I just read this whole thread. I didn't order a sunroof because I didn't want 110lbs in the roof affecting the handling. This thread guarantees I will never regret my decision despite enjoying sunroofs on two previous BMWs.

The message to me is to never buy a used MINI without a warranty because it may or may not have had the problems fixed.

As for the $30k+ car argument, the MINI is an $18.8k car. Loading it up with options doesn't change the quality of the design, build, or service.

 

We're off warranty (76,000 miles - ~Feb 07 build) Sunroof worked well until it didn't and was not the same hot weather problem described by everyone here. My wife tried to open it (may have been hot?) and it refused to open. Tried again, and when it failed to open, she decided that it would suck to have it die open, so she stopped trying. She told me about it the next day, and I tried it and saw that it was doing the same thing she had described. I left it alone until early morning the following day and it had same problem in 55 degree weather after sitting out all night.

Months pass, and I'd read about heat being a factor on NAM, but I had an appointment at Brecht and because I'd fixed my own problem earlier that morning (new plugs and coils, plus finally driving 20 miles on STP gas treatment, I managed to cure a P0301 - misfire on cyl 1) I decided to have them try to adjust/fix the sunroof.

First I want to say their diagnosis of the problem should not have cost me their standard ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DOLLARS. They know this is a design flaw, but they told me, it probably just needs and adjustment and we'll apply the diagnosis fee towards the service. Probably $275 max. That's heinous, but so is losing the use of your $700 sunroof for good because you're too cheap to pay to get it fixed. 30 minutes after I've left the car, they call and say the cassette is damaged and the repair will be $2800 or $3100 if I also need a new motor!

I argued that for my ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DOLLARS diagnosis that I should at least get some time with the tech walking me through the proceedure. Tech was nice, showed me how it now makes an obnoxious grinding sound that it didn't before I brought it there. Apparently they tried to force it and it broke something that was not broken before.

Tech explained that they have to detrim from the beltline up at all 6 pillars to remove the headliner without creasing/ruining it. Also have to remove seatbacks for same reason. Then headliner comes out and $1300 cassette w/glass is replaced. So the quote includes $1500 labor. Again tech tried to be helpful, even suggesting that I try to negotiate some of the labor down with the SA. He also said if I did try to do the job myself, that at the least, he'd advise I bring it in for alignment with their centering jig or the seals will whistle.

I'm livid that San Diego's only dealer (finally getting a second one) gets away with ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DOLLARS to assess every malady. When it's a known problem, and I explicitly told him that I want to be told of the cost before they proceed with any fix, you'd think they'd have the sense to say, let's eat this one and try to be decent to the guy who's just been told his dog'll live, but we have to take a leg. It only took the guy a few minutes of pushing my toggle back and forth to break my motor's gear. There's no way I'll pay $3100 to fix this. I've bought a '48 Chevy truck, two british roadsters, and a BMW 2002, each for less than that. BMW/MINI IS OFF THEIR NUT charging that kind of price for a sunroof frame. The SA told me $1300 included the glass, because when they try to buy the cassette without it, it costs even more. And I can only assume, Brecht decided a long time ago, that they can't do a headliner removal without disassembling the whole interior so they can charge BWM more labor on all of these "rare" cassette changes under warranty. Rare, my ***. The tech knew the technique well and there is no reason to remove the headliner except to do this repair. Others have quoted ~$500 and change for labor, so how do they explain $1500 for labor on a job that is clearly a design defect and is likely one of their top maintenance issues.

Sorry, just really pissed. On top of it all, I spent over $100 on parts to solve my own cold start death rattle because MINI didn't perform a damn recall on an engine related design flaw. At least the parts guy was nice and actually confirmed with the techs that I was buying all the parts that they are constantly using to repair everyone else car that is was still under warranty when they finally admitted they had a problem. When we had the problem and were still under warranty, they were busy telling everyone, it's supposed to sound like a deisel, so I didn't bring it in. Now it's gotten much worse and I've got to fix it myself. Oh and my suspension's clunking, so I'll be disassembling the front end to find that fault too. I love this car, and I knew it was an economy car on steroids, but BMW being the host company is making it even harder to tolerate its quirks. Their policy of full coverage condones absorbanent parts and labor pricing, making it difficult to maintain a car beyond warranty. I'm starting to wonder if MINIs high resale values will take a sharp turn soon.

I stopped at the Nissan dealer after my $180 a$$ raping, and test drove a 370Z. It was a nice car, if not more than a little heavy. But when I saw the top mechanism on the roadster, all I could think of was how that thing was going to break on some poor shlep every two years and he was going to be looking at $1500 a pop.

 

Our only hope is the popularity of the Mini will cause other manufactures to bring over their hot hatches. Focus in Europe as an example. Then we can tell BMW what we think of their "fine German engineering " and dealer service. Until then, unless you want an overweight pig we are pretty much stuck.

 

Mini Cooper Sunroof Motor Repair by http://ZippeeShade.com


THE PROBLEM
During the design process of our “ZippeeShade” which have designed exclusively for the Mini Cooper, I encountered a slight problem on my test vehicle, a 2003 Mini Cooper S. The problem I was facing was what seemed to be some kind of short circuit. The sunroof was working fine until one day without warning it opened half way and when I tried to close it, nothing happened, it would not close. When I depressed the switch to close the sunroof, all you can hear was a clicking noise from the relay. I located the fuse to see if it was blown, and to my surprise it wasn’t. Now I was confused and even worse I was concerned that I would have to drive around with the sunroof stuck half way open. Luckily I went on Google to do some research and found tips on closing the sunroof manually. At the rear of your car there should be a Mini Cooper Tool Bag, which will contain an Allen wrench hand crank used to connect directly to the sunroof motor to manually close your sunroof. You can access your sunroof motor by removing the clock from the headliner and you will see the Allen wrench screw used to manually open and close the sunroof.
THE SOLUTION
After many hours of troubleshooting I found the cause of my sunroof failure. It was due to a short circuit in the diode, located inside the motor housing. This diode was causing the motor to short out, rendering the motor inoperable. The fix was very simple, all I did was open the motor and use a pair of wire cutters to snip the diode wire disconnecting it and instantly the motor worked again. This was actually a really easy fix. Here are my step by step instructions along with photographs of what I had documented.
TOOLS NEEDED
- Digital Volt Ohm Meter
- #25 Torx Star Driver
- Flathead & Phillips Screwdrivers
- Pair of Pliers
- Wire Cutters
- Teflon White Lithium Grease or Some kind of Lubricant like WD40



STEP 1: Remove the following plastic trim rings on both front and back sunroof, by pulling on the trim ring inward towards the center of the sunroof. This trim ring is held in place by pressure clips. Be sure to disconnect any wires attached to the trim ring located on the front sunroof, after you have removed it from the headliner.



STEP 2: Remove both sun visors from the headliner. Start by removing the clip for the sun visor by using a thin small flathead screwdriver to pry open the plastic cover in order to access the Phillips head screw. Use a flathead screwdriver to do the same for the round plugs located on the sun visor hinge. Once you have unscrewed the sun visor, unclip the wiring harness.

Continue Reading....

 

good info for 1st generation people but it isn't really relevant to the problem discussed in this thread.

 

Hello all! I'm a potential Mini owner... doing a little bit of homework before making the plunge!

After reading this thread it's turned me off of getting a sun roof which I always opt for when I buy a car. BMW 325iC > VW Golf and now possibly a Clubman or Countryman.

Has anything been addressed as far as the sun roof is concerned in the 2011 model? If I opt for a hard top, I won't need the Premium Package and I'll need to decide if adding the premium Stereo system a la carte is worth it (read the other thread already) and if the upgraded A/C climate control system is worth it. (I'm in a year round hot spot). My first thought is to forego the extra cost for the AC and go for the Stereo upgrade.

The main dilemma is Clubman vs. Countryman! I like the extra space in those. One factor that I just thought of... I need to be able to put my bike rack on the back. Right now it's on my VW hatchback. I'm wondering if the bike rack will work with the Clubman's doors or if I need to opt for the Classic Mini Cooper OR Countryman to get the hatchback. If it were to work on the Clubman's doors I would have to take off the bike rack in order to open the boot obviously. Since my VW is 9 years old I just keep the bike rack on all the time, but have noticed scratches from wear and tear. I'll only put the bike rack on on my future Mini when I'm actually going to use it. Any recommendations would be welcome and soon -- I need to get a new car stat! Thanks!!!

 

This problem has been fixed in new production MINI's for awhile now.

 

Thank you for the quick reply! I will have to reconsider now if I buy a '11. If I buy a '10, do you think it will have the same sun roof issues or was there a recall?

 

No. No recall either. Recalls are for safety issues.

 

My recollection from reading through the forum is that the panorama sunroof problems were a relatively minor issue; it only required a few adjustments to the mechanism and you were good to go.

Typically, if the vehicle was going to experience the problem, it did so within the basic warranty period, and was corrected.

 

I have a 2008 and have had mine adjusted a couple of times but it still reoccurs. I think on my next service I will bring it up again.

 

I've had the same problem with my sunroof when it's a warm day. Most likely because the seals expand in the heat, contract in the cold. Thus, if you have dirt and dust; SoCal we have both, the combination of expansion and dirt will make the sunroof stick.

 

For the most part if the glass is adjusted right when the dealer( the tech ) adjusts it this should not return but if it does happen if u push up on the back of the front glass it pops right open the seals get tight if there adjusted to close together the bulletin states a cretin amount of mm to adjust each side up or down but in some cases it needs to be a larger amount and or the sunroof seal needed t be replaced the newer cars don't do it as much but they all have a possibility of doing it not a huge issue for some but if it happens just push up on the back side of the front glass and it will open up

 

My sunroof is sticking too. Sometimes pushing it or banging it will help. It's not that hot out as it is spring time in Canada. Mine is a 2008 Clubman which I bought used two months ago. It's still under warranty but when I called to make a service appointment, the advisor said that if it was just an "adjustment" that was required, that this would not be under warranty as the "adjustment" period is only in the first year. What the heck! Is this true? Anyone else been told this?

Thanks, ..Roger

 

mine got realigned and seemed it was fixed until it started make wind noise. then, I fixed the wind noise problem with re-aligning but now the not opening on hot weather problem is back. :(

 

That's bs it's covered. And I'll try n get picks of how it should b done

 

I have a 2010 for 26k and 14 months, in the last two weeks when it's been in the sun and hot it opens an inch or so and then flips back closed. After a while, it works fine. Guess 2010 still has this problem. We'll see how Fairfield Mini in CT deals w/ it.

 

Hahahaha so I got home not to long ago .. and was going to write a new post:

WHY MY 2011 (1 month old) car sunroof did not open today after seating in sun and mid 80's temps for few hours?

And here I am trying to read the entire thread.. and gave up on page 10

So, here I am with car which was build August 2010 and is listed as 2011, bought it brand new month ago now.. and it only has 1300 miles and my sunroof would not open, till I pushed the rear part of the front sunroof..

I am still not sure what cause it.. well, it has to be the heat cause it has never happened before and this is the first heat I have this car in..

I am not going to call dealer yet.. (2 hrs away).. cause I do not want waste gas for driving there if this is something silly ie: sticky rubber..

BE AWARE: 2011 models STILL HAVE THAT PROBLEM !!!!

 

This is happening to me now on my newly purchased 2008 R55. It happened the day I test drove it, and I thought you couldn't open the sunroof with the shades closed. I open the shades, and after a couple tries of flicking the switch, it opened. So I thought that was the issue. Until last night I took my wife out for dinner and the roof wouldn't open. It would try for a second (lift up to tilt), then close back up. So finding this thread has helped me identify it is a "common" issue. So I will be making a service trip into the dealer for this. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I should approach this to the dealer? I am under warranty so this should be 100% covered right? I didn't read all 24 pages of this thread, but what is the common dealer service fix for this? I read everything from a little bit of lube to a complete sunroof replacement. What is the general consensus as to the fix for this?

Thanks

-z

 

Yep, happened today in 80+*, will have to decide if it is enough to take Molly in or wait 'til October, which by then it won't happen 'cause it will be Fall!!

 

I have a 2008 and it has been happening since I bought my car. I had it checked a couple of times under warranty. I now have 57000 miles and it is out of warranty. I paid the dealer 30 dollars for a check out. That afternoon it happened again. I took it back to the dealer and they reset the computer for the sunroof. It happened again. I told them I wasn't going to pay for it again. I'm now going to wait until my next service so I had the service guy put in my record. It's basically just an aggravation. I still love my baby.

 

Mine sticks too. I'm not bothering with getting them to try and adjust it as I would rather have a sticky quiet sunroof than a smooth but have to deal with some wind noise.

 

There is a TSB mentioned earlier in the thread, I have attached it for reference...

 

Thank you so much for the TSB! I just began experiencing this issue today on my lunch break (it's 90+ degrees out).

 

I just took my 2008 Clubman to the dealer today to have the sunroof adjusted for the sticking problem. They wanted to charge me $120 for the adjustment, since the car was out of the "one year adjustment warranty" time, even though I'm still within the standard warranty period/mileage. I phoned Mini Canada and they said to call back to the dealer service manager, which I did. Luckily I had found the TSB posted here (which states it is covered under basic warranty) and quoted the TSB in my voicemail. He called back and said he had to dig a bit and found out that it was a US TSB and not a Canadian one but that he was able to apply it in Canada and treat it as a warranty claim back to the factory, so no charge.

Thanks for posting the TSB and I advice any other Canadians having the issue (within the warranty period) to try the same tack if they experience a dealer wanting to charge for the adjustment.