Gawd, I Hate the E46 Sunroof

[kayger12]

Well, here we go again.

Anyone who remembers my sunroof issues with my old 325i, knows how much I hate these things.

Driving home today, go to close the sunroof. Roof closes 3/4 of the way and then stops and retreats a few inches. Roll it all the way open, try again, same thing. On the third try, it closed.

Get in the garage, open it up to take a look and see this:

http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff401/Kayger12/2011-09-11_17-40-29_312.jpg

See the nice, etched silver channel where it should be smooth and black?

Something is definitely rubbing in there that shouldn't be.

I'm figuring that the sunshade driver has fragged.

Fortunately, she's still under CPO until the end of this month.

Stay tuned...

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[Marcus-SanDiego]

Get that bad boy into the dealer ASAP.

[kayger12]

Get that bad boy into the dealer ASAP.

Roger that, Boss.

BMW of Atlantic City phone call first thing in the morning.

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[Marcus-SanDiego]

:thumbsup

[Hornung418]

Mine loves to do the almost close then retreat to half open deal. I'm really itching to just delete the bastard or make it a removable variety ala Porsche 944.

Custom Carbon Fiber roof for sedans, anybody?!?! Dean, where ya at buddy?!

[Hermes]

i've had the closing/open thing happen too. i dont know what the deal is but havent had that happen in a while

[jreyes19]

i have always liked sunroof but my 325i doesnt have one
i guess that is a good thing
good luck with your repairs

my brother has a 944 and the Sunroof is cool, but it is a little tough to use if your trying to manually take it down with one person from inside the car

[Hornung418]

i have always liked sunroof but my 325i doesnt have one
i guess that is a good thing
good luck with your repairs

my brother has a 944 and the Sunroof is cool, but it is a little tough to use if your trying to manually take it down with one person from inside the car
I've never attempted to to remove it while inside the cabin. It was always out in the afternoon after high school, before I started the car. Loved that feature.

[danewilson77]

Damn KG...sorry to hear. Hopefully they will paint as well.

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[kayger12]

Appt is set for 1000 Friday morning.

It worked fine the rest of the day. Still don't like that etching in the cassette channel...

[M0nk3y]

I don't regret at all ditching a sunroof. That thing annoyed me more than ever

[kayger12]

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love having a sunroof-- I just hate the fact that, like many other things on the E46, they found the cheapest parts on the planet with which to construct them.

[SoarinZHP]

they found the cheapest parts on the planet with which to construct them.

I thought it was the over-engineering we all cherish; some of which looks fantastic on paper and is a complete disaster when executed... At any rate - the sunroof does blow on the E46. If the slider parts break, those can be replaced relatively easy. If the cassette is jacked up, that's another story. Praise the deity of your choice your car is still under CPO warranty.

[kayger12]

I thought it was the over-engineering we all cherish; some of which looks fantastic on paper and is a complete disaster when executed... At any rate - the sunroof does blow on the E46. If the slider parts break, those can be replaced relatively easy. If the cassette is jacked up, that's another story. Praise the deity of your choice your car is still under CPO warranty.

100% agreed. My 325 snapped a bowden cable, so I had either a $2,200 stealer repair, a $700 second hand cassette to install myself, or an inoperable sunroof. I opted for #3 and then bought the ZHP.

At this point I'll take the new sunshade driver and clips via the CPO and be happy-- I hope.

[SoarinZHP]

At this point I'll take the new sunshade driver and clips via the CPO and be happy-- I hope.

Based on the scratch on the slider track, I'm hoping you get an entirely new cassette, clips and sunshade driver. The cassette is obviously damaged from other parts failing... Stick it to to the dealer. It'd be nice for someone to steal something back. =>

[danewilson77]

Based on the scratch on the slider track, I'm hoping you get an entirely new cassette, clips and sunshade driver. The cassette is obviously damaged from other parts failing... Stick it to to the dealer. It'd be nice for someone to steal something back. =>

It wouldn't be stealing though.

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[kayger12]

Based on the scratch on the slider track, I'm hoping you get an entirely new cassette, clips and sunshade driver. The cassette is obviously damaged from other parts failing... Stick it to to the dealer. It'd be nice for someone to steal something back. =>

I like where your head's at.

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[mikeyb74]

I just love the e46 sunroof! Not really. I have the wonderful broken shade that decided to get jammed as I was opening it. Luckily I was able to pull out the shade and the sunroof still worked.

Never had an issue with any of my other cars that had sun roofs. BMW needs to get their act together. No wonder former BMW owners are flocking to Audi.

[Ryans323i]

Hope they dealership replaces everything for ya w/out a hassle. So lucky you're under warranty still!

I've just accepted the fact that I have to hold the button the entire time the roof closes. Everything looks good in there, so I'm not sure what else is going on.

[VA//M3]

This makes me glad mine doesn't have a sunroof. The hard part would be finding a e46 M3 to replace it with with no sunroof from factory.

[mikeyb74]

This makes me glad mine doesn't have a sunroof. The hard part would be finding a e46 M3 to replace it with with no sunroof from factory.

I've seen alot of non sunroof e46 M3s around.

[VA//M3]

I've seen alot of non sunroof e46 M3s around.

Any of them for sale? I haven't seen a single one in my area.

[kayger12]

Taking her to the Stealer this morning.

Update to follow...

[danewilson77]

Taking her to the Stealer this morning.

Update to follow...

Ugh.

[Ryans323i]

Good luck!

[kayger12]

Thanks.

Should know the deal by late this afternoon.

I hate not having my car...

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[Ryans323i]

Me too, and knowing that people you don't really know are crawling all over it.

[danewilson77]

Me too, and knowing that people you don't really know are crawling all over it.

+1. They could be out joy riding that shiz right now. Heck...you may see your car on YouTube.

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[kayger12]

+1. They could be out joy riding that shiz right. Heck...you may see your car on YouTube.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

Couldn't really blame them... They're only human. :)

[danewilson77]

Couldn't really blame them... They're only human. :)

Lol....ZHP is broke in already! Have at it boys!

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[MrMaico]

+1. They could be out joy riding that shiz right now. Heck...you may see your car on YouTube.

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You mean like this one..... :facepalm

http://www.ktla.com/news/mobile/ktla-youtube-vid-captures-dealership-owner-on-joyride,0,5761825.story

[Marcus-SanDiego]

^^ I like that she mentioned the break in period at the end of the newscast. Nice.

[kayger12]

Just got off the phone with the dealer. They said they feel I need a new sunroof cassette. Now just waiting on the ok from BMWNA.

In the meantime, I''m heading down to pick her up and will bring her back once they get this approved and take delivery of the new cassette.

As a side note, I've owned two E46s. Each has needed a sunroof cassette within 6 years of manufacture.

[danewilson77]

Woot. Sounds like it at least will get done correctly.

[Hornung418]

Nice! I'm not sure if mine is OE or a replacement, but it is hit or miss with me. I've been stuck in the rain with it open, desperately turning the car off and on trying to get it to fully close. What a nightmare.

[MrMaico]

^^ I like that she mentioned the break in period at the end of the newscast. Nice.

If anyone hasn't seen the actual video, here it is.....(click on the video at the top of the page).....

http://jalopnik.com/5831766/how-a-bmw-forum-busted-a-car-dealership

Looks like it hauls ass!

Keith, I believe I've read posts from people saying CPO did take care of their sunroof problems and one that said they wouldn't cover it. Could have just been an asshat dealer though. Hoping they don't give you a hard time. I don't see why it wouldn't be covered considering how many issues they've had with it.

Barry

[kayger12]

Great news. BMWNA came through.

New cassette is ordered. Car goes under the knife Wednesday morning.

Kicker is that my CPO is up this month. Just made it.

Considering this is a $2300 repair, I'm feeling very fortunate to have gotten a ZHP still under CPO.

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[MrMaico]

Great news. BMWNA came through.

New cassette is ordered. Car goes under the knife Wednesday morning.

Kicker is that my CPO is up this month. Just made it.

Considering this is a $2300 repair, I'm feeling very fortunate to have gotten a ZHP still under CPO.

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Nice! I debated whether to try and find a CPO car when I was looking but living so far from a dealer I decided it wasn't worth worrying about. Glad to see it pay off for you.

[Ryans323i]

Yay Keith! You must feel like a million bucks, or at least $2,300.

[danewilson77]

Great news. BMWNA came through.

New cassette is ordered. Car goes under the knife Wednesday morning.

Kicker is that my CPO is up this month. Just made it.

Considering this is a $2300 repair, I'm feeling very fortunate to have gotten a ZHP still under CPO.

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LOL....it prolly would have cost you $3 to DIY the problem.

[kayger12]

LOL....it prolly would have cost you $3 to DIY the problem.

Funny you say that- I haven't been told yet what the actual malfunction is/was.

The steep repair cost is apparently owed to the exorbitant price of the sunroof cassette, plus the labor involved in dropping and replacing the entire headliner. I think I read somewhere that the book is like 8 hours on this job.


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[kayger12]

Yay Keith! You must feel like a million bucks, or at least $2,300.

Thanks Ryan. Always happy to have some good luck with dealerships.

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[kayger12]

Hermes and Justin-

Fwiw, before I told him about the gouge in the track, the service adviser said that it sounded like the sunroof needed to be recalibrated:

Open fully while keeping switch pulled back and hold for 30 seconds. Then close while keeping switch pushed forward and hold for 30. Then tilt open and hold for 30. Might be worth a try. :dunno

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[danewilson77]

Hermes and Justin-

Fwiw, before I told him about the gouge in the track, the service adviser said that it sounded like the sunroof needed to be recalibrated:

Open fully while keeping switch pulled back and hold for 30 seconds. Then close while keeping switch pushed forward and hold for 30. Then tilt open and hold for 30. Might be worth a try. :dunno

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Great stuff KG. Thanks for filling us in.

[Hornung418]

Hermes and Justin-

Fwiw, before I told him about the gouge in the track, the service adviser said that it sounded like the sunroof needed to be recalibrated:

Open fully while keeping switch pulled back and hold for 30 seconds. Then close while keeping switch pushed forward and hold for 30. Then tilt open and hold for 30. Might be worth a try. :dunno

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Ill give it a try tomorrow after my hangover. I don't have any marks in my paint. After seeing the thread I went out and checked specifically for that. Thanks for passing that along, KG.

RootedDROIDXstatus. Come at me, bro.

[kayger12]

Ill give it a try tomorrow after my hangover. I don't have any marks in my paint. After seeing the thread I went out and checked specifically for that. Thanks for passing that along, KG.

RootedDROIDXstatus. Come at me, bro.

Welcome, bud. Hope it helps.

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[kayger12]

Update:

Dropping her off at 0730 tomorrow morning.

Curious to see what I end up in for a loaner.


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[Marcus-SanDiego]

Update:

Dropping her off at 0730 tomorrow morning.

Curious to see what I end up in for a loaner.


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Whatever it is, it will likely be more special than what you're dropping off.

[johnrando]

Whatever it is, it will likely be more special than what you're dropping off.

:rofl

[Hornung418]

My pull shade is getting harder and harder to close...When it grenades I'll be sure to snap some pics. Then it will give me an excuse to pull my headliner and patch my stinger, while deleting the sunroof all together. What an annoyance...Maybe a Matte Black roof paint job :shifty

[kayger12]

Whatever it is, it will likely be more special than what you're dropping off.

No doubt, Boss. No doubt.

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[kayger12]

Well, she's dropped off.

Loaner is a 2011 328i.

Thoughts and impressions to follow.

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[kayger12]

Have her back. Car was ready in just 5.5 hours.

New sunroof cassette for $50.

I'll take it.

Very happy with BMW of Atlantic City.

Service advisor Dave Masserini is a very helpful guy.

Dealer review and my thoughts about the E90 will be forthcoming in separate threads.

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