Sunroof Shade

[HiMiles]

First of, great job on the site Marvel. I appreciate the time everyone put in to make this happen.
I read the CONS section under "History" in your My 330i and I was so much better specially after I had replaced the RearLeft window motor in my '99 328i. I also have a problem with the sunroof shade.
Now does anyone have a DIY on this sunroof shade? Mine cannot be opened more than a couple of inches when the sunroof is closed. However, the shade is not loose so I imagine the clips are ok. The sunroof opens and tilts fine but to close it, I have to push and hold the button or else it will get to the point where the shade's handle is coming out of underneath the headliner then it stops and reopens again.Any thoughts on that knowing that my car is no longer under warranty?
Dealership said it might be clips and in that case it will cost around $150 or it might be the cassette which might go up to over $1000(not worth it in this case)
Any thoughts on that will be greatly appreciated.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: HiMiles on 2002-08-20 12:42 ]</font>

[HiMiles]

Marvel, any thoughts on the sunshade installation? Instructions? DIY?

[MarvelPhx]

I have never actually taken my sunroof apart... yet....

I have it worked on at the dealership, so until I do, I am probably not much help...

[HiMiles]

Well thanks anyway. I guess there's always a first. Cheers

[Darius]

Hello All I have the same sunshade problem. Does anyone knows the fix or do I just have to take it to the dealer?

[HiMiles]

Darius, I did some research and I might be getting some instructions on how to brake the sunroof apart without having to take the liner apart. Meanwhile, i broke the clips by pushing up on the corners of the sunshade (while it was closed) and now it's totally loose, but at least i can open the sunshade while I have the the roof closed. I will try it on my car before I give you the instructions, this way I 'll save you the hassle of breaking instead of fixing. The reason why I broke the clips is because a new set would cost $27.00-$30.00 at the dealership. I will follow up on this. Unfortunately, I don't have time to work on it until the end of this month. All my weekend are taken, and I don't want to mess with it during the week, just in case it gets stuck open! Be patient bro. Cheers.
BTW, did you replace your rims yet? I was thinking about the ACS type III 18x8.5 too. They look phat on any E46.

[Darius]

HiMiles, thanks for your response. I have managed to break the clips today too. Now we are again in the same boat again:). I can now slide the shade open but it's all loose. I will wait until you fix yours. Please don't forget about me bro. Let me know if it worked. As for the wheels. Will you buy it directly from ACS? I was thinking to get it from the E-Bay. Maybe if we buy it together would they give us some kind of discount? (Just a thought.)

[HiMiles]

Darius, I will definitely give you the scoop on the sunshade. If only I had a garage and longer weekends..
As for the ACS, I am checking Ebay often. I need to find out how to tell the replicas from the original; I can't tell from the posted pictures. What I'm probably gonna end up doing is buy the rims, lay low then buy the tires because I really can't afford everything at once.

[Darius]

You think that even if they say it's the real thing from Germany they might just send you some replicas? I would probably not know the difference either. I was looking at this ad. looks like a good price. But now I am not sure if they are real. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1857226987
Which ones will you get chrome or not? I think the silver finish looks better for BMW.

[HiMiles]

I would stay away from Chromed ones for these shout out loud: we're replicas /forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif Besides like you said the silver finish looks so sweet and eye-catching. As for telling the difference, this is te other add for replicas and they look identical to the one you mentioned (although he says they're real ACS. Check this out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1857437408
I have to check the real ones live as well as the replicas before I commit to any. We might as well get something worth our cars /forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

[Darius]

How did you know they are replicas? Because they are from Wheelexchange? I guess it's best to buy it directly from ACS or CEC here in Cali.

[HiMiles]

Guys, you are going to love this. I worked on my sunroof shade based on some instructions i got; it is the simplest process. I have the instructions on paper, no scanner to attach them here, sorry! But I will see if I could mail them to Marvel to put them here for whoever has a similar problem. I actually bought a brand new shade from the dealership, but when i took it out, i realized it was couple of pieces that could be replaced for a lot cheaper; so i got those and returned the brand new piece.
A quick step by step to get to it:
1- Open sunshade
2- Remove the three torx screws on each side of the sunroof (That basically sets the glass sunroof free)
3- Push on the sunroof glass with your hands from the inside and have someone grab it from outside the car
4- Close the shade and that allows you to see everything involved in holding the shade to the rails
I will update later with the part #s and hopefully pictures too.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: HiMiles on 2002-10-07 20:01 ]</font>

[Darius]

Himiles,

Great job! Please write down here in the forum all the instructions for now. Even the part#'s so I can finaly fix my sunshade. I have actually scheduled an appointment with the dealer this Friday. I will just call and cancel it now:)

Thanks

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Darius on 2002-10-08 01:44 ]</font>

[HiMiles]

Darius,
Email me your address, so I can send you copies of instructions. /forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif
HiMiles

[fcotanis]

You two are a proud example of east coast meets west coast and viceversa /forums/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

Good luck with your sunroofs! Thank God I don;t have one - I didn't want one b/c I know I woudl not use it most of the time and I needed the $.

Filip

[HiMiles]

Filip,
The sunroof is a beautiful thing regardless of weather (my personal opinion); reason being, if it's breezy and sunny, you can have the windows down and the roof open, it's refreshing. Now if it's rainy, you can open the shade and check out the sky and the rain fall on your BMW. And if you're not in the mood to have a sunroof, you close the shade and voila! I absolutely love the tilt feature, which makes the entire look of your bimmer even sexier. But again, we can go on and on about almost all the feature that these beautiful cars have./forums/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Darius]

Yeah I agree with HiMiles!! I think the car looks much sexier with the tilt roof:)
But that's a personal prefference. Like Filip said, It's smart to save the money for something else if you don't like the sunroof.

Darius

[fcotanis]

It's a pleasure talking to you guys! I'm sorry I didn't have anything more constructive to say. I wish I could help you.

Anyway - if you read the thread in the main window you probably already know - I'm soo happy about my last oil change - the car feels the best ever!
I'm happy,
Filip

[HiMiles]

Filip, what matters is that if you could you would. That's why this forum is a great thing. It allows you to meet people who have the same passion to their cars as you do, and it's a great learning tool. That makes my BMW experience so much better /forums/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[fcotanis]

Thumbs up.

HiMiles ---:O --- you are a nice guy /forums/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif

/forums/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

Filip

[Darius]

HiMiles, Thanks a lot for your help. I was able to fix my sunshade easily with your instructions. As it turned out to be I did not need to buy any new parts. The two gliders on the passenger side of the sunshade were just popped out. I unscrewed it and squeezed it back in. Now it works fine again.

Darius

[HiMiles]

Darius, I'm glad it worked out for you. A big relief isn't it. Mine just popped again today. Oh well! I will fix it this weekend.
HiMiles

I had the same problem with my sunroof - I have a 99 328i... I took it to the dealer. They ordered the clips and told me it would be fixed under the warranty... The clips haven't come in yet, so I don't know if they will actually do the repair under warranty - we shall see.

JCM

[HiMiles]

Let me know if you need to do it yourself. It's a piece of cake /forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: HiMiles on 2002-10-31 09:50 ]</font>

[Darius]

My sunshade is getting stuck again. I guess It's time to buy new clips. Maybe the old ones that I reused are worn out.

[HiMiles]

Darius, you should replace those because they can really screw things up. Mine got stuck again, but my problem is the piece that pushes the sunshade when you close the roof. It goes over the peice attached on the sunshade, so I can't really open the sunshade unless I open the roof. I am going to fix that somehow this weekend. It's beyond the clips..oh boy, we'll see!

[Darius]

Good luck with that. I better order the new clips now /forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

[Shredder]

greetings himiles,

i also have the same sunroof problem is there any way you could post the instructions.
thanks, shredder

[HiMiles]

Shredder, I would love too but I don't have the means. I would be more than happy to fax you instructions or mail them to you, whatever you prefer.