pano sunroof won't open. Grinding noise. Took motor out and this is it.
 

Hi guys. I just recently sold my r53 to get a 07 justa mini. Hopefully we can get some DIYers here to help with my issue.

However when I bought the car, the previous owner told me the sunroof doesn't work.

It makes a loud grind noise when I press the button so I suspect the gear not aligning properly. However I also tried turning the motor with the allen key from the trunk it won't budge at all. Does it sound normal? Is the motor supposed to spin freely?

UPDATE: Found out the white gear inside is stripped. I was wondering if there is anyway just to buy the gear. I don't want to shell out $340 usd when I only needed just the plastic gear. it says IMS 356.60027 02 on the gear.

Hey rik, NorthWestEuro is parting out his 09 cooper. ask him for the motor???

Another update haha

@sc r60 I'll ask him if I need one but I feel like there's something else that is wrong.

So what happens now is that I tried cleaning the broken tooth with a chisel and it seems like it'll spin freely (hesitates when closing, spins for a long time opening). However the problem is when I use the allen wrench on the motor, it still stays stuck.

One more thing is that when I install the motor back into it's position, the grinding noise reappears. What I'm thinking now is that it could be the plastic gear is so damaged that when torque is applied, the gear will just strip itself again.

Also, Is there anyway to check if the sunroof mechanism? I have no clue if it is stuck as well making it to be too much stress for the plastic gear. My sunroof glass is currently removed.

Hopefully I can get this repaired without MINI's help so I can write a DIY on this for R56 owners down the road.

got more bad news.

Looks like the reason why it's grinding is because the frame is seized. I can tell by looking at the insert from the motor gear. If The metal gear on your motor is brown, it's most likely rusted and you'll need a new frame.


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...a33a3f0676.jpg

I guess I'll suck it up and not use the sun roof until I have enough money for it :(

As another option, you can also try searching for the part on www.car-part.com for a used unit. It'll be much cheaper than buying new, unless that is what you'd prefer to do.

stuck sunroof mechanism
 

any update on this?

Thread revival!! I've got the exact same grinding noise issue. The Motor's easy enough to find above the roof switches however after removing the two torx screws the motors still held in tight. Does the headlining need to come out for removal? Thanks

Duplicate post, mods please delete

yes you will need to remove the headliner to gain access to all the screws.

I just purchased replacement gears for my sunroof. Seems most Mini parts are plastic and break eventually. Here is the part number and description

Gearwheel Gear in Nylon for Hood Sunroof Electric Mini Cooper R52 Cabrio

I have also had problems with the plastic pieces in the windows breaking and not allowing the windows to go up. 3 out of my 4 windows have had to have that replaced one with the motor as well.