M45 sunroof won't close all the way

[MOWellsinVA]

My sunroof recently decided that it does not feel like closing properly anymore! It will start to close, gets about one-fourth closed, or even two-third closed, and decides to stop and reverse to open again. Once this happens I have to press the close button several times to get the sunroof to close in small increments. Once it is closed all the way I can reset by holding down the close button for a couple of seconds. However, after opening normally, most times now it will refuse to close normally.

I have cleaned all of track area and made sure to add some white lithium grease to the track mechanism, and I can't see that there is anything physically jamming the sunroof, but it seems that whatever safety sensor that prevents the motor from closing hard on your fingers or other appendages is too sensitive. Has anyone had this issue, and what kind of repair might be needed?

[GQM45s]

i wondering if the auto open/close when out of jack for some reason. Have you tried removing your battery for a bit and then reset the auto open/close setting? I can't remember the exact step for the sunroof but the side windows is holding the button down for 3-5 seconds and then up for 3-5 seconds for it to memorize the setting again. Hope this helps!

[MOWellsinVA]

I can reset it by closing it all the way and then holding down the sunroof close button for 4 seconds, and them it seems to work normally. But the same partial closing will happen again.

[pedsemdoc]

How's your battery? Whenever electrical stuff seems to have gremlins, everyone is quick to ask that question--hopefully it's as simple as something like that.

[MOWellsinVA]

The battery was replaced by the dealer about year ago when the car was having a hard starting problem. The issue turned out to be a leaky fuel rail, which was replaced under warranty. The car is still covered by the Elite extended warranty, so I imagine that the sunroof is covered, but it would be nice to know if here were are simple solution to the problem.

[The Bodyguard]

Carefully check you're inner railing and be sure it's clean and clear of ANY debris...could be a leaf that dropped in there, or dirt or sand that gets caught in there. The auto function will stop as it's a safety feature to stop if something gets caught in there and the manual setting (holding the button) will bypass any safety and continue to close if it's something small... Just a thought...

[MOWellsinVA]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try using a strong car wash vacuum to try to pull out any debris that I can't see.

[MOWellsinVA]

I have cleaned the tracks as best I can and vacuumed to try to pull out any debris. I'm thinking that there is something mechanically wrong at this point. I'll just have to have the dealer check it out. My worry is that if it turns out to be debris rather than a stripped gear or something is that I'll be on the hook for an expensive repair.