Moonroof Woes…or are they Sunroof Woes

[Worshington]

Hey Gang,

I have a 2002 Montero that I bought last spring. I bought it with 136,000 miles on it, and besides a leaky cam seal, this thing runs like a top. My wife and I just completed an 11 day road trip through Oregon without a single issue.

Today, during a little trip to the local Frederick Meyer, however, my wife opened the sunroof for our dog. When she came out of the store and wanted to close the sunroof the only feedback she got from the Monty happened to be a grinding noise from that little motor underneath the headliner. She decided that the sunroof must be "off its track" and opened it further. The sunroof opened further without hassle, and is now stuck in the fully open position as it would not close after that. We still get the grinding sound from the motor.

I was wondering if this was a common issue that maybe some of you have had to deal with before. I'm not a mechanic, but I'm capable, and would like to try and fix it before we take it in and spend mucho queso. The liner pulls down easy enough, and it seems like I could remove the motor and tinker with it fairly easily. Has anyone had to do this?

Any tips, or information from shared experiences would be extremely helpful.

Cheers,

Jason

 

[MonteroLTD]

This is very common. The bolts back off and fall out. Pull down the headliner and put them back in with some loctite.

 

[Worshington]

MonteroLTD,

Thanks for the quick reply! I went out and pulled down the headliner and took a closer look this time and guess what? There was a bolt lying there! I am going to assume that the bolt is the culprit for now, and pick up some loctite on the way home from work tomorrow. Thanks for the tip.

Cheers,

Jason

 

[MonteroLTD]

Just make sure that you open the sunroof all the way manually. Then open hit the open switch to set the motor properly.

 

[Worshington]

Soooo…

I wish I had read your post before I went and tightened the screws back up. The first thing I did was try to close it, and it would not close any further then where it was stuck. Then I came in and read your post.

My first thought was to open the sunroof all the way. Then loosen the screws again and mess around with the switch to replicate the problem. I got the grinding noise again. So I tightened everything backup. The sunroof was already in the open position so I hit open and got a very satisfying grunt sound that made it sound like the motor had set. This time it would close further, but not all the way. I'll call it 40% closed.

I decided that I would once again seek your council. Before I go back and screw something up. MonteroLTD, if you are out there and know what I should do…please guide me.

Cheers,

Jason

 

[Sabre]

All of you with Gen III vehicles have either already dealt with this or surely will. It's so easy to check & take preventive steps, and such a PITA if you don't.

 

[Worshington]

Like I said, I just bought the Montero in the spring. I am still learning all of the quirks and things to look for. Hopefully, this thread can serve as a good resource for those who experience this in the future. If I am beating a dead horse and there are other threads on this subject already that cover all my questions then I a thread recommendation would be really helpful. Here is where I'm at right now...

So, after re-examining the situation I did took the following steps. I pulled the motor down so that it was disengaged from the cables. Then I manually pushed the sunroof all the way back. Then I hit open on the switch and waited for the motor to stop spinning. Then I mounted the motor and hit the "open" one more time to make sure the gear was engaging the cables. Then I pressed the switch in the "close" direction and the sunroof closed about 98% of the way.

My conclusion is this, and please correct me if I am wrong, when you manually open the sunroof you can push the sunroof back further than it will electronically open. Therefore when the motor is set at this position it will not turn enough times to fully close the sunroof. Is there a better way to judge how far open "open" really is or do I need to do more guess and check?

 

[mapper]

I know nothing about gen 3s but was reading this and thinking I would try doing the opposite of what you just did.

I'd manually close the roof completely, run the uninstalled motor to the fully closed position and then install the motor. otherwise it sounds like you need to repeat the procedure you just did, but start with the roof 2% closed...which would make this procedure a PITA as mentioned.

 

[NH Moto Expo]

Once again I am so glad that my Montero came with the Sunroof delete option checked. Never been a big fan of something heavy like glass at the highest point in the car.

 

[MonteroLTD]

Close the sunroof a bit until the motor is able to firmly close the sunroof.

 

[montypower]

My brother's 03 Monty sunroof wasn't closing properly. He took it to the dealer. They reset something in the computer and it works perfectly. Not sure how it programs itself for open/close range. I'm guessing it has some safety features built in that may tie into the computer. Don't know. I haven't had trouble with mine and haven't worked on it yet. I'll be pulling the headliner in the next couple months and check the nuts tho.

 

[Worshington]

Hey Gang,

Something came up yesterday, and I wasn't able to get around to the sunroof. I'm determined to get to it tonight. It sounds like it is going to just take some guess and check to see where the correct open position is, so that the motor can close the sunroof securely. When I find that spot, I will take a measurement and post it so that in the future it might save some people a little bit of time.

Thanks for all the constructive responses,

Jason

 

[Sabre]

...I'll be pulling the headliner in the next couple months and check the nuts tho.

This really isn't much of a project. You reach up and grab the headliner at the front edge of the sunroof and pull it down (it's held up with velcro in that area). It takes less than ten seconds to see if your motor is coming adrift.

 

[montypower]

This really isn't much of a project. You reach up and grab the headliner at the front edge of the sunroof and pull it down (it's held up with velcro in that area). It takes less than ten seconds to see if your motor is coming adrift.

That's good to know. I actually have to pull the entire headliner as I'm having a custom rack built and need to fix a dent that was accumulated this year on a trail. Thanks for the info.

 

[Worshington]

Hey There,

So everything is working again properly. Here is what I've learned about a skipping sunroof motor in a genIII monty:

1. It's worth the extra time to remove all the handles and visors, so that the headliner can be pulled down far enough to remove the motor and comfortably access all of the bolts.

2. Remove the motor, then open the sunroof all the way manually.

3. Take a measuring tape and measure how much glass is beyond the roof when you cannot open the sunroof any further. (my sunroof was 1/2" beyond the opening when it would not open any further)

4. From that point pull the sunroof 1 1/8" forward.

5. Set the motor so that it is open all the way.

6. Remount motor with loctite.

7. Put the headliner back up without breaking any of the items that are plastic and snap into place.

anybody know where I can order one of those plastic things that the visor snaps into?

Cheers,

Jason