face a trip to the dealership with the roof
open, or you might put the glass in without the shade for a couple of days
if you happen to have two brokne on the same side. The plastic glides are
somewhat expensive -- all six will run to over $100.

My experience (two different cars) is that the driver side glides break, and
when the shade goes askew, the passenger side glides come off and land
somewhere inside the roof cavity. I've reused the passenger side glides and
replaced one driver side glide on two different cars. The passenger side
glides are kinda frail and they can break, so you can't be sure that you
will find serviceable parts inside the roof cavity.

I think the tracks should be cleaned out and the glides should not be
lubricated -- I think the lubricant collects dirt and dust and this causes
problems. Perhaps you should ask the guy at the parts department. The most
recent fix I did, I washed the tracks out and left them dry.

"Ed Presson" <pe...@comcast.net> wrote in message

news:hdep9h$1sj$1...@news.eternal-september.org...

[Alan B. Mac Farlane]

That happens to my 528i ... when the sun shade part of the roof window
is pull all the way back (sometimes the motorized pull of the skylight
does it) ... and the hand grip slot is hidden back behind the roofing
fabric.

The the window will not work properly, not close, etc.

So I open the window, pull the sun shade forward a bit, close the
skylight window ... and then close the sun shade all the way.

Seal up then.

Hope that might help some.

sumbuddie wear blind sea

:?

[HGL]

I have the same problem with my 2002 325 (80,000 miles).

On 11/10/09 10:50 PM, in article hddc96$tf9$1...@news.eternal-september.org,

[Jeff Strickland]

Same problem, same fix.

Three screws on each side of the glass panel. Lift the glass out and slide
the shade forward. 2 screws on 2 glides. Remove the screws and replace the
glides. The glides on the passenger side can be replaced after the glides on
the driver side have been removed. Actually, if the shade is askew, it will
probably come out without removing the glides on the driver side, but the
driver side glides must be removed to put the shade back on the track.

The glass panel is adjustable. Tighten a screw on each side then check the
alignment with the roof of the car. When the glass is aligned to the roof,
tighten the remaining screws.

"HGL" <H...@cox.net> wrote in message news:C73312A5.13B11%H...@cox.net...