My sunroof shade decided it was going to get caught and tear yesterday. The mesh has been an eyesore since day one so now's the time to redo it with some solid black material. Does anybody know the proper procedure to remove the shade on an r56 s? I'll probably also adjust the sunroof so it actually opens when it's really hot out.

 

I don't know the process to remove the sunshade, but I'm curious what you mean by "actually opens" because my sunroof actually opens...

Unless you are referring to the fact that it stops at the "cracked" position, and you have to let go and press the switch again to make it fully open...

 

The mesh actually rolls up like those retractable window shades, there is a spring mechanism that rolls them up. Hope this helps.

 

When it's hot out, the sunroof will open to the venting position half way and give up and shut. To open it you have to help it by pushing up and holding the switch. It's a common problem.

 

Ok that makes a LOT more sense. Sorry if I sounded rude or unfriendly. I just realized my initial response could be read as condescending.

I haven't owned it through a hot summer yet so I haven't experienced that and just haven't seen it posted around. Now I'm going to be upset if mine starts to do that...

I do also have interest in this thread because the mesh just annoys me. If someone knows of an easy removal for the shade, I'm definitely curious about what solution you come up with.

 

Hi,
I had the sunroof shade get jammed and total screwed up on my 2008 R56 S. Turns out you need to remove the sunroof glass, both fro t and back, and replace a cassette which contains the rolled up shade. I looked up the cassette part on www.realoem.com and bought it from Sewell Parts for like $125 or so. When it arrived I looked up in the Bentley manual how to remove the sunroof glass. I don't remember the exact procedure, but I did it fairly easily and without any special tools. I also read up on how to adjust to sunroof glass and did that at the same time.
So, it is all very doable as a DIY and a whole bunch cheaper than having a dealer do it.
Cheers,
Greg

 

That's what I figured was going to be needed. I didn't know if you could pull the rollers out without taking out the glass. I won't be buying anything like that for mine though. I'll be removing the meshy fabric and replacing with either thin black leather sheets or some sort of subtle graphic. Mine isn't really screwed up but the adhesive on the left side got old and stopped holding.

You're good. I don't think the solution will be 'easy' per say for an average person. Sunroof work always sucks. If you have an older R56, it's a good possibility that you have the same problem. On my first and only visit to the MINI dealer, the service advisor gave me a print out about 3 pages long on how to adjust the sunroof and fix the issue so you could try to either find something on here or just go ask your service advisor (or pay a professional to do it). I'll be updating this thread or linking it to another on what I end up doing if you want to give it a try though.

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-database.html sunroof adjustment TSB can be found here,

I'll add that my R55 had a nasty squeak in the vent position.. really annoying.
Sprayed the lift points on the rear glass with graphite lock lube - FIXED IT!

 

That too. I wasn't sure if there was a TSB or not for it. Thanks. My rear glass rattles like hell when it's vented so I never have it vented. Maybe I'll get to fix that, too.