My sun roof tilts, but won't retract.

[HooverSA]

It tilts fine, and when I try to retract it, (open it) it tries really hard to move, and drops the top down about an eighth inch and then doesn't move any more. The motor sounds strong and has no problem closing it back/tilting up and down.... How to I troubleshoot it? I'm thinking some lithium grease in the track but I can't get enough access to it... also... someone said something about a drain plug getting clogged in it... I do have leaking some times but only in the nose is down hill... How do I clean those also... Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[SanCarlosQ45]

Its the usual track needing to be greased and the motors clutch needs to be tightened scenario. First remove the map light/sunroof switch assembly to look at the sunroof motor; you should see a spot where you can stick an Allen wrench on the motor. Now in the trunk with the tools that came with the car there is an long Allen wrench that is bent like a crank which you will use to manually open the sunroof. Whatever you do dont force the sunroof with your hands, I made that mistake and cost me 3-4 hours to replace the assembly . Hopefully the system is not jammed, if it is you'll either have to live with it or replace the entire unit with another one.

Once you do that you can clean the track and replace the grease with a silicone based grease; I would not use lithium as it stinks for awhile, another mistake I made.

To tighten the clutch on the motor takes a little more time because you have to remove the a-pillers in order to remove the main panel that covers the rest of the motor. Once you remove the motor look on the top side for a washer that is bent onto a retaining nut. Bend the edges of the washer down in order to tighten the clutch about 1/16 to 1/8 of a turn. You may want to disassemble the motor to inspect the clutch to make sure grease hasn't gotten into there which some have seen.

Also once you get the sunroof open take you should see a hole at each corner of the sunroof assembly which are the drains. Most use a compressor to blow air through the holes to hopefully dislodge the gunk.

[HooverSA]

Wow! thanks for being so detailed. I will try that today!

[Vipstats]

Thanks for the response as well, mine has the same problem. It didnt really bother me as I like the tilt option more, but I will definitely try it sometime.

[hk20000]

in my case the switch was corroded from water - once you opened the sunroof make sure to check the drain holes in the forward corners of the opening is free from debris and leaves (in my case it was a wet soggy leaf) and the water will accumulate and overflow into the switch area, corroding the contacts and stop it from working.

best way to check that is to pull out the switch, simply grab it on the passenger side and tug it down, you should be able to do this without any tools. Check for rust and other damages, clean up the contacts to the best of your ability.

next that might cause it is actually the wind deflector springs.... again, open up the sunroof with the allen key method and liberally spray down the hinges and screws with WD40 or similar. work the chemical into the nooks and crannies by moving the wind deflector many times....then close it with motor power and fingers crossed it should open normally afterwards.