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I found a video of the w203 pano roof repair and the issue was the cable drive gear. That is much easier to fix and doesn't require replacing the sunroof guides.
I haven't heard of an issues with the W204 pano roof so I'd be surprised if the issues jumped one generation and came back with the W205
I don't think it does anybody any good to give them false hope that there is a cheap $300 fix. There is no way anyone is going to get out of this for less than $1500, and probably more like $3000-3500. Unless you are still under some sort of a warranty, or if a bowling ball happens to suddenly fall into your sunroof and insurance covers it.
I found this in the comments of that video. I'm surprised I haven't read this on this forum before:
I was watching your video the other day with some anticipation hoping you were on to a simple fix. I have had exactly the same issue with my 2015, C Class pan roof, the same side too where it chewed up those little plastic bits. MB says entire runner has to be replaced and viewing your video of what's involved in that, would cost me around £2,500. Well, I wasn't accepting this couldn't be an easy fix. So I set about figuring it out. I went to a mate’s house where he has a garage similar to your dad's, so we could work in comfort, it’s been raining a lot here these days (UK), so we could take the glass off and study the setup. Getting the 'A' keeps (those little plastic gliders) attached to the pin and wasn't going to be easy. But we never give up. I had bought 4 new ‘A’ keeps which cost £4 each, free postage! With a bit of ingenuity, we found a way.
Not absolutely sure what each part is called so here are my definitions and terminology.
‘A’ Keeps – these are the two small ‘A’ shaped plastic parts that broke, and fit upside down in a ‘V’ formation to the pin in the mounting brackets which sit in the rails of roof runnersMounting brackets – these are the two ‘T’ shaped metal brackets the glass roof is attached to and slides through the roof runners
Roof runners – these are the metal runners/rails that allow the roof to slide open and closed, one either side of the roof opening
Soft felted cushion – a small ‘H’ shaped felt-covered foam piece, sits behind the mounting bracket
Step 1Remove the glass roof: Slide open the roof fully, put some rags at the rear under the glass to protect against paint damage. Remove the four screws, two either side in the mounting brackets. With help slide the roof forward off of the rear mounting brackets depressing the front wind deflector down, and store safely. You wouldn’t want to smash that now!
Step 2Ensure all debris, dirty etc. have been removed and there are no obstacles or blockages in the runners. Remove the two small ‘O’ rings either side of the pin in the mounting bracket this is where the plastic ‘A’ keeps sit, the ‘O’ rings only help keep the grease in so can be discarded.
Step 3Fit the soft felt cushion back in place, check the other side as to where exactly this goes and which way round, but it should fit behind the mounting bracket and slides along with it, guessing it acts as a cleaner. Attach one of the ‘A’ keeps upside down i.e. in ‘V’ formation to the pin in the mounting bracket and fit it into the rail of the roof runner.
Step 4With the 2nd ‘A’ keep cut a groove from the central hole at a slight angle on the non-glide side i.e. not the grooved side that sits in the rail of the roof runner, in the direction you need to push it in, we chose to fit it from behind the mounting bracket. Don’t cut too deep or you will compromise the structural integrity of the keep which may break again in the future.
Step 5With help, tap in the 2nd ‘A’ now the ‘V’ keep while the other, using a large flat head screwdriver prise open the rails just enough to allow the keep to click into place. Make absolutely sure both keeps are fixed correctly in place, add a small amount of grease using a cotton bud to the new plastic keeps either.
Step 6Refit the glass roof, the reverse of Step 1, and test.
Step 7You may need to adjust the roof. With the roof fully closed and using a credit card or similar check for tolerance, there should be no more than 2mm up or down to the roof, ideally level is flush. Correct any deficiency at the front by opening the roof and loosening the fixing screws of the mounting brackets and adjusting the glass accordingly retighten. At the rear, there is an adjustment screw.
That is interesting. So the trick is to just cut a small groove in these so that you can slide these into the pin? And hope they will just stay in place by gravity and/or compression? It seems relatively simple!
I have to believe this is what most people are doing. And perhaps even what most dealers are doing and then just charging people $3500 bucks and keeping the profits.
Last edited by DrivingForce; Aug 12, 2020 at 09:42 AM.
Is this the main mode of failure for these pano roofs? I'm looking at other videos on youtube and it doesn't seem like that's the only problem people are running into. I found this video of the CLA250 but it appears that other pano roofs have the problem where the rear tilt won't close.
I think for the problem where the back won't untilt, the solution may also be simple. Apparently a screw set on the back bracket becomes loosened over time and causes the bracket to tilt out of alignment. You just need to retighten the screw.
This part (middle fixed section) of my pano roof has already been replaced 2x. The first time it was replaced was because it flew off my car into traffic behind me. Second time was because it started to lift and would’ve had same result at the first time. Now it’s lifting again on the passenger side but I’m out of warranty now.
This part (middle fixed section) of my pano roof has already been replaced 2x. The first time it was replaced was because it flew off my car into traffic behind me. Second time was because it started to lift and would’ve had same result at the first time. Now it’s lifting again on the passenger side but I’m out of warranty now.
That plastic piece is just glued on from factory using a sealant/adhesive just like what is used for fixed glass panels. Best bet is just find a local glass shop to cut it off and re-glue it.
RE: Anyone else try this?
No, the trick is not to compromise the clip at all but rather compromise the side rail instead, behind the front bracket with the roof fully open and removed. I stuck a large screw driver halfway on the pin and wedged in between the pin and the inner side rail (rear side of mntg brkt) with the outer side "A" clip already installed, then i placed a large pair of vise grips on the upper handle of the screw driver and turned the screw driver while pushing the inner "A" clip in from the front with a small size nut driver. The only issue I have now is I am unable to re-learn the roof, opens fine, but when closing it stops halfway and returns open, funny thing though when I open and close the roof via the key fob it operates perfectly, still searching the forums here to find a solution to the teach-in run for automatic reversing function
Last edited by waalaa; Sep 30, 2020 at 09:04 AM.
Reason: quote and photo and correction
Tomorrow I am taking mine to the dealer to get looked at. At high speeds (75mph+) it gets really noisy, mostly high pitch. The problem started a couple of months ago but it went away and I thought it was just something stuck in the sunroof.
I don't think it does anybody any good to give them false hope that there is a cheap $300 fix. There is no way anyone is going to get out of this for less than $1500, and probably more like $3000-3500. Unless you are still under some sort of a warranty, or if a bowling ball happens to suddenly fall into your sunroof and insurance covers it.
Came here looking for more answers related to this issue, and suddenly see my video posted XD
So I've tried the clip replacement, and it really only messed things up more. At the moment, my sunroof doesn't open, and my shade doesn't close now. Recently replaced the auxiliary battery, so might try a reset again. Really would like to at least get the shade working again though.
WuGing, I saw all of your video's, The A clips from e-bay work, you're just going about it the wrong way, DON'T compromise the clip whatsoever, look, the rail assemblies would have to be replaced anyway, so, compromise them, from behind the front mntg brk when the roof is fully opened and removed, see my post above and write back if you have any questions, but, I really did make it work this way
WuGing, I saw all of your video's, The A clips from e-bay work, you're just going about it the wrong way, DON'T compromise the clip whatsoever, look, the rail assemblies would have to be replaced anyway, so, compromise them, from behind the front mntg brk when the roof is fully opened and removed, see my post above and write back if you have any questions, but, I really did make it work this way
Well, I think my rails are cracked anyhow, and I don't know how I feel about trying to keep using them if they are actually cracked. I've developed a new problem though, where when I tried to get those clips in, I somehow messed up the opening and closing. My roof is stuck closed, and my sunshade doesn't want to open. Kinda sucks...
Are you sure the Rails are cracked? They are made out of aluminum, but if that is the case you're going to need to bite the bullet and get the assembles installed, I was able to pry my rails open enough to slide the new A clip in from the front.
Are you sure the Rails are cracked? They are made out of aluminum, but if that is the case you're going to need to bite the bullet and get the assembles installed, I was able to pry my rails open enough to slide the new A clip in from the front.
Well, not the rail per say, but that piece that slides along it. The long thin part of it. I'll have to scrub through my videos and see if I got a good shot of it that I can examine better.
Yeah, it's the metal. So if you reference your last picture you posted, on the left side there, those two metal "plates" that are like meshed together, the lighter colored one is cracked for me I'm pretty sure. I saw someone else share pictures of theirs, and pointed out that it was cracked, and I had an "oh crap" moment, realizing that I'm pretty sure mine looked the same.
The shades open and close correctly. When I try to open the roof to position one (tilt) only the back left side starts to lift, (the back right seems jammed and won’t lift up). Whilst it is trying to open, there is a grinding noise from the motor/gears. I then press the close button and it closes again correctly. I’ve scanned for faults in the closed and half open positions with no faults detected.
I’ve been quoted £2000 by two local garages for parts and labour to replace the various parts when the roof hasn’t even been stripped to verify the issue (apparently the whole roof has to be stripped and the front seats taken out to inspect.
Please post your problems and fixes here to help me and others who experience it, thanks!
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