Sunroof Shade Broke Again (3rd Time!)

[William330]

The car has only 10,000 miles.

The first time it broke, it was not abused in any way. The dealer
had to take apart the whole ceiling of the car to change 50 cent
plastic clips.

The second time it broke, it was not abused in any way, and was
perhaps opened 5 times. The dealer took apart the whole ceiling
to change the "tracks" which he thought would solve the defect.

For the third time, the shade must have been opened 6 times at most,
and the sunroof window opened perhaps twice. I just slid the sunroof
shade back yesterday, being extra careful not to push up or down but
to slide it back smoothly, and these 50 cent plastic clips again crumbled
and fell out of the sunroof onto my head.

The shade is now broken. Again.

I've googled this issue, and this has been a problem with the 3-series
since 1998!

This is clearly a poor design, that was never fixed.

Now, the repair for this, is 3+ hours of dealer time. So rather
than use a 75 cent stamped steel clip, BMW continues to use these
garbage plastic clips that continually break, and also have to eat
the warranty service to replace them each time.

It's really unacceptable that such an expensive car would have this
design flaw ignored for so many years.

I feel robbed of $1,200 (the cost of the sunroof), and will try and
get that money back from the dealer this week. Paying money for
something, and not getting it, doesn't fly with me, and I can't use
the sunroof.

Any others here have this issue? Once the car goes out of warranty,
this will be a super-expensive repair.

 

[northstar]

How come you have to pay $1,200? Your vehicle should be under warranty.

My vehcile's sunshade only broke once and they fixed it. No problem ever since.

 

[epj3]

Yea what's the deal with the $1,200?

 

[jrt67ss350]

He's saying that the sunroof was a $1,200 option on the car, and since he feels that he can't use the sunroof without breaking it, then he wants his $1,200 back.

Good luck with that.

 

[bmwrocks]

You ain't never gonna get your money back.

Mine broke once after opening 100 times at least. They fixed it and it works fine again.

It does sound like yours has some other problem than just clips and a track. They lubed the bejeezus out of mine after they fixed it. The thing just glistens up there and moves fine now.

 

[William330]

He's saying that the sunroof was a $1,200 option on
the car, and since he feels that he can't use the sunroof
without breaking it, then he wants his $1,200 back.

Good luck with that.

Exactly, sorry if I wasn't clear.

I know it won't be easy to get a refund, but right now I'm
out $1,200 for a sunroof I can't use, and the dealer is going
to have a never-ending headache until this is resolved.

 

[William330]

Dealer 'fixed' the sunroof today for the 4th time.

We'll see how long it lasts...

 

[///M SPEED]

Dealer 'fixed' the sunroof today for the 4th time.

We'll see how long it lasts...

Good luck with the sunroof.....

 

[bill johns]

I had the same problem. I was the owner of a new 2000c 323CI. I commute about
100 miles per day back n forth and my warranty expired quickly. When i went to my dealer
(out of warranty) 18 months after buying my CI... i was told to expect to spend about $1,500.00 to repair it. I eventually removed the shade myself with the intention of sometime in the future replacing the unit. To date the sunroof works fine and rarely is the sun a problem without the shade and i live in Texas. Regardless, I feel BMW should have fixed the sunroof on a 18 month new car. Don't Panic.

 

[Unit74]

Believe me.....I feel your pain.


See my thread, " Broken again....BMW, this is getting old now." Should be on the first or second page. And I can tell you first hand that once the sale is complete, BMW NA will treat you like a red headed step child........ They have your money, and that's where the smiles and hand shakes end.

Were suing them over our car......it's too bad they treat people this way, but alas, we'll not be buying anything BMW again.......Pitty though, because we love the way the car drives and feels on the road!

 

[William330]

i was told to expect to spend about $1,500.00 to repair it

Holy cow, that's a lot of money. And BMW has failed to fix this defective plastic
clip design for over ten years... How the heck did you get the shade out?


Here's a theory that may at least explain why BMW's defective plastic clips keep
breaking.

I tend to leave my sunroof shade closed, and the top of the shade is black (which
absorbs heat).

Sunlight will probably make the small air space between the top of the shade and
the sunroof glass very hot. Probably over 150 degrees F.

I wonder if the heat in this closed space would degrade the defective plastic clips,
making them brittle.

Each time these defective clips have broken on my car, they seem to just
disintegrate, with no pressure or abuse (I was super-careful after they broke
the first time, yet they broke twice more).

I may try leaving the sunroof shade open an inch, so the heat doesn't build up
in there. Though sunlight will now fade the interior...

 

[geneo]

there is an updated sun roof repair kit that should replace your old style sun shade maybe your not getting this in your car the sun roof cassette must be removed to put it in maybe you are not getting the updated sun shade and slide

 

[William330]

there is an updated sun roof repair kit that should replace your old style sun shade maybe your not getting this in your car the sun roof cassette must be removed to put it in maybe you are not getting the updated sun shade and slide

Who said there is an updated kit? The dealer? Do you know the BMW
part number by any chance?

If the dealer said there is a 'new' kit, I would be suspicious. They
changed my clips a few times, and the whole cassette once, and it
still broke (with zero abuse or mishandling, and minimal use).

This problem has existed since at least 1998 (I ran a Google search).

OK, just ran another Google search, and came across this interesting
posting in response to a guy quoted $1,000 by a dealer to fix the
shade:

Newsgroups: alt.autos.bmw
From: "sylvain,sylvie" <sbriandsbouc...@videotron.ca>
Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2004 22:14:19 -0500
Subject: Re: Sunroof Sunshade off it's tracks

That's why we call them stealer...
Your part # [53-13-7-134-535] refers to an E46 and the good
news are that there's a repair kit for SLIDING HEADLINER that
should cost anywhere between 60 to 90 u.s $. The kit number
is 54 10 7 134 073 and this is good for the glass tilt/sliding
roof up to model/year 08/2003.

the job should be done in an hour and a half - maximum 2.(coffee
break incl.) If you are lucky and get a mechanic who did it a
few time, you'll be set in an hour.

Hint.........Please find another dealer(s), go first to the parts
department ask for the kit, the price and finally how much they
may charge to install it. You will probably save 90%.

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.autos.bmw/browse_frm/thread/1a50c20b4476bca2/b35e2a413c2fbf22

But he doesn't mention if this is a newly-designed part, or the same
defective crap that disintegrates in a few months.

 

[aNoodle]

I've had thesame shade on my 1999 328 since 1998 and it works fine. I use it all the time. I did have to pop the glass out and put a new gasket on there last year. At that time I cleaned it all out...you'd be surprised how much gunk gets in there. That restored my one-touch.

Yeah, I noted the flimsy plastic pieces that hold the shade as the glass opens. But I don't see how that is so bad, mine has never failed.

 

[bill johns]

I wiggled it. Pulled it and tugged. Being carefull not to damage headliner etc. Basically I
just got fed up with it one day at lunch and decided it is coming out now. Luckily, it worked out fine. Good Luck.

 

[squarehat]

I noticed the quote in William330's post above mentions the fix kit goes up to cars with a build date of Aug 2003. Does that mean that my 2005 (build date Nov. 2004) likely left the factory with the new, supposedly stronger clips? I'm almost afraid to use my shade after hearing all of these stories!

 

[bmwrocks]

I noticed the quote in William330's post above mentions the fix kit goes up to cars with a build date of Aug 2003. Does that mean that my 2005 (build date Nov. 2004) likely left the factory with the new, supposedly stronger clips? I'm almost afraid to use my shade after hearing all of these stories!

Mine broke a couple months ago, they replaced whatever it is they replace, with whatever it is they replaced it with. I didn't ask, they didn't tell.

**(Wondering if I got the "new" clips, but not losing any sleep over it)**

Oh and use that shade all you want!!!! If it breaks they'll fix it. You have no idea what kind of clips you have, BMW would probably not be able to tell you (not reliably anyway) and likely will never know......

 

[William330]

**(Wondering if I got the "new" clips, but not losing any sleep over it)**

Unfortunately, I don't think there are "new" clips for the E46, they just
replace them with the same defective clips.

It seems the only way to get the sunroof fixed, is to buy an E90. But I can
live with the sunroof shade always open, and Chris Bangle can keep his
'fixed' E90 sunroof.

 

[codex57]

Hahaha, I leave mine closed. Opened the stupid thing less than 10 times and it broke. They fixed it and I think I've only opened it once since.