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Sunroof won't close

17009 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  John_E
04 GLX 165.000 miles

Any ideas why the sunroof reopens to the fully open position when I try close it? Eventually after multiple attempts it finally closed as it should.

Is there a safety sensor to keep it from closing if it detects something in the way? (sort of like a garage door)

When I turn the dial to open it in increments it sometimes opens all the way. The tracks do not appear to be bent nor obstructed with debris. The little wind flap up the front pops up and retracts smoothly.

I'm still checking all the interior and puddle lights to make sure they operate as they should and other than a drivers door lock not always locking with the remote I haven't noticed any other electrical gremlins.
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I have an 02 GLX and mine does that sometimes. If I open it entirely then try to close it it usually works. I did figure out a few days ago, in the dome light if you take the cover off and take the two Phillip screws out and gently pull the whole piece down there is a metal rod looking thing and I believe it is to manually close the sunroof.
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Yes just remove the sunroof motor cover and there will be an allen key type handle that you can use to manually close the sun roof
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The sunroof does have pinch protection, so will open if trying to close and motor current becomes too high. You might want to try opening and closing using the supplied crank, to be sure the entire travel is smooth. When using the crank, you have to push it up with enough force to disconnect the motor, something that isn't spelled out in my owner's manual. A couple of things that go out on these cars are the plastic guide liners in the left and right glass tilt plates, which you should inspect, and the potentiometer which the control knob connects to. The carbon track/brass wiper gets worn in these. Usually you will know that if the sunroof is "possessed" by opening on its own.
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One of my windows was acting weird. Would go up when I pressed down and vice versa.
Unplugged the battery for a few minutes and it appears to have reset everything to a good state. Might be worth a try
don't go doing anything with any manual motion yet. just stop and do this.
step 1) with sunroof open examine allrails and slides visible.
-clean and lubricate. a white lithium or silicone "liquid wrench" will work great here.
step two) close the sunroof and examine. does it bounce open again?
if it does not bounce open, cool! it just was dirty and had resistance or binding.

if it does bounce, let it open fully.

HOLD the button closing it until it closes, and keep holding for an additional 10 or so seconds.
after that 10 seconds, hold to fully open, all the way, let it go all the way, hold for 10 seconds.

see if this helps re-adapt the end of travel settings in the ccm.
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Thanks for the suggestions. I was able to figure it out yesterday :thumbup:

On the wind deflector (The black plastic U shaped piece that pops up when the sunroof is open) there is a molded raised guide on top of each side (drivers and passenger side).

This track is molded into the deflector rails and they are both worn down. I'm guessing these tracks help raise the glass up just enough to seat properly when closed. When closing it I have to slightly push up on the glass until it closes. I'm assuming by pushing up its acting like it's riding on the rails. They start to wear from about the middle then are almost gone at the end. It's a gradual wear so I'm not sure if this is normal wear or if something is binding the glass putting extra down ward pressure.

No leaks, strange noises when it moves and looks like it slides smoothly. I think I can replace the deflector and that will take care of the issue but for right now. I'm not worried about it.
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the car is 11 years old. i think anything that breaks at this point can be considered gradual wear.

i would attempt to replace guides if this is happening, and you know there is a play you have to push up against. they may be close to breaking.
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the car is 11 years old. i think anything that breaks at this point can be considered gradual wear.

i would attempt to replace guides if this is happening, and you know there is a play you have to push up against. they may be close to breaking.
I cant just replace the guides. There molded into the wind deflector. I'm thinking I can swap deflectors with my 01 since I'll be selling that one (depending on the condition of the one on my 01)

I'm hoping this is just a normal long term wear area.
the sunroof should have guides independant of the frontal deflector that allows forwards and rearwards travel, as well as the rear upward and downward motion of the glass. those are the guides i'm talking about.

the deflector is a completely separate component of the sunroof, and the guides just move forward and roll atop the deflector, returning it to a stowed (down) position.
there was nothing special about how the sunroof on these cars were built. same as any other, to a point.
the sunroof should have guides independant of the frontal deflector that allows forwards and rearwards travel, as well as the rear upward and downward motion of the glass. those are the guides i'm talking about.

the deflector is a completely separate component of the sunroof, and the guides just move forward and roll atop the deflector, returning it to a stowed (down) position.
there was nothing special about how the sunroof on these cars were built. same as any other, to a point.
Yea I know it's got separate guides. Maybe I'm not explaining it correctly. The area I'm trying to describe that's worn is the thin raised line on top of either side of the wind deflector. Drivers and passenger side that run parallel with the car. It's molded plastic. I believe it's function is to raise the sunroof just a bit when it's closing.
... A couple of things that go out on these cars are ... and the potentiometer which the control knob connects to. The carbon track/brass wiper gets worn in these. Usually you will know that if the sunroof is "possessed" by opening on its own.
Been there ... done that, shortly after I bought the 1996 A4 10 years ago for my younger son. I disassembled the control, cleaned the contacts and bent them to restore their spring tension, and it still works great today.
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