Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way

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finkman99
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Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way

Post by finkman99 »

My son and his friend were out in my Vibe and did something to the sunroof and now it doesn't close all the way. From the open position (which isn't completely open), it closes half way to the stop point, and when I hit close a second time, it goes until about 3 inches from the end, starts to lift up, but stops. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to start. I don't know if this will help, but the sunshade will not open beyond where the sunroof is open to.
djkeev
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way (finkman99)

Post by djkeev »

I'm chuckling!!My son and Friend....... hmm, no concerns there!!Two kids, out goofing with Dad's car, do I really need to go farther with this??It's operated by cables, they could have closed it on something, stripped out the cable, for some unknown reason forced it open or any number of unbelievable and stupid things could have been done.First find out what they DID. Then start figuring out what they may have screwed up.Dave
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way (finkman99)

Post by djkeev »

Ok, I gave you the snotty middle aged man answer.Now, what year do you have?I've got the GM factory repair book for the 07 which has all the instructions for adjusting and renewing the cables and seals.There is a Sunroof Actuator which is a cam for full closed position.My guess is they tried to close it with something in the opening and either stripped or caused the cables to jump and now the roof panel and the closer mechanism are "out of time".Any repairs to this unit are NOT going to be a fun time or if you pay for it to be done, will NOT be cheap for the head liner needs to be dropped to gain access to much of the mechanism.The damage is done, try holding the button down until the roof opens fully and leave it depressed, maybe if it jumped the cable it will jump back, wishful thinking but you have everything to gain and little to loose! Try holding the glass panel stationary as you push the open button as well.Does the air flap depress? IF not maybe they left something in there to prevent it from doing so?Sorry it happened, if you need some scans, let me know.My kids are grown and gone and turned up to be productive well adjusted citizens!! There were days we wondered how they would turn out!Dave
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joatmon
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way (finkman99)

Post by joatmon »

Welcome to genvibe.I think it's normal for the shade to only open as far as the glass is openI'd look to see if they might have left something in the mechanism, or the tracksIt could be possible they stripped something. When it gets to point whree it stops, does it sound like the motor is still trying or does it just stop? What year Vibe is it?
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finkman99
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way (joatmon)

Post by finkman99 »

Ok, point taken. It is a 2003, and my in-laws owned it before me, and I can't say it has ever been opened recently, before this. Since it opens and closed (just not all the way), I am thinking your "out of time" is the most likely cause. If you have a picture on how to remove the headliner, that sounds like the place to start. Thanks.
finkman99
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way (finkman99)

Post by finkman99 »

One more piece of information that may/may not help. I found this part in the front right drain hole. The m&m is for size reference and luckily it wasn't found in the area. It is made of rubber.

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djkeev
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way (finkman99)

Post by djkeev »

Is the sunshade moving with the Roof?? That Will prevent full closing.If it is moving with the roof, open the roof all the way, then push the cover all the way back as far as it will go freely, then try to work it back pass the glass panel. They may have closed the sun panel with the roof open, you shouldn't do that.
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finkman99
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Post by finkman99 »

Excellent call. The sunshade is on the wrong side of the equation. Simply wiggling isn't working. Is there anything in the manual that might be helpful? Maybe take out the domelight, so I can stick my hand back there?
keithvibe
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Re: (finkman99)

Post by keithvibe »

So the shade is in the open section of the roof and not covering the glass portion of the sunroof then. Yep thats the issue. I'm trying to remember how the shade is attached to the sunroof. I can't remember right now thoughthe shade is attached to the sunroof and if you can figure out a way to get it back in the spot where it only covers the glass portion then it sounds like that would resolve your issue. the rubber piece you posted looks like one of the shade stops that would be on the track.
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way (finkman99)

Post by Herb »

Instructions for removing headliner can be found here:http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=4600Good luck!
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way (Herb)

Post by keithvibe »

I can see what looks like one of the stops you posted in Herb's photo
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djkeev
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Re: (finkman99)

Post by djkeev »

I was just looking at the GM manual. IT goes into great detail on how to remove and reinstall the entire roof assembly and also what order to put items in. Sadly, the sun shade is installed BEFORE the entire sunroof unit is mounted in the car.So.....I think you need to get a long thin piece of metal or similar and start peering into the crevice with a flash light an see what the stop on the shade actually is and how to get it to "pop" back over the glass to restore normal function.I've never had one out, Don't have teenagers, haven't had any problems.Let us know what you find, it could help others in the future.You can take the glass out while everything is in the car but it appears you need the glass fully closed to do this!!Dave
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ColonelPanic
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Post by ColonelPanic »

Getting the shade out isn't that bad of a job, you just have to take off a lot of crap to get to it. Once the headliner is dropped down, you'll be able to remove the shade and hopefully (if it isn't too bent up) get it back on the track and reinstall. To get the shade off, remove the stops at the rear of the track for the sunshade which are held on by one philips screw in each. You'll need a very low clearance screwdriver to go between the track and the roof (I used those L-shaped screwdrivers to break it loose and took the screws the rest of the way out using a philips bit.) Once those are out, if you can get the shade to slide all the way back you can remove it.
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finkman99
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Post by finkman99 »

I spent some time yesterday trying to do it the "easy" way. I removed the trim around the sunroof, removed the dome light and was able to contort my body with my hand facing up, put my arm between the headliner and roof and feel what needs to be done. It is a two person job this way and it is unclear if it will work, but I will be recruiting my son to try. I spent the morning reading the details on how to take down the headliner, just in case it doesn't... More later
djkeev
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Re: (finkman99)

Post by djkeev »

Check some Toyota forums. This is the same roof used in the corolla line (matrix, Vibe are corolla). You can't be the first to have this problem.Dave
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finkman99
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Post by finkman99 »

Thankfully, with all your help, the situation has been resolved. I will post the solution for anyone who experiences it in the future, and my thoughts to how it occurred in the first place. I believe that the purpose of the rubber piece which I found in the drain, is to prevent the sunscreen from going to far forward. When the sunroof is totally closed, the metal catch attached to the glass is up higher, so without the rubber stop in place, the sunshade can get on the wrong side. If the shade is too far forward when the sunroof gets opened, you run into my problem.So it turns out it can be resolved without taking down the entire headliner. I removed the trim around the sunroof, the dome light and the back seat handles and was able to pull down the headliner enough to get my hand in. So here is the tricky part. You need two people to work at the same time (one on each side of the car) at pushing up slightly on the metal bar attached to the window, pulling down in the back of the sunshade, and pushing back on the sunshade. It didn't require much pressure when done right.Now that I know what to do, the entire job could be done in less then an hour. I probably have 4 hours into it with the research and testing, hopefully I can save someone the 3 hours or who knows how much Dealer $$$.Thank you all for the great advise. And Dave, my son really is a good kid. Jerry
djkeev
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Re: (finkman99)

Post by djkeev »

Glad you got it fixed and I'm glad your son is a good kid! My children are a joy and have turned out to be wonderful adults, may you experience the same blessing!Dave
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djkeev
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Re: (finkman99)

Post by djkeev »

Quote, originally posted by finkman99 » ........If the shade is too far forward when the sunroof gets opened, you run into my problem.........Jerry FYIThe sunshade is designed (or at least mine operates in this manner) that if the sunshade is fully or partially closed and you open the slide function of the roof, it is pushed back as the roof opens. It does not however, ever come forward with the glass panel.So if yours isn't getting pushed back, you've still got a problem you need to figure out and fix.Dave
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finkman99
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Post by finkman99 »

Mine now operates exactly as yours. What I was trying to say (poorly), is that if the rubber stop isn't in the track, the sunshade can go further forward then its designed to. When this happens, the shade doesn't get pushed back with the glass, and it ends up on the wrong side. The only thing in this fine design between staying on the right side and the wrong appears to be a tiny rubber part jammed in the shades track.
andolph
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way

Post by andolph »

In regards to damaged moonroof. I wouldn't assume that the teens were responsible.I too have the same
problem, and did nothing other than open and try to close it. Online , I have found that others have had
the same problem. i checked the tracks, and they were clear. I would appreciate any additional advice
about repairing it. I suspect that it is a hard fix, and it may take a specialist to do this. Any suggestions
about repairing the moonroof, or what type of mechanic I should take it too, would be very helpful.
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way

Post by tommytipover »

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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way

Post by zbyers »

This is an 8 year old thread....
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fixerofsunroofs
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way

Post by fixerofsunroofs »

This just happened to me, and like others here, I panicked, and luckily I was able to fix it. I can describe exactly what led to it happening and how I fixed it -- hopefully anyone else with the same problem can benefit.

the setup: Not sure how important this part was, but someone had slammed close the inner roof while the outer roof was open, which I didn't even know was not supposed to happen. This makes sense in hindsight, since you might forget about the outer roof being open when you close the inner one, and then rain could damage it. Anyway, a bunch of sunlight suddenly poured in and my passenger freaked out and slammed the inner roof shut, popping some catch flanges onto the wrong side of a cross-member stopper on the inside between the two sun-roofs.

If you are able to slide the inner roof open and close only when the outer roof is fully open, then this is probably happening to you. If you slide both roofs to full open you can see what is happening. Along the top surface of the inner roof, toward the back, there are two 'flanges' that protrude upward. There is also some cross-member that is supposed to be in front of the flange, and is now behind, and that cross-member is a part of the outer sunroof. I'll try to depict it below with some text art:

*outer roof*         V-- right here was a bar that hung down, and the flange was catching on it...
(     (===========|
( (===========/
*inner roof*      ^-- flange

<--- front of car

hopefully that helps.

Anyway, I could tell that the bar was supposed to be *in front* of the flange because they had little foam pads glued onto their face so that when you slide the inner roof closed, it should soften the hit of the flange against the cross-member.

THE SOLUTION:

I needed two stiff, semi long, flat steel bars, as my original plan was to slide them in there between the two roofs and push the flanges flat. Upon getting them in there, I realized the flanges were quite strong, but the cross member they were catching on seemed to be flexible (and possible a stiff rubber?)

Image

So in case imgur ever gets rid of this image, it's one of those woodworking clamps that slide along a long thin flat steel rod.

Anyway, these things were perfect. I needed two of them, and I was able to slide them in on their flat side between the two roofs, rest them next to the flanges, and then when I rotated them 90 degrees to be upright, it made the cross-member that the flanges were running into push upward, and i was able to finally push the inner sunroof back it's last final bit behind the cross-member, and then I rotated the clamp bars back flat and removed them. Voila.

Hopefully that helps!

I made this account just to share this tid-bit, and may you too one day also take the time to share your useful info on the interwebs :D
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Re: Problem with Sunroof not closing all the way

Post by Bookworm »

Thank you very much for the information! Hopefully it helps someone. My inner sunroof just goes 'gloing' when I open and close it, as something is catching - but it doesn't interfere with the outer sunroof at all. (moonroof).

Frankly, I'd have preferred to get a vibe without a moon roof, but that's what it came with.
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