TFH

My 05-2005 E61 with pano sunroof had issues with closing the roof.
Although i cleaned and greased the railsystem and mechanism parts several times, the issue always re occurred after some time.

After analyzing the mechanism i concluded that the rear roof mechanism causes problems by its design.
This mechanism (a sliding carriage) is pushed and pulled by the main mechanism and seems to wear and jamm the total function of the roof.
Although it may sound dramatical, i just disabled the rear mechanism by cutting away a small plastic part of the carriage mechanism with a Dremel tool.

Then i reinitialised the roof and it is working fine now.
The front roof tilts and slides, opens and closes smoothly. The rear roof does not tilt anymore, of course.

(i can send some pictures if you like)

Rgds.

mmitev

Sounds very interesting TFH - please post pics of what exactly you've done.

It's a bit dramatic indeed, but if the only alternative is 2000 EUR for a new roof and presumably lots of other headache with the dealer, then why not.. It's not like we are damaging the sunroof - in fact, it's exactly the opposite.

And thanks for chiming in!

TFH

TFH

I have attached a pdf file which explains the steps. This should work for 5 series touring, X3 and X5.

Let me know if you have questions.

frost015

Brilliant !

I also have an 05 E61 (525d manual), and have had to live with the rear panoramic roof section always jamming in the open position on tilt (rear panel left side refusing to drop down). I manage to manual push this back (not easy) with a long thin screwdriver when needed (when I push the tilt button by mistake) and have been living without tilt ever since.

Sounds like I can just do this mod and still have access to front section tilt ...

Will wait a few weeks and monitor this thread to see if anyone has a better solution to the jamming rear panel (yes, have greased, cleaned, etc)..

Thanks ...

mmitev

Thanks - really professional!

lallevihtinen

I followed your instructions and it worked like a charm! You all should try it, it really did the trick.
Thanks for the instructions!

bigbadbull

I just today had a second seal replaced on mine ( #2 in less than 6 months)the front 2 corners were bulging up and the adhesive used had failed since they put it in when it was too cold.

Jaap

Hi,

First post.
Carried out the modification this afternoon, it's easy. Roof now works perfectly!

Many thanks TFH for this brilliant idea and perfect instructions.

This is a great forum.

Regards,
Jaap

PMCP

Hi I am thinking about doing this on my X5 - the rear roof is stuck in the open tilt position - do you know how I could get it closed until I have time to do the repair?

Does the rear roof still slide open after your repair?

Thanks

Paul