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omniflow
Original Poster
213 posts
20 months
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My E61 suffers from wind noise from the panoramic roof. The noise is significantly reduced if I close the sunshade, but that's not really the point.
Is this a feature of the car, or can this be fixed by new seals or treating the existing seals in some way ?
Thanks
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ecain63
5,250 posts
44 months
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I think its pretty normal. Mine makes a slightly noticable noise with the blind open but you cant hear it with it closed. So long as its water tight...... thats what matters.
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Neil.D
2,660 posts
75 months
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The panoramic sunroof seal perishes and BMW brought out another that is more hard wearing and quieter.
Removing the old one is easy, put the sun roof on tilt and you have access to the join which is at the rear of the roof. Unpick it and pull it all upwards. Most of the old adhesive came away easily if you pull it straight up.
Then, close the sunroof and without removing the sticky back to the seal, push it into place and push it flush with the roof. When youre happy, peel back the sticky back and it will remain in place.
My seal was 10 inches too long so had to be carefully cut to length. Weird why this would be.
I did see if it would all compress around but it just created kinks and didnt fit. I was mindful that door seals must never be cut and they are always the correct length but there we are.
Using the pano sunroof at this point now creats the 'anti trap alarm' that then stops all use of it and just freezes it in the tilt position giving you an error message on the dash.
That was a touch scary but its because the new seal is a lot closer fit and the the roof doesnt recognise this.
Then, with the ignition on hold the 'tilt' option for about 15 seconds, it will then go through a series of movements and then close. Keep your finger depressed throughout this. This is the sunroof reset.
It's part number 54 10 7 199 533 and about £22.
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omniflow
Original Poster
213 posts
20 months
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ecain63 said: So long as its water tight...... thats what matters. But it's not water tight is it ? That's why it has those drain hoses that then get blocked :-) I've avoided cars with sunroofs for many years, because of noise and water. But I do like the roof on the E61, apart from the massive leak I had, and the noise. @ Neil D. - sounds like something I should consider trying, I think I'll order the part and then wait for a dry day. From the weather forecasts I've seen BMW will have time to tap a few trees for the rubber, spin up the factory, fail several dozen batches for quality checks, ship the part via North Carolina, and I'll still have it before I'm ready to use it.
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ecain63
5,250 posts
44 months
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omniflow said: ecain63 said: So long as its water tight...... thats what matters. But it's not water tight is it ? That's why it has those drain hoses that then get blocked :-) I've avoided cars with sunroofs for many years, because of noise and water. But I do like the roof on the E61, apart from the massive leak I had, and the noise. @ Neil D. - sounds like something I should consider trying, I think I'll order the part and then wait for a dry day. From the weather forecasts I've seen BMW will have time to tap a few trees for the rubber, spin up the factory, fail several dozen batches for quality checks, ship the part via North Carolina, and I'll still have it before I'm ready to use it. Yeah, not 'watertight' in the literal sense but you know what I meant. If BMW do an upgraded seal then that might be an option worth exploring. Otherwise, if the seal looks like its not perished or tired I'd be inclined to leave it. Is the noise really bad? Get an exhaust fitted and you'll have your windows open 90% of the time anyway. Lol
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Neil.D
2,660 posts
75 months
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My old one was very noisy, I used to have the blind closed at all times. The new one made it quieter to the point there was almost no difference.
The seal is effectively a rubber tube, the thing slowly compresses so is no longer making a solid contact with the glass. It doesn't really perish - more deformes.
...and yes, it isn't water tight, it just keeps the majority of water out.
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omniflow
Original Poster
213 posts
20 months
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Well, that's the best £22 I've spent in a long while.
It probably takes about 1 hour to fit, most of that is removing all the glue from the old one. Massive difference in wind noise.
An old school wooden ruler was perfect for removing the old glue - along with some tar remover.
The difference is huge.
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Neil.D
2,660 posts
75 months
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Nice one. My internal sunroof is always open now since I replaced mine. Good work.
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phelix
2,036 posts
118 months
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Neil.D said: My seal was 10 inches too long so had to be carefully cut to length. Weird why this would be.
I did see if it would all compress around but it just created kinks and didnt fit. I was mindful that door seals must never be cut and they are always the correct length but there we are. That seal is used on a number of different models; I guess it's trimmed to fit the application. Thanks for sharing the info - will try this as well. Dealer claimed ignorance of any noise or service bulletin and refused to test drive the car above 70mph. So if a £20 DIY sorts it I'll be happy. The E61 M5 sunroof has much more wind noise than my E61 535d had but to be fair the 535d had a couple of repairs to the sunroof including a complete new mechanism (££££) under warranty so it might well have had a newer seal.
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