2005 4Runner Sunroof jamed open - Toyota Tundra Forums : Tundra Solutions Forum

stumckay · #1 (**permalink**) 05-14-2007, 08:52 AM

I have a 2005 4Runner sport. When I opened the sunroof yesterday I noticed that it made a loud clicking noise when it went to the full open position. When I went to close the sunroof it would not close. The window motor attemts to close the sunroof however the operation quickly stops. On closer inspection, I noticed that the left corner of the sunroof does mot move whereas the right corner does move. Does anyone have any solutions, tips, advice or a heads up on this issue? Thanks, Stu

RickC5 · #2 (**permalink**) 05-14-2007, 09:27 PM

If you decide that you can't, or don't want to fix it by itself, before you take it to a stealer and spend a small fortune, see if you can find a local shop that does sunroof installs and take it to them. I recall reading on one of these 4Runner forums that someone else did that and the sunroof shop charged him something like $100 to fix the problem, while his stealer quoted him something like $2500 to replace the motor. Good luck!

NCPaulD · #3 (**permalink**) 05-16-2007, 12:09 PM

Of course take it to the dealership if it is still under warranty. I am pretty sure there is already a few TSBs relating to the sunroof.

snowbomb · #4 (**permalink**) 06-27-2007, 02:03 AM

Did you ever find out what was wrong? The same exact issue just happened with my sunroof today. Thanks.

mmikulak · #5 (**permalink**) 09-16-2007, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumckay

I have a 2005 4Runner sport. When I opened the sunroof yesterday I noticed that it made a loud clicking noise when it went to the full open position. When I went to close the sunroof it would not close. The window motor attemts to close the sunroof however the operation quickly stops. On closer inspection, I noticed that the left corner of the sunroof does mot move whereas the right corner does move. Does anyone have any solutions, tips, advice or a heads up on this issue? Thanks, Stu

I can't see moonroofs changing much. I have expeirence with a 95 Camry and Lexus Moonroofs. My dealer wouldn't help much witout saying that it was going to cost 1200 to fix.

Mine was doing the same thing on my Camry. There are cable dirven regulators on both sides of the moonroof. If one side is trying to move and the other isn't then I would suspect one of the cables in one of the regulators is broken.

The moonroof assembly has to come out. It is time consuming but fairly easy. The bad news is that the whole headliner has to be removed. ON the Camry you take off all the hardware- oh-crap handles, lights, trim etc and the headliner is held on with a hard velcro-type attchment to the roof. Pull firmly and slowly. Try to get one hand in-between the liner and the roof.

I don't have a 4-runner yet.. I am on here cause I am looking at them.

If you have any more questions, send me a private message.

Mike

lonesouth · #6 (**permalink**) 09-19-2007, 12:25 PM

Mine does the exact same thing. It appears to me that mine would go "off the track" and would bind sometimes when closing. This was usually accompanied by popping sounds if opened all the way or tilted or closing. I took it to the stealership a couple times and they never had any problems. Eventually, when driving here to there, I would just open and close and tilt and close and open and so forth, cycle to the sun roof hoping it would just break. Finally I heard a new noise, not the usual pop or click and it appears to have gotten back on the "track" and has been working fine since then.

Mine was binding on the drivers side, if I grabbed the sunroof as it was closing and pulled on it to get past the bind, it would close all the way. I also noticed that it sounded different and moved slower when opening/closing when it was "off track".

HTH

blasky · #7 (**permalink**) 01-23-2009, 04:20 PM

Hi All -

Same thing just happened to me. Opened my sunroof, heard a loud clicking noise, and now its stuck. When I try to close it, it moves about an inch before the jam response engages and then it goes back. As with the other posters, it is stuck on the drivers side too.

Tried to pull it shut manually, but to no avail.

Took it to my local dealer as it was forcasted to rain, and they told me its a known Toyota problem. Not a recall though. They ordered the kit and gave me a quote of approx $400 to repair.

Then got a call today saying the kit will not solve the problem, and need another kit for $600 + labor of approx $700. They have to remove the entire headliner and all.

My car just got out of warrany 6 months ago, and this is the first time I have had a car and did not elect to buy an extension.

How did you guys go about fixing this problem? I do not have $1300 right now to fix it....

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated? Also, any way to get toyota to do a recall on it?

Thanks,

Brian
bri_ola@hotmail.com

kanaduh · #8 (**permalink**) 01-24-2009, 06:25 AM

Look at page 54 in this. Even though it is for a Camry, roof operation is the same. http://camrystuff.com/manuals/Gen4/Body.pdf Sounds like you need the drive cables. I think they are only sold in pairs. Take your time and make notes, you can do it. I did mine in about 4- 5 hrs.

jfrd10 · #9 (**permalink**) 01-24-2009, 08:54 PM

Here's a little secret that I found out after Keith Pierson Toyota tried to rip a older gentleman for $600.00 that just wanted to get the thing closed. Push the tilt button for 10-15 seconds and that puts it in a manual mode then close. Worked for us. The glass is out of wack on that vehicle but still closed.

lstmhcn · #10 (**permalink**) 03-06-2009, 10:02 PM

I had this problem also about 2-3 years ago while my vehicle was still under warranty. I took the vehicle into the stealership and they told me that a stick had gotten jammed in the tracks. They told me $2200 (almost 10% of the vehicle's sticker price) to fix it, which was shocking but I said ok because I had no choice-it was stuck open. However I told them I wanted to see this "stick".

Well, as I'm sure you can guess, when I went to pick up the vehicle they had "misplaced" the alleged stick. I paid the bill and wrote to Toyota and Toyota naturally denied that there was a problem with the vehicle.

Clearly, however, there is an issue if you all have had the same problem. If anyone ever decides to do anything about this, let me know (like initiate a class action lawsuit) - I'd be happy to provide the info on my incident.

merrifie · #11 (**permalink**) 04-08-2009, 06:35 PM

I don't own a 4Runner but experienced the same issue (open sunroof... clicking... won't close) with my '04 Highlander. I know it's not a real SUV but the sunroof components are probably quite similar (as a couple people pointed out with the Camry info.). My first reaction was to search online to learn what others encountered. After picking my jaw up off the floor, I thought I would open up the motor / gear box assembly to see what I was dealing with rather than fork over a pile of cash to anyone. In my case, it turned out to be a fairly simple and straightforward repair.

For the following, refer to these photos.

I removed two screws inside the overhead sunglasses holder (photo 1) and the trim ring around the interior sunroof opening. Reaching between the headliner and the roof at the front of the sunroof opening (just behind the map light & sunglasses holder), I pulled down a bit to pop the map light assembly loose & disconnected the electrical connector. On my Highlander, there was a metal bracket with a nut on one end to remove. Now the motor assembly held on by two bolts could be removed (photo 2).

There should be two flexible plastic rack gears running through the remaining half of the gear box. I could immediately see that one of the two rack gears was broken and thrashed with the reinforcing wire cables exposed in a knotted mess (photo 3 & 4). The broken rack attached to the passenger side of the sunroof.

With the pinion gear / motor housing removed, the sunroof was easy to move manually. My son pulled the damaged rack end down as I slid the sunroof forward. Admittedly, I was more interested in getting the sunroof closed for minimal expense than trying to achieve a complete repair. I cut off the damaged end (photo 6) so that the broken end could be reinserted through its slot in the gear box (photo 5). I had to move the sunroof back and then forward again to get the broken rack back into position (photo 5).

I could now move the sunroof all the way forward manually but not into the closed (sealed) position. I reassembled everything and engaged the motor to pull the sunroof into its typical closed position. Although the sunroof now works normally (tilts up, slides back and forward), I'm not going to push it. Of course, if I tried to slide it all the way back, it would run past the broken end of the passenger side rack and likely get stuck again. At any rate, I'm happy to have the sunroof closed and sealed without spending a dime. The whole project only took less than a couple hours.

I hope this information is helpful to someone. What I found on the net was helpful to me so I wanted to contribute my experience.

Ggreenacres · #12 (**permalink**) 04-17-2009, 04:19 PM

Just wanted to say thanks for posting the pics and the description about how you worked around the sunroof issue with your 2004 Highlander. I have an '04 Highlander and the same exact thing happened to me.

I bought the vehicle new and have opened/closed the sun roof less than 20 times in the last 5 years. On a whim I opened it yesterday and it got part way and then stopped. I followed your directions and sure enough, the cable was damaged. Clipped the cable, manually closed to the roof, and it started raining within 20 minutes after I finished.

Thank you!!!

merrifie · #13 (**permalink**) 04-17-2009, 04:36 PM

That's great! I'm glad it worked for you. Thanks for sharing your experience.

dbebcb · #14 (**permalink**) 04-19-2009, 10:45 AM

Merrifie,

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! I had an identical moonroof problem with my '05 Highlander (50k miles). I think this problem was a long time coming as I had noticed that the roof "slowed" down at a certain point in the slide open/close process...I thought it was the battery/motor. On Friday, it was stuck in the fully open and then all I got was a clicking sound.

I began reading postings and was horrified at the potential expense that laid ahead, even to just get it closed and sealed...until I read your post.

My husband relied on your every word and your pictures were essential (and perfect). For my situation, both plastic pieces were broken, but a little trim and a manual pulling closed, and we were back in business. About two hours later, my sunroof was closed, the gearbox/motor assembly back in place and we were able to seal the moonroof shut by the controls. Since I'm addicted to my moonroof, I'll probably opt to continue to use the tilt up and down, and *maybe* slide it back slightly, since we know the break is in the fully back position, but I can't tell you how grateful we are to your post.

My husband and I commented on how we *use* postings, but never post ourselves. This made us want to be more thoughtful to do so in the future.

Again, you saved us a good chunk of change. We are very grateful.

DBEBCB

jt4runner · #15 (**permalink**) 04-23-2009, 08:19 AM

I am picking my 2006 4Runner up from the dealership today for the same problem. Their quote was $2300.00. Of course I can't afford that, so I'll be attempting your fix this weekend!