While driving my 2006 R53 this past weekend, I attempted to open the sunroof. Everything seemed to be working ok, albeit a little slow (it was quite cold out that morning and admittedly it's been a while since I last lubed the sunroof), when all of a sudden I heard a loud snap and the glass stopped moving.

I pushed the open/close button a few times in both directions. Each time, I could hear the motor turning, but the glass did not move. I also used the wrench from the tool kit and tried turing the motor by hand. Again, no movement of the glass.

It seems to me that maybe the cables within the sunroof cassette broke or possibly one of the plastic pieces that the cables connect to is broken. Unfortunately, I've looked at the parts diagrams on sites like REAL OEM http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=54_0291 and it isn't clear how to get to those cables. Plus, even if I can confirm they are broken, it doesn't appear they are available separately.

Complicating matters is the sunroof is stuck partially open. I can't seem to move it by hand in either direction. The MCS is no longer my daily driver and can stay in the garage when rain is pending, but I would like to at least be able to close it if possible before a permanent fix can be performed.

Before I bite the bullet and start searching for a used complete sunroof cassette to replace mine, I wanted to reach out to the helpful folks here on NAM to see if anyone has encountered a similar issue and resolved it without replacing the entire sunroof cassette.

Thanks in advance!