Starting to have problems with panoramic roof
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Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2011
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From: Bay Area, CA
2006 E55 AMG
Starting to have problems with panoramic roof
So my pano has been fine since I've had the car. Today I decided to just open it after a few months. It opened fine, but when I tried closing it, it started to hesitate and made that clicking sound. I then tried pressing the close button while pulling it a little and it closed fine. The wind deflector went down as well.
The problem is, the sun screen won't close now. When I press the close button, it just keeps making that clicking noise even though the glass is already closed. Any ideas?
The problem is, the sun screen won't close now. When I press the close button, it just keeps making that clicking noise even though the glass is already closed. Any ideas?
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Joined: Nov 2012
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From: Houston, TX
2006 E55
The problem with the sunshade has to do with the roof not closing right on the first try. Make sure the roof is fully closed and go remove fuse #9 in the trunk and reinstall after a minute. You should then be able to close the shade. I don't recommend opening your roof again until you fix or replace the pano motor. Loungin14 has a thread here that explains replacing it yourself if you are the DIY type.
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From: SoCal
Porsche 911
^^exactly^^
I did this a few months ago and the DIY was really helpful. Only issue I had was getting access to one of the screws. I had to "bend" the headliner down farther than I was comfortable but Loungin14 agreed this was the method. Sure enough it worked perfectly and the headliner sent back together with not issues.
I did this a few months ago and the DIY was really helpful. Only issue I had was getting access to one of the screws. I had to "bend" the headliner down farther than I was comfortable but Loungin14 agreed this was the method. Sure enough it worked perfectly and the headliner sent back together with not issues.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Sep 2011
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From: Bay Area, CA
2006 E55 AMG
The problem with the sunshade has to do with the roof not closing right on the first try. Make sure the roof is fully closed and go remove fuse #9 in the trunk and reinstall after a minute. You should then be able to close the shade. I don't recommend opening your roof again until you fix or replace the pano motor. Loungin14 has a thread here that explains replacing it yourself if you are the DIY type.
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Joined: Oct 2002
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quit trying to close if yo have the grinding noise - there are 2 motors and more than likely it has come off track - its a ***** to fix yourself - need to take down the headline - i had mine fixed a few months back - def find a tech who can do it on teh sdie - if you are interested I used a guy who is a tech as Smythe - lives in Morgan Hill - the book says it is an 8 hour job at dealership at 100hr plus parts is like a $2500 job if you have to replace motors and need STAR to reprgram too - i got mine done for half plus a bunch of other things -
Thread Starter
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Joined: Sep 2011
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From: Bay Area, CA
2006 E55 AMG
Thanks guys.
Do you know if it's possible to manually close the sunshade? I don't really care if it doesn't work as I don't use it. But I drive 100 miles roundtrip to work everyday and I'd rather have it closed because of the sun.
Do you know if it's possible to manually close the sunshade? I don't really care if it doesn't work as I don't use it. But I drive 100 miles roundtrip to work everyday and I'd rather have it closed because of the sun.
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From: SoCal
Porsche 911
quit trying to close if yo have the grinding noise - there are 2 motors and more than likely it has come off track - its a ***** to fix yourself - need to take down the headline - i had mine fixed a few months back - def find a tech who can do it on teh sdie - if you are interested I used a guy who is a tech as Smythe - lives in Morgan Hill - the book says it is an 8 hour job at dealership at 100hr plus parts is like a $2500 job if you have to replace motors and need STAR to reprgram too - i got mine done for half plus a bunch of other things -
Using the DIY on this site it took me about 3 hours and I was moving slow. You do not need to remove the entire headliner and you do not need Star to re-program.
I scored and found a new motor on ebay for $30 but it was for a W203 so I had to switch the gearbox cover from the new one to my old one. Since this is the only part that goes bad it solved my issue perfectly. You can regularly find new motors for $250-300 online though. I would not put a used motor in due to the time involved in the job. The job is not technical but is time consuming.
To the OP, you can try to open the roof again and then close it with someone on the outside to help push it completely closed. Just we sure that you don't let it "ratchet" for more than a second or so. Then try the fuse trick again. Sometimes the fuse numbers are hard to read so good lighting helps.
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Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 347
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From: Bay Area, CA
2006 E55 AMG
Using the DIY on this site it took me about 3 hours and I was moving slow. You do not need to remove the entire headliner and you do not need Star to re-program.
I scored and found a new motor on ebay for $30 but it was for a W203 so I had to switch the gearbox cover from the new one to my old one. Since this is the only part that goes bad it solved my issue perfectly. You can regularly find new motors for $250-300 online though. I would not put a used motor in due to the time involved in the job. The job is not technical but is time consuming.
To the OP, you can try to open the roof again and then close it with someone on the outside to help push it completely closed. Just we sure that you don't let it "ratchet" for more than a second or so. Then try the fuse trick again. Sometimes the fuse numbers are hard to read so good lighting helps.
I scored and found a new motor on ebay for $30 but it was for a W203 so I had to switch the gearbox cover from the new one to my old one. Since this is the only part that goes bad it solved my issue perfectly. You can regularly find new motors for $250-300 online though. I would not put a used motor in due to the time involved in the job. The job is not technical but is time consuming.
To the OP, you can try to open the roof again and then close it with someone on the outside to help push it completely closed. Just we sure that you don't let it "ratchet" for more than a second or so. Then try the fuse trick again. Sometimes the fuse numbers are hard to read so good lighting helps.
The fuse in the trunk is fuse #9 and the actual fuse says "2.5" on it and it's yellow. This is correct right? Are you sure there isn't another fuse I can try?
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From: SoCal
Porsche 911
In my car fuse #9 is clear/lt yellow and 25amp. It sits right below the orange 40amp fuse.
I think the non-pano cars use the same motor so they are not immune to the issue but it is likely the lighter glass may last longer before stressing the motor gear casing.
Nothing comes "off-track". The gearbox cover warps allowing the drive gear to "rise up" out of the channel. This reduces the thread engagement and causes the gears to slip. There is no short term damage from this but extended use in this condition could wear down the teeth on the cable which would then require a new cable assembly and LOTS of extra work.
I think the non-pano cars use the same motor so they are not immune to the issue but it is likely the lighter glass may last longer before stressing the motor gear casing.
Nothing comes "off-track". The gearbox cover warps allowing the drive gear to "rise up" out of the channel. This reduces the thread engagement and causes the gears to slip. There is no short term damage from this but extended use in this condition could wear down the teeth on the cable which would then require a new cable assembly and LOTS of extra work.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2002
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i think also it depends on how much is damaged up there - i had the grindning noise and couldn't get it closed - i ahd to replace the motor(s) - sunshade and glass and all the cables too - that is why it was more labor intensive - and depending on haw bad it is typically the shop starts wtih the easy fix of taking the pano off and trying to fix from the top and then take down the headliner- regardless its a ***** - like i said let me know if you want the name of the tech i know - really good guy who warranties his work - 15+ year veteran tech
