So I have my 2005 Outback, H6 with 88k and we are in the process of getting a few things fixed. Yesterday at the dealership they took a look at my sunroof/moonroof combo. The first piece of glass normally pops up, then the latter part slides back. That first piece of glass pops up on the passenger side, but the driver side doesn't pop up. The sunroof is then stuck at this point, and it won't open or close.

So I remove the glass at this point (which has a lot of tension upon removing the 4 bolts). I can then open the sliding glass all the way. Inspecting the sunroof tracks I notice a difference. On the passenger side the track looks like this:

The driver side looks quite a bit different:

Notice how the plastic piece moves away from the track (upward in the orientation of this picture below)

I can push the plastic mechanism back in (downward in the above photo) and slide it to match the point on the passenger side. I can put the glass back in and everything closes like it is supposed to, proceeds to open and everything. Normal operations. Then it stops working, and that plastic piece pops back out of track again.

Until the next day, then it repeats the process. I took it to the dealership and they told me I need a new sun roof assembly, $1,200 in parts and $700 in labor. Surely I can permanently fix this plastic piece without needing to replace the entire thing right? I am going to try to do just this.

So with this, does anyone have any pointers? I think at this point I am going to pull the head liner down and pull out the entire assembly to inspect it.

Let me know if you find a fix. My sunroof did the same thing and I got it closed after some work. Now I haven't used it for two years!

 

Will do! It seems like it would be simple to fix... Just waiting for a break from the weather to look into it...

Sent from my ONE E1005 using Tapatalk

 

Old thread, same problem on the Outback I just bought. The small rods often rods pop out. One of them has no more plastic stuff around. Does anyone have a solution?

Thanks

 

Just to add to this list, I have the same problem with my 2005. One slider (as pictured above), is missing a small, plastic sleeve around the little "spindle" part that locks into the aluminum rail. The other clip is broken-off completely.

From my inspection, it looks like complete removal is required in order to disassemble the sliders and tracks. The service manual goes as far as glass removal/install and re-initializing the motor/timer, but that's it. The end-caps of the tracks are sealed with black RTV and I believe the whole assembly is "glued" to the roof to seal it (rather than a replaceable rubber/foam seal).

I believe this is one the few systems in the car to be a "black box": you just remove and replace the whole assembly.

 

Indeed the FSM is not very eloquent; yet some spare parts are available: https://www.subarupartsamerica.com/...iteid=216122&vehicleid=184585&section=BODY HARDWARE&group=ROOF&subgroup=SUNROOF

I believe some people had the courage to disassemble it

 

Back when I had an XT, I went through this predicament. i ended up buying a used sunroof from a junkyard and replacing mine with it. Even the "new" one had an issue but we were able to fix it. The install is challenging but not impossible. Basically you just need to remove the glass from your old one, remove the headliner and pillars, unbolt the old one and unplug it, and remove it. Set aside a full day and get a second set of hands and it should be doable!

Honestly my current OB doesn't have the sunroof, and I'm pretty thankful for that. Too many problems with those things.

Good luck!

 

Many of the plastic parts are removable from salvage yard cars. You just need to be very careful removing them. And DONT tell the yard guy you need sunroof parts. They want to sell the complete assembly. Which Rarely occurs.

 

I recently picked up my OB and it has the same issue. Looked at it all afternoon and decided that a simple guide would keep this spring loaded piece from popping out.

Luckily I have access to a 3D printer and am going to print a small plastic guide (image) that I plan to epoxy against the side of the track. Seems to be plenty of extra space in there and I prototyped with aluminum foil and it worked, just deformed after a few open/shut cycles.

I'll post results here soon.

 

Hi! Any updates on this?

 

Hey! I forgot that I posted this here LOL. I printed my piece and it seemed like it would do the trick, but I couldn't get it to stick to the track no matter what epoxy/glues I tried using. There is just too much force pushing there to keep the plastic piece from popping my fabricated piece off.

You can check out what I came up with at Tinkercad(dot)com (then search for user themaxstanley)

Side note... Unfortunately i'm getting low compression in cylinder 3 and my mechanic is telling me that I need to swap the motor to get it running again. Would love to get a second opinion, but for now I'm driving a civic

 

I'll actually have my old/spare assembly on the workbench in a week or so. Thinking about having some aluminum pieces made-up, but need to work-out installation..

 

I've got the same problems! I've done some pretty extensive research to try to find the part and once discovering I couldn't buy what I needed, I started trying to come up with ways to make something myself or try someone else - @traildogck to see if a duplicate could be cast or milled.....

I gave up to work on more pressing things but now, with nicer weather, I'd like to be able to open it up!

OK to the point of my reply: I read where someone found parts from a wreck and repaired theirs but the process involved dropping the headliner so they could access the track and drop it enough to get the slides out of the track so they could replace the plastic parts.
I'm not certain this is the required method but the description of the process sounded like the owner knew what he was doing?

I may just look at the view and turn on the AC:frown2:

 

buy a used sunroof - last one i swapped was $75 and takes like 30 minutes. Easy, cheap, end of story. Even if you have to do it twice or three times you're still $1,000 better off than the dealer.

 

I just bought a 2005 Subaru legacy with sunroof. The same small plastic piece that you had problems with is the same piece that I'm having problems with. I see that you had used a 3D printer to make that piece only a little wider. I'd like to get one made for me too. Is there a chance that you could make a copy for me. Maybe two one for each side? And also does the whole entire track need to be removed to put that new piece in?

 

Had nearly identical problem with 2005 Outback Wagon. Driver’s side of front glass raised but passenger side stayed down. Main glass would retract and close but front piece was stuck. The white plastic switches (?) we’re in the same offset position as the pictures in the original post. Couldn’t move either by hand. Removed the front glass by carefully loosening the 4 bolts (lots of torque on the glass). Once the glass was removed each front assembly moved easily to the open vent position. Cleaned the track and surrounding surfaces. Closed the roof electrically and reinstalled the glass. Things appear tight so I’m going to leave things alone and keep it closed.

Many thanks to all, especially 2k.Jacob, for the tips!

 

Same issue. 2005 Legacy Wagon.
One vent side stuck open but main roof slides ok. Is there a way to release it so if closes (without removing the glass)?

 

I couldn’t get anything to move until I took off the front glass. It was easy but I went slow and backed off each bolt a little at a time to release as much tension as I could before taking any single bolt out. Once the glass was off I could reset the mechanism in the track, clean things and reinstall the glass. It’s been closed ever since but doesn’t leak.

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Due to the rain in the forecast, I had to take it to the dealer but gave him info such as you what had done above. They were able to get it closed and that’s the way it’s going to stay. It cost about $150 for them to do it but sure beats $1500+ for a new sunroof or finding one at a yard (since I’m not mechanically inclined enough to do it myself).

 

I had the same issue yesterday on a 2006 2.5i turbo model. The small front panel was making a pop when going from open to close, but the back slide wasn't actuating at all. Then the passenger side tilt got stuck open while the driver side stayed down and somehow that allowed the larger section of glass to slide open but would no longer stay closed. It would try to close, bump into something and reopen. I was able to get the small tilting passenger side section to reclose by (counterintuitively) pushing up on the passenger-side tilting mechanism from the inside. Somehow this allowed something to shift that was holding it open, which allowed the stuck portion of the window to drop back down. Once back down, the larger sliding portion of the sunroof could close, but now I can't get the tilt to go back up, and without that, the slide mechanisms actuates and pulls the weather stripping off the leading edge of the sliding window, and the weather stripping drops into the car. I'm just glad I got it to close before the rain started and hope it still seals. Will be investigating the mechanism closer when whether permits, but after reading this thread, I'm not so optimistic.