Gummi Pfledge is from BMW. It's used to lubricate rubber seals where there is glass/metal direct contact with rubber seals like with frameless windows to convertible seals. A single tube lasts years....

I will not be driving the mini all week, so after sitting a week in the sun we should know... So stay tuned unless someone else has a tube and wants try it also...

Corey, I think you are dead on with your theory. My sunroof was sticking again today (100 degrees out) and after I got it to open I felt the rubber strip around the edges. The rubber was VERY sticky and left moist black streaks on my fingers.

Wow! That may be something I should check out next time! It sounds very plausible! That's great if it turns out we can just lube it up or something...

Mine has done this twice...For those of us under warranty...Can we get them to change the type of seal for the front sun roof?

Mine has started doing this now as well. It's over 100 for the first time this year here, and I don't think my car likes the heat!

I'll be going to the dealer wed...I'll be sure to let y'all know what they say.

Thanks Auto Pilot, we'll be anxiously awaiting a response!

Got my MINI back from service today. I had a "one time only free rental car" (07 Camry POS).

Basically, they said the glass was misaligned and that was causing my sunroof to have excessive wind noise and would prevent it from opening. From what I can tell, they just lowered the glass in the frame.

I picked it up, and in the service drive the sunroof refuses to open. Sunroof also rattles when open. At this point, I'm really let down. Since I picked it up after hours, I have to call them back tomorrow. Unfortunately, I probably won't get another rental car (why can't they just give me a BMW??).

+1

Uuughhh...sorry to hear that. Hopefully it will be doing all the things you want them to fix when you go show them again. It seems intermittent problems are the hardest to get concrete reports on (obviously I guess ) Anyway, please keep us posted on what happens!

Got a call from Niello today. Might possibly need a new sunroof cassette. Should hear back later today.

It sounds like they want to take the car for the whole day, right?

I've got an appt tomorrow with Niello MINI for this issue (and some others). I was disappointed to find out they didn't do a loaner. What's with that?! Anyway - I'm waiting to see what they say - and I'll be telling them to keep it out in the sun for at least an hour before they try the sunroof.

Keep us posted, RR

I'm pushing my appointment out for hotter weather so that the problem can be repeated

I'm postponing my appointment for the summer time when things heat up again...it seems the weather has cooled down, so I need to show them when the event is repeatable.

Who did you speak to at Niello? Hopefully Hans. It seems like he's the only one at the place who has any idea what is going on.

I did just get another call back. They're ordering me two parts, the sunroof drive mechanism as well as the complete sunroof assembly. Both parts are on national backorder.

Good luck!

Nice..... I drove by Niello yesterday and I asked Hans to use some of the Gummi Pfledge that Corey mentioned. He applied some to the rubber seal but like others have stated, I need to wait now for the weather to heat back up. It seemed to fix it yesterday, but further tests are required. When I spoke to Niello they weren't aware of anyone having issues with their sunroofs.

I did the online scheduling and asked for a phone call as my "preferred" contact method, so of course I received email instead... Dallas is the person I "spoke" with (8 emails to schedule an appt - and they don't have early bird drop off!!! ).

I wonder if the national backorder is due to all of us reporting this issue all at once. Hopefully they'll be better at notifying you when the parts come in then they were with me with the nationally backordered chrome scoop (still no contact). Though with a marginally functional sunroof and wonderful weather I'll be as on top of this as I can be.

They never are.

Perhaps this is the benign variation on the "exploding" sunroof over on the R56 section.

Hehe - yes, you are probably right.

Three months old, and started doing this about two weeks ago, also seems to be heat related.

No suprise here - the temp was in the 70's today - the sunroof worked perfectly for them. They can't duplicate it and "have never heard of this before" They suggested that I bring it in when it is hotter. I had a bit of a discussion regarding the 1 - 2 week wait for an appt and that the weather might turn like it did between the time I made this appt (100+) and today when I dropped it off (70+). I don't think they quite "get it" about that.

The good news - the leaky washer jet and stained bonnet stripe were replaced.

So now I wait for the weather to get warmer to prove my sunroof won't work.

Yea that's such a bummer RR. It's like the hardest thing to get something to be duplicated at the dealership! You know what I would do maybe...drive by one day when it IS doing the sunroof stick and just have a MA look at it if you can't get someone in service to look. That way at least you have a witness! But again, there's a problem if you live like more than an hour away from your dealer like I do, since I'm generally not "in the neighborhood."

Mine did this yesterday and after 10 minutes with the A/C on it started working fine again. It might rain today so I left mine closed, but it occurred to me that one thing someone can do to test this issue is to leave the sunroof tilted up on a hot day, and once it's good and hot see if it'll close. If it won't, it's probably the motor, right? If it will, it's more likely to be the sticky rubber seal.