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Sunroof Problems


iangib
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4 yr old prado sunnroof is not working properly it opens and stays in the open position, dealer has said it needs new whole assembly as existing one is worn out? cost £1250 plus labour. 3 yr warranty run out. Has anyone experienced same problem with the sunroof? I can understand this happening in an older car with lots of use, sunroof is hardly used in my case.

Thanks for any help.

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Existing one is worn out??

It's a sunroof ! what's going to wear out?

It'll have runners at the sides - probably some sort of bearings in these, a drive mechanism and some control electronics ( assuming it's electric ). There's nothing on that list that warrants over a grand !

It sounds like the dealer is taking the easy way out and suggesting replacing the whole thing rather than finding and curing the problem. It could be something as simple as a limit switch ( couple of quid tops ).

If you're not up to diagnosing/rectifying the fault yourself ( no idea how spanner friendly you are ) then I'd suggest getting a second opinion from someone who isn't a dealer !

Good luck

Rich

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4 yr old prado sunnroof is not working properly it opens and stays in the open position, dealer has said it needs new whole assembly as existing one is worn out? cost £1250 plus labour. 3 yr warranty run out. Has anyone experienced same problem with the sunroof? I can understand this happening in an older car with lots of use, sunroof is hardly used in my case.

Thanks for any help.

Sunroofs are prone to failure and can be quite expensive to replace and often too hard/complex to repair. However, your vehicle has hardly had time to "wear it out"! I would suggest to the dealer that routine servicing \\9\if you have done it at the dealer) should have ensured that the roof was adequately lubed and checked out along with other items. (Mine gets greased, I have looked). I would also suggest to them that the life expectancy of the item should be more like a decade, minimum before replacement is needed. Moan, moan, moan to them.

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Existing one is worn out??

It's a sunroof ! what's going to wear out?

It'll have runners at the sides - probably some sort of bearings in these, a drive mechanism and some control electronics ( assuming it's electric ). There's nothing on that list that warrants over a grand !

It sounds like the dealer is taking the easy way out and suggesting replacing the whole thing rather than finding and curing the problem. It could be something as simple as a limit switch ( couple of quid tops ).

If you're not up to diagnosing/rectifying the fault yourself ( no idea how spanner friendly you are ) then I'd suggest getting a second opinion from someone who isn't a dealer !

Good luck

Rich

My sentiments too!

Dealer has today said there is some play on the cable mechanism as well as some other part, the main cradle we can risk dimantling and reusing however there is a risk that that may also be damaged which would lead to remounting everything again and waiting for that to be delivered and the whole process carried out again....with the resulting time cost.!!

He has also looked up to see if there are many problems with sunroofs but it seems that there aren't. Just my luck.

Being that the sunroof I do not use much and since it is watertight I am hesitant in getting someone else to look at it in case I end up worse off than now.

BoroSera

I will continue to moan I am thinking of contacting Toyota Europe if there is such a place, perhaps they may shed some more light. I did go for Toyota because of the reliability, and the perception of being built like tanks, perhaps european models are not as tough as African/Australian ones! Having said that other than the sunroof I have no other problems, for now.

Thanks for your comments

Iangib

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Being that the sunroof I do not use much and since it is watertight I am hesitant in getting someone else to look at it in case I end up worse off than now.

I appreciate that !

I'm generally opposed to 'spare parts surgery' as a rule. I've spent all my working life in the Service/repair/maintenance industry and replacing with new units is always a last resort for me. I'll machine parts and repair electronics rather than just fit new complete assemblies. It winds me up when people just write a mechanism off when it could well be something fairly straight forward.

Whether they don't have the time or the skill to diagnose and cure the problem is a matter for debate - but 'proper' repairing seems to be a dying art !

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If something can be made then surely it can be stripped down and re-built with new parts. It comes down to which is financially more viable. stripping and fixing yourself or buying a completely new sunroof.

Most things in this world can be repaired. :ph34r:

it depends on knowledge (if you are a spanner monkey or not) and if not, are you willing to have a shot at it.

if you have the time,

and weighing up the costs.

B)

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I do not mind trying to find the fault and perhaps repair, I would need a manual of some sorts, does Haynes cover the landcruiser, being a relatively new model I do not know if one exists, or smething similar?

Dealer stands by his argument of it being more cost efective to replace the whole unit, and fault is through wear and tear. So getting nowhere with them.

Is there a euroean centre where one can write to?

Thanks,

Iangib

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I do not mind trying to find the fault and perhaps repair, I would need a manual of some sorts, does Haynes cover the landcruiser, being a relatively new model I do not know if one exists, or smething similar?

Dealer stands by his argument of it being more cost efective to replace the whole unit, and fault is through wear and tear. So getting nowhere with them.

Is there a euroean centre where one can write to?

Thanks,

Iangib

My 2003 Landcruiser had a similar problem - the sunroof kept sticking and the automatic open/close feature wouldn't work. SO I took a generous amount of WD40 type lube sprayed the runners and all over the working bits an voila! It works. Now I regularly check and re-lube if needed

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I do not mind trying to find the fault and perhaps repair, I would need a manual of some sorts, does Haynes cover the landcruiser, being a relatively new model I do not know if one exists, or smething similar?

Dealer stands by his argument of it being more cost efective to replace the whole unit, and fault is through wear and tear. So getting nowhere with them.

I can see the dealers point of view, especially as it seems to be a job that they are unfamiliar with - it always takes longer the first time when you do something new and an hourly labour rate can certainly rack up the pounds.

I still reckon it's a simple fix though - like it was for Elenar above !

Fault through wear and tear is a bit rich IMO, I'm pretty sure that the windows in my cars go up and down a lot more than your sunroof was used - they still work fine !

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I do not mind trying to find the fault and perhaps repair, I would need a manual of some sorts, does Haynes cover the landcruiser, being a relatively new model I do not know if one exists, or smething similar?

Dealer stands by his argument of it being more cost efective to replace the whole unit, and fault is through wear and tear. So getting nowhere with them.

I can see the dealers point of view, especially as it seems to be a job that they are unfamiliar with - it always takes longer the first time when you do something new and an hourly labour rate can certainly rack up the pounds.

I still reckon it's a simple fix though - like it was for Elenar above !

Fault through wear and tear is a bit rich IMO, I'm pretty sure that the windows in my cars go up and down a lot more than your sunroof was used - they still work fine !

I argued the window usage with him and he changed the argument saying that wear and tear can also be caused by non use, I told him about the rear windows, get used less still, yet the work!

Elenar, I'll try wd 40 see if it makes a difference.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I do not mind trying to find the fault and perhaps repair, I would need a manual of some sorts, does Haynes cover the landcruiser, being a relatively new model I do not know if one exists, or smething similar?

Dealer stands by his argument of it being more cost efective to replace the whole unit, and fault is through wear and tear. So getting nowhere with them.

I can see the dealers point of view, especially as it seems to be a job that they are unfamiliar with - it always takes longer the first time when you do something new and an hourly labour rate can certainly rack up the pounds.

I still reckon it's a simple fix though - like it was for Elenar above !

Fault through wear and tear is a bit rich IMO, I'm pretty sure that the windows in my cars go up and down a lot more than your sunroof was used - they still work fine !

I argued the window usage with him and he changed the argument saying that wear and tear can also be caused by non use, I told him about the rear windows, get used less still, yet the work!

Elenar, I'll try wd 40 see if it makes a difference.

You really cant compare the workings or an up/down side glass to a sunroof assembly. The sunroof is alot more complicated and uses alot more parts that can fail.

I have replaced a sunroof assembly in an LC5 at work (under warranty) a few months back - bit of a pian in the ***** really. The left hand runner/cable had travelled too far and then bent the frame.

As the dealer said, it could well be cheaper for them to replace the whole unit (using old glass) than it would be for them to strip inerior handles to remove the headlining, then strip the sunroof assembly out and try to fix it only to find you cant get every piece seperately :rolleyes:

The frame comes as one and the cables are seperate - thats it, no other small parts available.

Then when they find out they cant fix it, you are charged for a whole new assembly plus 'x' amount of hours they spent messing about trying to fix it :)

Mart.

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