Panoramic moonroof issues

Hello friends.

Has anyone else had very weird happenings with their panoramic moonroof? Mine has been stuck open, non-functional at times and the sunscreen doesn't go back with the roof anymore – I can open the roof and the screen stays in place.

When it was stuck open, I used the key in the door and got it closed. So I took it to the dealer and it actually didn't work when I was in their lot – a first (pre-diagnosed problems rarely occur on their watch).

My dealer was less than helpful, basically telling me (after two days of having my car) to "call him back if it happens again". All they did was take the switch out and put it back in. I'm going to speak to the manager of this place, but wanted to know of other member's experiences.

Oh, one more thing - does your sun shade "catch" and open when you open your moonroof? I'm almost positive mine did before it started acting up, but it was a few months ago and the car only has 3,000 miles.

Thanks in advance.

Absotutely no problems here

Same Here, the sunshade doesn't catch anymore like it use to do. Also I noticed that the sunroof motor seem to struggle. It started vibrating and being loud when retracting few weeks ago.

No problems with mine either.

joeyTWOwheels said:

...Oh, one more thing - does your sun shade "catch" and open when you open your moonroof? I'm almost positive mine did before it started acting up, but it was a few months ago and the car only has 3,000 miles.

Thanks in advance.

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My shade was never synched to the roof. They have always operated independently on my car.

And, no problems so far, everything on my car has been flawless except for the flaky iPod interface which usually works fine, unless it doesn't, but then it does.

P.

The only problem I have had turns out to be a safety feature. I noticed one day my roof stopped while closing. It wasn't until it did it the second time while my wife was closing her door that I connected it to the "anti pinch" safety feature. The switch in the mechanism is sensitive enough to trip off from a door slamming shut. Once it trips you have to return the roof knob to the open position and then turn to closed position.

no problems here either, but maybe take it to another dealer if you can

Hmm, strange I had something of a similar experience except in my case I opened roof first then I cranked it up ac to max, then tried to close the roof, it went all the way but did not fully close, just back was up, so I tried several times open and close, still did not close fully, so then I stopped the car and take the keys out and I was able to fully close it. I wonder if this has to do with extreme hot temperature outside, maybe some sensor is telling us "it's too hot inside, don't fully close it". Strange, so I'll play around little longer and see if there's anything extra I discover. Also, would it be due to computer/psudo-climat-control glitch?

I have experienced only one problem with my roof (see below! Try for yourself!!!) But I think some others might be unavoidable.

Elides said:

Same Here, the sunshade doesn't catch anymore like it use to do. Also I noticed that the sunroof motor seem to struggle. It started vibrating and being loud when retracting few weeks ago.

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My sunshade never caught, which is meh. I think the struggling and vibration you mention is due to the overall huge layout of the roof. Like when you open a really wide dresser drawer and unless it is pulled out perfectly straight it gets stuck. My roof has done that just for a moment on one occasion.

I'm fairly confident this will work with any JSW, can someone try it to confirm:

At 65 mph on the highway, with all windows closed and roof fully closed, sunshade can be at any position, I think HVAC system off, pop one of the rear windows down 6-10 inches.. the roof bounces aroud like crazy and the car becomes a subwoofer! It almost killed me not fun.

My sunroof stuck open last Wed. for the first time ever. Behaved as if it needed lubrication. There was a squealing noise and it wouldn't close. It would open but squeal the whole time. It closed fine when I tried it again a few minutes later and I sprayed some Mobil 1 spray lube into the chain drive when I got home that night. My shade never went back with the sunroof though. Didn't know it was supposed to.

I have a question about closing the tilted roof. My control knob is different from the one shown in the manual. Opening and closing the roof is simply a matter of turning the knob. If I press the rear lip of the knob then the roof tilts but I haven't found a direct way to close it. What I do now is turn the knob to open the roof. This closes the tilt first then starts the slide. I then stop this and close the roof by reversing the knob. There has to be a simpler way.

You press the rear lip to open, pull down on the rear lip to close.

recklessdriver said:

You press the rear lip to open, pull down on the rear lip to close.

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Duh! . . . Thanks.

I've had the "won't close" issue twice now, both times after the car was parked in the hot sun for an extended period of time. The sunroof fully opens without any issues, but then, when I go to close it, it slides all the way forward, but does not come down the last 2" or so to lock shut.

Each time, the roof closed a little later, after parking in the shade and letting the car cool down.

My guess is that it's a heat related issue, maybe something in the mechanism is binding when the roof gets too hot. I had a similar issue with my previous car, a MINI, which wouldn't open when the sunroof got too hot.

I'll post an update after next week's service check. On my MINI, it took three dealer visits and a complete new sunroof to fix the problem. I hope this time it's something easier to fix.

I have a somewhat epic thread that started out as tree limbs smooshing my JSW and now the body shop and dealer have repaired the damage, but the sunroof is acting funky like the ones mentioned in this thread. It won't close all the way when sitting in hot sun, but operates correctly in cooler temps inside the shop. They have replaced motors and no luck. Not sure where this is heading, but worries me as my JSW is 3 months old with less than 3k on the odometer.

Here's my thread

2010 JSW TDI 2 months old 4200 miles and my Panoramic roof no longer works. The shade will move back and forth, but the roof it self will not open or tilt, no noise nothing.

Pat

Our 2010 JSW has been having issues with the sunroof not closing when it gets hot out. It will slide forward, but not go down from the vent position. Then at night when it cools down it closes fine.

It has been at the dealer for a week now and they have been trying to trouble shoot it. They said there have been some other complaints, but ours is the first one a dealer has been able to replicate the problem.

First they replaced a switch in the system and that didn't fix it. Then they replaced the entire motor on VW Tech Line's recommendation. That didn't work either. The latest idea from the tech line is the track being out of alignment and it is preventing itself from jamming.

The only plus to this is the dealer has me in a loaner Audi A4 the whole time. So that is nice, but I want my car back.

I will keep this updated in case anybody is having the same problem.

I haven't experienced the heat related issue, but earlier this week all my sunroof controls stopped working--could not tilt, open, or operate the sunshade. After I parked, shut the engine off, removed and reinserted the key and turned it to the on position everything worked normally. Haven't had an issue before or since then.

Brought my '10 JSW in for the sunroof issue - not closing completely in hot weather. Dealer checked it out and duplicated the problem. They've ordered a replacement motor to be installed next week.

One tip if you're having this problem intermittently, bring in your car on a hot sunny day and have the dealer park it outside in the sun for a few hours. That's how my dealer was able to replicate the issue.

I also had the ECU reflash for the "overly sensitive" oxygen sensor. I didn't notice any difference in the way the car drove after the reflash.

Update on my continuing sunroof issue:

Dealer installed new motor, but the original problem persisted. In hot weather, the roof comes forward, but does not come down into the fully closed position.

I'll be going back again next week for a third attempt at getting this fixed. I was pretty disappointed with the dealer today, as they called to tell me the roof was fixed, yet it didn't work right at the dealer, on my first attempt to cycle it open / closed. By the way, the sunroof motor is $500.00, glad it's being fixed under warranty!

PaulGiz said:

My shade was never synched to the roof. They have always operated independently on my car.
And, no problems so far, everything on my car has been flawless except for the flaky iPod interface which usually works fine, unless it doesn't, but then it does.
P.

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Same here.

Similar MDI problem as well.

Add one more to the roof would go all the way forward, but not drop down in the closed position after being out in the blazing heat here in Texas. Nothing would make it behave different. It would open full and close but not drop down into the fully closed and sealed position. I parked the car in the shade here at home. A couple of hours later I used the door key to open and close. And then used the overhead control to try it "one more time" before taking it in. Seemed triggered by parking the vehicle in the sun for several hours in 95+ degree heat. Left it closed since (too hot to use it here in the summer). It seems there is something triggered by hot vehicle?

I took my car in for the O2 sensor recall and brought up that behavior in mine. They lubed the rails (which I did the first time it happened) and said unable to reproduce. When I went to pick up the car I tried it and sure enough, managed to demonstrate it for them. I made sure I've got it documented, and now just to wait for a fix.

dcel,
led1002,
Devwin,
timwagon,

I have the same issue that you 4 do. I just bought a 2002 Jetta GLS TDI and live in Georgia. When I open the sunroof and it's sunny, the wind deflector that pops up in the front of the opening deforms in the heat. When you go to close it, the deflector prevents the sunroof from closing all the way and the "pinch protection" retracts it all the way.

The quick fix to get it closed is to stand above the roof, reach inside and move the switch into the closed position, and as the glass comes forward, press the wind deflector down in the middle until it is under the front edge of the glass, then QUICKLY remove your fingers. Voila! Closed sunroof.

Now. What can be done to prevent the wind deflector from deforming in the heat? Anyone? Perhaps install a metal stiffener on the underside?

Ideas?

I finally received my JSW back from the body shop and dealer 2 weeks ago and they sorted out the sunroof issue. I never received a solid answer about how they fixed it, but they claimed that it required a special regional VW tech to get involved.

EricVA said:

I finally received my JSW back from the body shop and dealer 2 weeks ago and they sorted out the sunroof issue. I never received a solid answer about how they fixed it, but they claimed that it required a special regional VW tech to get involved.

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So in other words they came here, found and called in one of the gurus to fix it.

EricVA said:

I finally received my JSW back from the body shop and dealer 2 weeks ago and they sorted out the sunroof issue. I never received a solid answer about how they fixed it, but they claimed that it required a special regional VW tech to get involved.

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Did you get a chance to park your JSW for a few hours in the hot sun to check it out? Sorry you didn't get a definitive answer on the problem - any parts or repair notes on your service ticket?

I'm dropping my JSW off tomorrow AM to give the dealer a third shot at a fix. It's my weekly visit to the dealer. I need to have a serious discussion with them about getting to the bottom of the problem once and for all.

Mine stuck open on day 5 after taking delivery. Glass refused to move in any direction, no matter the switch input. Tried shutting down and restarting car, to no avail. Left it for 15 min. while completing errand, and it worked fine upon return. I hate that I cannot use this feature with the confidence in a brand new car. Sun shade has always operated independently of glass moonroof.

timwagon said:

Did you get a chance to park your JSW for a few hours in the hot sun to check it out? Sorry you didn't get a definitive answer on the problem - any parts or repair notes on your service ticket?

I'm dropping my JSW off tomorrow AM to give the dealer a third shot at a fix. It's my weekly visit to the dealer. I need to have a serious discussion with them about getting to the bottom of the problem once and for all.

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Yes, it was tested many times in the hot sun and it is working as expected. I'll look at the paperwork to see what they say. I know they originally changed the motors, did some lubrication and finally something related to the computer/timing of the sunroof, fixed by a guru technician.

Had my JSW in to the dealer today for the third try at fixing the sunroof issue. They consulted with VW techs and were told to replace the complete sunroof frame and sunshade assembly. It's a two-day job, and I'll get it done next week after the holiday break. Got my fingers crossed that this will finally get it fixed.

Based on the number of related issues posted to this thread, I think that VW may see quite a few of these sunroof fixes before the summer is over.