Hey everyone,

So today I opened the sunroof on my 2011 MCS and for the first time I heard some "friction" noises as it opened. It seems that a lot of people have a problem with the sunroof but personally I love it!

I dont want to have issues in the future however with the sunroof struggling to open or leaking or anything of that nature so I was wondering if someone had experience with maintaining it.

Here you can see a picture of the condition its in now, theres a good amount of grime and lubrication mixed together. What do you all recommend?




Thanks!

 

You should still be under the warranty. Take it back to the dealer and have them do whatever is necessary to make it sound the way it should.

 

I agree that there should be something we, as owners, can do to maintain a smooth functioning of our sunroofs. No offense to the post above, but I'd rather spend 30 minutes cleaning, re-greasing, etc. than deal with traveling to the dealership and waiting for them to do something. And what about post-warranty maintenance?

For one, applying a rubber protectant/conditioner like Aerospace 303 to the rubber seal around the perimeter of the glass would be a start.

 

Unfortunately I'm one of the few newer models already out of warranty. I drive a whole lot!

I'm with you. Like I said I don't have the choice so I want to learn good maintenance techniques now before its too late. For example I was thinking of going in there and cleaning everything up and re-lubricating it but I know that can cause problems too if you don't know what you're doing. I enjoy my sunroof on all nice days and I want to keep it that way!

 

I think that you can check the tracks for debris. If you drive with it open a lot, it will likely have some dirt and dust caught in the tracks. If so, clean with q-tips, rags, whatever, and reapply a little bit of grease to the sliders. Putting some lube or rubber treatment on the seals is also good advice, as stated above.

Maybe give a call to the MINI dealer to see what they recommend for lube. I think that I used a silicone grease when I did it last year.

Mike

 

Also make sure the front and rear drains are clear. Use weed whacker line fed up into the drain ports.. Or down from the fronts... Do not use coat hangers, wires, or compressed air... Follow up with a cup of water in the gutter area to flush out debris...

 

Thanks, I'll probably get in there this week and see if I can clean it up a bit. I noticed you have the stratmosphere in your sig. Not too common but I got one too and I think its sounds perfect

I'm trying to picture what you are describing but since I never pay attention to that area I think I would have to be looking at it. I can see why any type of wire might damage something but just curious whats wrong with compressed air? I was actually going to use compressed air to get the dirt/sand out of the sunroof tracks before I wiped it down.

 

I like that idea if using weed whacker line to clear the drain ports.
I, too, am curious which grease is a better option... silicone or lithium?

And while we're on the topic of sunroofs, I removed my wind screen last year and haven't missed it since. Not only does it look funny sticking up, but I found I had a lot less wind noise without it. Play around by pulling it down (with the sunroof open of course) at different speeds to see if you like the change. It's fairly easy to remove and fully reversible.

 

Spot on. They can make adjustments and also lay in some Kluberplex lubricant if needed.

 

Thats odd because I noticed exactly the opposite. I too played with bringing it down and when I did, wind noise became a lot louder along with air turbulence in the cabin.

 

I forgot to add that this method creates intense air turbulence if you have the side windows rolled up. This isn't a problem for me since I drop/open everything at the first chance I get. Only thing I haven't done yet is used NCS Expert to code for single touch open.

 

Compressed air runs the risk of tubing/connection rupture... It's a mess you NEVER WANT!!

Use a vacuum to suck the debris out of the tracks... It's much cleaner than blowing it all over the interior,

 

Ah ok I replied too quickly haha. Mine catches bugs too!

Are you referring to the gutter area or sunroof tracks? I understood you said not to used compressed air in the gutter area.

 

No, I'm talking about the physical drain dart ports that allow water from the gutter to travel down through the body into the ground. You can see them at the forward corners of the sunroof gutters when they are open.

The sunroof seal is not a watertight seal, it's designed to leak into the gutters and then down the drain darts into the body.

People blow compressed air into the darts, that is a bad idea.. Just spool down several feet of weed whacker line until you find the "exit" out of the body.. All sorts of goop comes out... Twist the line around... It's fun.

 

Ok I see now. I'll try it and post pics of what comes out!