Sunroof problems

[hutchjnr- MTM GTi]

ok... so i did what you said... and manually wound it, and it works (sort of!)

the problems seems to be with the interior sunroof cover... it wont slide all the way and is getting caught/ jammed... it is also making a loud, creaking noise that sounds like u should slide it any further!?

any idea's... cos im stumped!!

[Dyldo]

howdy all

figure i'd resurrect this dead thread, cause i had the same issue happen to my brother-in-law's e46 BMW. They have the same motor and (i'll bet) the same sunroof assembly.

Anyway, driving home in the freezing cold last night i opened the sunroof and blasted the heaters. its an awesome way to travel. Anyway over 80kmh the wind noise annoys me so i go to close the sunroof. just then a truck overtakes me and i can smell this awful smell. I think to myself "that truck's about to blow up" and then look upwards and see the entire roof pi55ing out smoke everywhere! and it smelt rancid.

Anyway, long story short the sunroof motor had siezed so badly that hand cranking the sunroof wasn't working. And BMW don't supply the cool s-shaped crank tool that the VW get in the sunroof motor cover panel. I had to destruct the motor and pull out the guts and the shaft to enable the winding cog to move. Shut the sunroof, job done!

Here's a great linky to a BMW sunroof repair fix that works just as well with ours. This particular DIY is more for a blocked sunshade (common BMW problem) but is a good read nonetheless.
http://www.lincomatic.com/e46sunroof/e46sunroof.html

Also really handy to know if you need to shut your sunroof without power.