Sunroof woes.

[PalmerWMD]

A few days ago, my sunroof got stuck and wouldnt close.

I closed it with a lot of effort pushing the right side from inside until the 'roof was closed all the way.

At this point it was fully closed and teh tilt feature still worked.

Since I know sunroof repair is genrally very expesnive I didnt get a dealer appt.

But forecast and I messed around with it, today with an eye towards opening it up completely and maybe unscreweing it in part to find teh problem and/or obstruction.

BUT, It was somehow messed up and now neietrh opens nor closes all the way.

It closes <almost> all the way but the back of it wont come up flush with teh roof on the passenegr side.An hours of trying different things (inclkuding forcing it in conjuction with the motor) resulting in no result.

So now I have to leave town on Sunday have a big meet and my sunroof is off enough that it's visibly ate up and no way way makes the car presentable.

Anyone have sunroof experience and insight to fix this state of affairs?

Fred...

[Rex]

I'll ask the "simple" question, the manual crank doesn't work?

[90Q45blue]

Fred,

I'm sorry but I had the exact same problem. I completely took apart the sunroof with my dad and we could not get the thing to close properly. We took it to a sunroof specialist here in town and after inspection he told me that the cable had broke which was why my right side wasn't closing and because I tried to force it, it bent the rail assembly. Also, all this trying to get it shut also put too much stress on my sunroof motor. All in all, a 1700 fix by his estimates though I know I could get cheaper parts from Joe.

At the time, I had him seal the sunroof shut and disconnect the wire harness from the sunroof switch. A $100 job.

Sorry about the bad news, I hope your sunroof's problem isn't the same as mine.

Nick

[carlos_knology]

Fred, I don't think there is a repair kit for the Q45 sunroof. The experts here will correct me if I'm wrong.

For the J30, QX4, and I think I30, there's a repair kit from Infiniti that costs around $35-40. That's what I used when I repaired my sunroof.

If the rail assembly is bent like Nick suggested, the repair kit (if available) won't be any help. The repair kit is really just new cables and its hardware.

Does someone know for sure if there's such a kit for the Q45?

In any case, if the answer is yes, check out

http://www.fuzzycats.com/docs/sunroof_repair.pdf

because the TSB I have posted (with the exception of the J30-specific comments I added) is written for all applicable Infiniti models.

Carlos

[90Q45blue]

I have spoken with Joe about this before and there is NO kit for the Q45. Too bad though as it would save a lot of sunroofs.

Nick

[crubio]

Sounds like you have a broken cable. The best you can do is close it as best you can, it shouldn't leak. You need to replace the whole cable system with a new one. Same thing happend to me, Jery Tucker quoted it at about $1000 to repair, $350 for the new cable and runner apparatus, $600 for labor. On his website, Carlos Knology has a detailed procedure for fixing the sunroof of his J. I havent had mine fixed yet as I need a new transmission first.

Sorry for your bad luck.

crubio

[MetaOrbit]

My 1st car, a 97 Chevy Lumina, had sunroof problems like you're talking about Fred.

I took it to the dealer at first, who wanted nearly $800 before he'd even act like he was going to fix it. The guy at the dealer had the nerve to imply to my dad I must have been jumping on the roof and whatnot to cause it to fail. ugh...another story

Anyways, multiple dealers told me that the sunroof was not serviceable, and that I'd have to buy a whole new assembly to the tune of $800-1200 depending on where I got it from.

So, I took it into an aftermarket sunroof installer and had him look at it. He told me it could be the motor of course or drive cables. I then got ahold of a parts catalog and found sunroof drive cables as well as a sunroof motor on eBay for $9. $100 of labor later the sunroof installer put everything back together and it was good as new.

I would try and get ahold of some drive cables and maybe a motor (if the gear is stripped, and it's all one unit). Then find an independent shop that does sunroofs or the like and have them do the work for you.

[PalmerWMD]

Thanks for all the quick responses folks!:thumbup

I think I will bite teh bullet just take the 6-7 hours trip to T3.My dealer wont be able to take me in on such short notice I am sure.

I am on leave this week and my boss just gave me permission to be out of town during said leave, for Thursday.

Fred...

PS: Dennis if u r reading this I will call T3 tomorrow morning for an appt

[Q45tech]

Byron hates sunroofs, but while he's working on it maybe we can check some other things. Maybe sunroof guts could be removed from one of the junkers? Don't know the effect of time vs cost.

But new is better than used/worn.

[natsoundup]

I had the same problem....right hand side.......

I got it closed....closed it remains....

[cousteau77]

I've had almost the exact same experience. One day on the way to lunch, I open up the sunroof and everything is fine--it opens smoothly. I pull into the parking lot pull the switch to close the roof and it only goes half-way. I reverse directions and the roof fully retracts with no problems. So I pull the switch again to close the roof and it only goes halfway. I repeat this procedure about ten more times to no avail. I can hear the motor working fine its just not pulling the roof completely closed. Finally, after about 30 minutes of manual & motor effort I am able to get it 98% closed. It is still not flush on the rear driver's side of the roof, But no leaking!:D

Palmer, I haven't gotten my roof repaired yet, but after calling all over town, I took my Q to Auto Sunroof Co. It's in Middletown on English Station Road behind the old Biggs on Shelbyville Road. They do aftermarket installs and all factory sunroof repairs. They told me that since the motor was working and the roof would open completely that the cables were probably worn. They quoted me a shop rate of $60/hr + parts. 2-8 hours labor depending on what they actually saw once they took the roof apart. You could probably get parts cheaper on your own, because they would no doubt order from Sam Swope.

This is just a suggestion if you're looking for someone local to do the repair.

Jacques, 93Qt

[PalmerWMD]

Jaques:

I didnt Realize u were local!

You have GOT to come to our saturday meet, too often my car is the only Q.

Fred..

[PalmerWMD]

Also

Thanks for the tip!

At this point I already made an appt with T3 for Thursday.

Fred...

[rogertelegan]

I am having the same sunroof problem. It started today, I noticed the right rear portion of the sunroof was not comming up to meet the roof, I tried opening then closing, then opening.... it was jammned.

I took out my trust Q45 repair manual and began to look up instructions for dis-assembly. Well as I type this my headlined is out, all the moulding and trim around the headliner is removed, and I have a floor board covered in screws.

The sunroof will now move, but it is definatley not working the way it is supposed too. I still am not able to ge the right rear corner to come up and meet the roof line.

I guess I will need to take it to a sunroof repair shop.

AHHHH.... and I love this car... But things like this really bother me. I wish I could fix / replace the cable myself, but it seems that the cable is not available.

It seems really Ironic that this is happening in September......

Roger Telegan - 1990 Q45 -