So I'm sure everyone who owns an R56 has, or is still, experienced the sunroof wind noises(very annoying and super loud) - It's getting to the point where I have to blast music just to cover up the sound when I have passengers because it's an embarrassing design flaw!

Did MINI/BMW ever issue a recall or has anyone had this issue fixed under warranty? There's no reason a sunroof should be this loud/sound like it is open - My old Eclipse was 12 years older than this car and was quiet as could be...

 

I have a 2008 and so far, no noise or issues. Love my sunroof!

 

Have you discovered where the noise is coming from? I recently fixed this issue on my car. My noise was coming from the front. I was going to replace all the seals, but decided to try to adjust the sunroof first. The front of the glass needs to sit lower by about 1.5 mm-2mm. Unscrew all t- screws from the inside. Place something heavy on the front or have someone press on the glass from above. Re-tighten down all screws.

Good luck.

 

at least yours is working... mine is seized and the motor gears are stripped haha :(

 

Are you sure you not just super sensitive? Mine was noisy after my body shop remove it the entire sunroof and slowly the front glass panel began to shift over to the left and made more noise over on that side, I paid my dealer to re-align both my sunroof panels ($150) and was very pleased with the results! The dealer has very special alignment tools specifically to align the glass panels properly, yes there's a tool for that to. There will always be some wind noise with a sunroof, how much depends on who designs it.

I recommend just paying the $150 to get it done right and to save you time and frustration, I don't usually recommend going to the dealer for anything but there are a few reasons why you should and this is one of them. Do it only after you replace all rubber seals, that's what I did and why I couldn't get it to close properly which is why I took it to the dealer to let them do it. I tried all day and failed and my arms were so sore I couldn't lift them anymore, $150 seemed like heaven at the time!

 

So this as always been a problem with all BMWs. Every once in a while it would be advisable to pull the glass and clean the tracks and re-grease them. Also look at all the seals and the motor. Also rikaro there is a manual way to get the roof open if you need to.

 

Good advice, clean the tracks is a great idea as you have probably seen all the dust and dirt that sticks to the thick sticky grease that's used to lube the rivets and hinges. I believe regular cleaning and re-lubing of the sunroof is recommended for a long trouble free service life of your sunroof and the motor, the motor works harder when there's added friction.

It may not stop the aluminum from expanding when sitting in hot weather which requires a little help (finger push) to open the sunroof, but there's only so much control over the issue. I think an alloy that doesn't expand as much when heated would have been a better design idea, but I think Mini/BMW lacks the foresight to foresee potential issues that might arise in a warmer climate or just doesn't care at all.

 

The only issue I'm having is the excess wind noise, I'm not super sensitive because my previous car had a sunroof and was extremely quite - The Mini has a very loud wind "rushing" sound coming from the front of the sunroof, sound like it's not aerodynamic at all and wind is just hitting the very front edge of it - It's very loud, not just me, sometimes i can even hear it over any music i have playing loudly.

I have an appointment this Friday anyway due to a "burning smell" that I am experiencing while accelerating hard, as well as a loud whistle occurring under acceleration at high RPM's (4,000+) AND a decently loud whine happening for the first 30 seconds after startup first thing in the morning. So since I'm already going there for these issues, I'm going to ask them to have a listen to the sunroof as well as it's sooooo noisey!

 

You're right it's not aerodynamic at all which is why all of us hear some degree of wind noise over the leading edge. Was your previous car with a sunroof a Mini, I'm going to assume it wasn't? Even with my sunroof aligned by the dealer I always hear some degree of wind noise from the front edge/lip of the front glass panel, if you take a picture of the glass panels I can tell you if there aligned properly. I think you're used to sunroofs that are dead silent like my mother's sunroof in her luxury car, I will say that the R56 sunroofs are a tad nosier than any car with a sunroof I have ever had.

I'm not saying you don't have a problem with your sunroof, just saying there not the quietest I have ever owned. If it wasn't for the wind noise and trouble opening in hot weather these sunroofs would be bulletproof, it would be nice if the plastic rails for the sunroofs shades were made from a harder, higher quality materials. My front shade slides open on it's own now and am not sure if it's the rails or the shade itself that needs replacing. The read shade stays put and I feel more resistance when sliding it open/closed which is how it should feel, the front shade feels to loose in the tracks!

 

Check out this link, there are countless threads on R56 noisy sunroofs.

 

Systemlord do you have a picture of yours that we may use as a reference. I'm fairly certain that the seals on my sunroof have had it.

 

I understand that it's going to be somewhat noisier than a luxury car or my old eclipse - But this is a little extreme - The glass panel itself is completely flush with the roof, not raised at all and certainly does not appear to be misaligned - I would say just by how loud it is, there is definitely something wrong - Plus I don't think it should be quieter open than when closed - If I tap the switch and just open it by maybe a centimeter or less, the noise is completely gone - But fully closed it's extremely loud.

Like I said, my car will be at the dealership this Friday so i'm going to ask them to take a look at it, Having only had my car for 3 months, I'm just trying to have a good experience in my new car. And by now it's had more problems than any other 2012 38k car should, by rights, be having.

 

Sounds like it need a slight adjustment on the angle. Dealership should be able to do this, other then that i would check all the sunroof seals for tears and/or not pressing up against the window frame.

 

Well there's your problem, it's not supposed to be completely flush with the roof, I assumed this would be the case. It's not supposed to be flush with the roof, it's supposed to be below the rubber seals leading edge so that the air flows over the rubber seal and allows the air to flow over the glass panel instead of hitting the glass panels edge. The middle part of the front glass panel piece should be about 1/4" inch or 4-5mms below the top of the rubber seals.

It's a German car, design issues are the norm, this is as good as it gets. No more German cars for me!

 

Systemlord, mine is making a very loud wind noise, i just order a new sunroof seal and also just to make sure i order the middle seal, this is the one it goes in between the two glasses

New Seal PN 54109813474
Middle Seal PN 54102755851

Here is a How to:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...bber-seal.html

 

This year I replaced all rubber seals, around the glass panels, in middle of rear panel and around the outer edge. Still hear some wind noise, but it doesn't bother me much at all. If I had it to do all over again and had the chance to order my Mini with a sunroof I would still get it.

If you're going to take the time a remove your panels replace all seals, wind noise can be caused by gaps in between the rubber seals.

 

I think then yours need more adjustment because for example last year i was hearing no wind noise from my sunroof at all.

 

When I check New Seal Pn on ECS it says its no longer available! I wonder if this is a mistake. I can't imagine a part that is used up to 2013 to be discontinued already.

 

Error on the MINI part , its fixed.

Older part number 54107210652 which SS to 54109813474 now.

 

Thank you!

 

Welcome , PM me if you ever see something else like that an i can have them take care of it and check it out.

 

You should hear noise when the roof is open and your roof rack is loaded with lumber.

ISAMIN

 

I just found this thread after posting in the wrong forum.

We just noticed ours is making noise during a trip to Montana.

Looks like the front of our roof needs to adjusted down in the front.
I can push the front of it down about 1/8" when closed.

 

The middle of the glass panels should be min 1/8 of an inch from the top of the rubber seal, also don't allow the two edges of the panels to be above the rubber sealer, preferably slightly below but not quite as low as the center of the panel. A year ago after my sunroof was re-installed it started tilting to one side creating a lot of wind noise, it was slightly about the rubber seal on the edge.