R56 Panoramic Sunroof Problem

R56 Panoramic Sunroof Problem

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Discussion

gadgetmac

Original Poster:

14,984 posts

107 months

Wednesday 20th April 2016
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Hi. Anyone have any experience of problems with the Panoramic Sunroofs on these. Mine has decided to only lift up on one side and then stay stuck open.

I tried to close it using the owners manual but whilst the instruction is to insert a tool into an aperture and wind the said aperture is completely blocked off with no socket to accept a tool available.

Any advice gratefully received.

rigga

8,727 posts

200 months

Wednesday 20th April 2016
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Frame warps in warm weather and you find that it sticks, common issue that has been known since the model came out, BMW as normal refuse to acknowledge that it exists, I simply never open mine because of it, you might be able to wind it back down with the supplied tool by gently adding pressure to the side that's sticking up, think its about 2k to replace from main dealer.

gadgetmac

Original Poster:

14,984 posts

107 months

Wednesday 20th April 2016
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£2k!!!! eek WTF?!?!

pointedstarman

551 posts

145 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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Mine is fortunately stuck in the closed position and is going in tomorrow to see if it's covered under the warranty. Apparently Mini only supply complete units in the event of it failing and my local dealer said the fitted price is north of £3k! Suffice to say if it ain't covered by the warranty it'll stay as it is.

BTW - anyone know if the newer units (assuming they replace it) have a fix that means they don't stick anymore?

lionelf

612 posts

99 months

Monday 9th May 2016
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Well I've just got the car back from Vines and yep, over £2,000 to repair the sunroof!!! What a joke. Needless to say I'm not going to do it so the only question remaining is how do I market the car for sale with an electronic sunroof that doesn't work? Part-ex at a dealership perhaps?

And yes, the service receptionist said it's a known problem and the whole cartridge needs replacing.

lionelf

612 posts

99 months

Monday 9th May 2016
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Update

Just found these people: http://www.caymanautos.co.uk/convertible-hood-repa...

They will repair the cables for £660 plus vat. Not cheap but also not over £2,000 plus vat!

They'll diagnose the issue first to ensure that is the problem.

pointedstarman

551 posts

145 months

Wednesday 11th May 2016
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lionelf said:
Update

Just found these people: http://www.caymanautos.co.uk/convertible-hood-repa...

They will repair the cables for £660 plus vat. Not cheap but also not over £2,000 plus vat!

They'll diagnose the issue first to ensure that is the problem.
That sounds a good option for those determined to have the sunroof. Mine, it turns out, has dirty runners and needs to be cleaned which requires the whole sunroof to be removed for the princely sum of £550. I'm not going to bother but will investigate options including DIY.

lionelf

612 posts

99 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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pointedstarman said:
That sounds a good option for those determined to have the sunroof. Mine, it turns out, has dirty runners and needs to be cleaned which requires the whole sunroof to be removed for the princely sum of £550. I'm not going to bother but will investigate options including DIY.
I've decided that with £660 plus vat coming to almost £800 that it's still far too much to spend on just getting a sunroof to open and close. I can almost (for less than another £90) get 2 weeks all-inclusive in Mexico on a Caribbean beach!

I've e-mailed Cayman and explained that to them politely and asked that they contact me should the price ever drop further. I think the most I'd spend on this issue is £500 including vat and there is a company in Manchester who'll do it for that but it's a day off work (they don't work weekends) plus the expense of getting there and back (I'm on the South Coast).

pmessling

2,284 posts

202 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
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A good clean of the runners and lube. I took the motor out and sprayed wd40 into the cables. There is also a motor reset procedure that has to be done.

There is a bmw bulletin about the sunroof that I found about realignment of the glass etc. Can't point you in any directions for that as I'm on my phone.

pointedstarman

551 posts

145 months

Wednesday 1st June 2016
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pmessling said:
A good clean of the runners and lube. I took the motor out and sprayed wd40 into the cables. There is also a motor reset procedure that has to be done.

There is a bmw bulletin about the sunroof that I found about realignment of the glass etc. Can't point you in any directions for that as I'm on my phone.
It seems that is the problem with mine; it's not broken it just needs a clean. Problem is it won't open so I can't get to the runners.

Dealer wants £550 to do the job as dirty runners aren't covered by the warranty.

Hothouse

111 posts

89 months

Saturday 10th June 2017
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Have the same problem on our jcw clubman. Sometimes start to open then promptly shuts. Sometimes just makes a noise and does nothing. I understand that the problem is sensors that detect high load during opening or closing and then switch. Our low tech, low cost solution is to give a helping hand. When opening, push leading edge of rear panel upwards. When closing, press down on leading edge of front panel. The little extra help appears to persuade the sensor that there is no excess drag and the operation is completed. Can be a bit worrying that the roof might not close, so spent about 30 mins repeating this to ensure it was reliable. Works every time.

halfpenny43

1,015 posts

235 months

Saturday 10th June 2017
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I had an issue a few weeks ago on my F56 JCW.

Car had been outside in the sun the whole day with the roof "tilted" open, I went to close it and it closed then opened immediately about 10cm.

Managed to get it closed by pressing the button in short bursts. Took it to the dealer and they say "no fault found"


NoahsPark

8 posts

73 months

Tuesday 20th February 2018
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I bought an R56 with Panoramic Sunroof at the start of last summer and it only lasted 3 months before it became 'warped' and unusable. This was apparently because I'd left it in the sun. Sorry, but I expect a Sunroof to be able to withstand the English Sun. BMW wanted £2,250 to repair it! No thanks.

What a joke.