Forester moonroof problems (merged thread)

[flstffxe]

Originally Posted by vintage42

The seal is not designed to be water tight. It must allow the glass panel to move up and down against it. The moon roof is designed to allow a little leakage into a perimeter gutter that is drained by tubes at each corner. ......

True, I spaced out about the drains.

[vintage42]

Originally Posted by Fenlon123

I just took the silicone off and I saw the drain areas, maybe they're plugged, I'll definitely look at those and try to fix them....

Maybe one tube is plugged. Or maybe one tube has come loose from its nipple under the gutter, which you will have to pull down the headliner to see. Start looking above where the water on the seat comes from.

[Fenlon123]

Originally Posted by vintage42

Maybe one tube is plugged. Or maybe one tube has come loose from its nipple under the gutter, which you will have to pull down the headliner to see. Start looking above where the water on the seat comes from.

I checked both drains by poring water in the drainage area and they both drained fine, maybe draining a little too slow when it rains and it just fills up? It happened a few times in the past and I haven't seen any evidence of it leaking through the head liner.


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[tallazzPilipino]

there's one each corner.

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[20tothegallon]

Does anyone else have this or know a fix? The roof closes to the last few inches, when it pushes the deflector down then stops and moves back again. Fine if i 'help' it a bit with a hand. Presume theres a torque sensing anti blockage, childproof thing in the system that stops it taking peoples heads off. Is this fixable seperately or part of the motor or am i missing the point somewhere??

Any help or comments (polite) appreciated!!

Cheers chaps!

[vintage42]

Originally Posted by 20tothegallon

... The roof closes to the last few inches, when it pushes the deflector down then stops and moves back again. Fine if i 'help' it a bit with a hand...

Maybe the motor needs resetting. From a repair manual:

C: ADJUSTMENT
1) Reset the sunroof motor.
(1) Close the sunroof lid completely, and then
push the switch to close for more than 1 second.
(At this time, the sunroof operates 50 mm (1.97
in) each intermittently. And also the switch is
needed to push for several times.)
(2) Open the sunroof lid approx. 400 mm (15.75
in).
(3) Close the sunroof lid completely, and then
push the switch to close for more than 1 second.
(Sunroof operates automatically by performing
this operation.)

Or perhaps this is the problem, from Service Bulletin 15-134-08R of 11/10/08:

If you encounter a customer complaint when operating the sunroof switch that the sunroof does not fully close, then it re-opens automatically, there is the possibility that the resin piece connected to the sunroof cable is broken... The resin material was improved in November 2005 with VIN 6*744084... Repair Kit Spacer PN 65409SA030...
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulle...roperly-44728/
and
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulle...28/#post536870

Here's an interesting video on moonroof R/R:
VIDEO: Sunroof/Moonroof Fix

[EffenBee]

Same thing as mines.. I use wd40 on the rails and it works fine now. I know it's not the perfect/best solution but it helps and same some time and money on buying a new motor

[rjsssubaru]

We have owned our our '06 Forester from July of 2005. During that time we have "enjoyed" the moonroof for about 3 1/2 years. It worked for less then 2 years before we had issues of it not closing due to the issues often presented here. It would not close as designed. One dealer offered a fix for $1400 involving replacing the tracks, another could not find a problem and charged us for a diagnosis and to grease the tracks. Due to the 40,000 miles we had put on the vehicle it was not covered under warranty. With the cost we decided to do nothing and live without a functional moonroof.

In 2010 we visited a third dealer and had them again take a look. We were informed there was a repair kit (now shown in a TSB) and the moonroof was repaired at a reasonable cost. We enjoyed the moonroof for less then two years.

Our moonroof is again not functional. It now will not open (one side lowers while the other does not). We hoped for another reasonable fix such as the repair kit but after paying for the diagnosis we were presented with a major repair costing $1200 that involved replacing many of the major parts.

We have sent a note off to SOA. Something does not seem quite right about this issue. Design errors? Dealer repair shop errors? Lemon? Who knows. We have not been put out by a huge financial burden but the bottom line is have not been able to enjoy this added option.

Hopefully someone here might have a clue as to a solution but if not perhaps others with the same issues will fire off a letter to Subaru of America customer service.

[SubieForester05xt]

Originally Posted by e542baker

I recently got a letter in the mail saying that some Subaru moonroofs have a recall notice. I have an '05 FXT. Check with your dealer and see if your car is included in the recall.

Did you call about the recall or know if this is legit? Thanks

[SubieForester05xt]

Originally Posted by SubieForester05xt

Did you call about the recall or know if this is legit? Thanks

Originally Posted by SubieForester05xt

Did you call about the recall or know if this is legit? Thanks

I called today after finding this link yesterday,

2005 Subaru Forester XS 4Dr SUV Moonroof Recalls | Used 2005 Subaru Forester XS 4Dr Sport Utility w/Moonroof Recall List, Problems & Defects at IntelliChoice.com


The lady I spoke with ran my VIN and said that there was no recall for my vehicle, so for everyones info: There could be a chance your vin matches this recall, the recall states there where over 300,000 units that have been issed but this includes other Subaru models, so keep that in your odds book.


I havent told my side of the issue so here we go, I Just bought my first Subie (Which I LOVE) about 2 weeks ago!!! I purchased the 2005 XT with 96,000 miles on her. I almost bought an impreza outback but it had 0 extras and I had a funny felling about the guy selling the me vehicle, plus the vin showed 146,000 miles but the car fax and odometer showed 46,000...

Any who, I purchased the XT knowing the moonroof was malfunctioning but after watching The "Sunroof fix" from blue fox and taking my own observation on how the moonroof was acting @ the dealer ship, I decided to take on the challenge ( This XT is in Mint condition other than the delicious MOONROOF there is 0 problems, very well maintain Subie FYI)


So my first attempt was "KINDA" a success...

Once I removed the glass, I noticed my back passenger side railing mechanisms that holds the hing and shark fin parts where NOT parallel (NOT by very much either), this caused the Plastic cased round wheel that comes out of the track (the one on the inside of the rail) to hit the rail when I try to lower the unit, Since it wasnt even ( or for whatever reason) the round plastic peice when lowering the sunroof would not slide into the cut out slot.

Basically, every time I hit the moonroof to go down, the plastic cased round piece would just jam on the rail due to it not being properly aligned (I guess).

I have a feeling that this piece of nylon that some people mentioned breaking may have broke in my unit but I have not had her that long so im up for debate.

As to what the actually problem is. ( I also notice on the inside rail when I moved the unit back and forth, I was looking down at the slot the round piece is suppose to go into before sliding back and noticed a cracked piece plastic.....BUT I also noticed this on the other side, it just wasnt as cracked as the malfunctioning side. when I took a flat head screwdriver to see if it was lose it wasnt, it was rock solid...???


I noticed lots of black gunk and grease, did the best I could and cleaned what needed to be cleaned but this didnt seem to affect the mobility of the hinges lowering.

Every time I put a little pressure on the hing when pressing the unit to drop, the rail/hing set up worked, but as soo as I took off the pressure it would jam up again when lowering...

I decided to just keep to roof in down postion where it basically is in the rail system, that way I could still have functionality, until it rained of course...Then i would have to close it all the way, which would not allow me to lower bac into rail system due to binding... After I did this I noticed every time I went o semi close the unit it would only close every 1-4 in or so and stop, making me press the close button many times to get it closed. (also read this issue from some other members)

I was enjoying my Moonroof for about 3 days, LOL, and then I raised it too high one day and when I tried to lower the moonroof, It made a binding hit sound and when I went to retract the unit, it stuttered back in retrack mode, when I stop it and tired to come forward I had not luck, Apparently the round plastic piece that would slide down into the fixed slot broke the cased piece of plastic around it and was on top of the railing grinding on the top track....

When I got home I took off the class again to find the above problem and attempted to use the manual hex wrench, since the broken rail piece was on top of the rail and not IN the rail track It was a ***** to get the moonroof to close, I decided to bust out my Dewalt hamerdrill and attempt to close. I ended up gettting the unit closed but I striped out the Hex wrench Female fitting...


I aslo ended up breaking the plastic arm piece that pushes the shark-fin unit that raises the hing of the piece of round metal ( cased in plastic stock) that was giving me issues from the beginning. I will upload pics if anyone is willing to give my issue a response or for any of you that might be interested in my malfunction...

I will go to a dealer or a moonroof specialist and see what they have to say but I suspect since I broke that white plastic arm I will a have to get and entire new unit...Expect for motor that is...

Well there it is, If ANYONE as any ideas on what I will be looking at cost wise or any suggestions, they are welcome with an open mind....

[gdes4]

I bought my04 Xt about a year ago and the sunroof never worked for me. I know the motor works because i can hear it try to open but it would barely move. Ive read pretty much every page on this thread and currently have the whole sunroof out. Ive inspected the whole thing cleaned it out best i could but i still cant get it to move smoothe. It gets stuck before it even drops down to retract, unless i manually move it. I cant figure out how to take the actual lines out to inspect them and completely clean the whole track. At this point im not sure if its even worth it.

Now Im wondering what I should do. Im about to put the thing back in because its just aggravating, but at this point I hate to put it back in not working. I have a work truck but do need my car eventually, so im wondering if i should just leave it out for now and purchase a new moonroof tray. Or would it be worth bringing it to someone who may know what they are looking at more than me? I did find a small peice of white plastic that broke off but no clue where and cant find any more. It seems like most people had a different problem than me so its confusing.

Ive looked at salvage yards and there are no foresters in stock anywhere around me. Anyone have any thoughts? Or know where i can get a new sunroof without breaking the bank? I wouldnt even need the motor.

Thanks in advance!

[grandotitat]

Originally Posted by gdes4

I know the motor works because i can hear it try to open but it would barely move. ave it out for now and purchase a new moonroof tray.

Try removing the motor and changing the brushes. Or getting a new motor. I had the same problem and solved it that way.

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[gdes4]

By brushes you mean the line that retracts the sides right? I have the motor off but cant figure out how to get the lines out, did yours retract into copper tubing?

[grandotitat]

Originally Posted by gdes4

By brushes you mean the line that retracts the sides right? I have the motor off but cant figure out how to get the lines out, did yours retract into copper tubing?

No. I mean the little cooper blocks inside de motor itself. They get worn out with the use and the motor isn't able to generate enough force to pull the moonroof but it still operates. Check for "motor brushes" on google images so you can see what part i'm i talking about. Good luck !

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[GB.]

Sorted my 03 one out today it was going in either directions for about 50mm then stopping, even if you had your finger pressing it used the PDF file and it now works fully automatically, press and release, just stopping about 150mm from the end when closing which I think is normal, please correct me if I'm wrong, then closes fully with another press. Happy Days.