roof closes but wont latch

[sean86114]

hi there, I dont know whats going on here, need some guidance before taking it to BMW. roof motor was replaces less than 5000 miles. it closes but it wont latch, I can hear the (latching motor? definetely not the motor that is sitting on the trunk) trying to latch. is there an aligment that I can adjust? any suggestions will be deeply appreciated.

 

[bigwinn]

I’d be willing to bet the drive splines that link the claws to the central motor have left the chat

To get to that you need to pop the central cover off above the motor on the roof, above where it meets the windscreen

I think you can see the driveshafts from there to see if there is a problem

 

[sean86114]

Hi @bigwinn, thanks for the quick reply, what do you mean by "chat"? is this an expensive fix? probably I have to replace that motor huh? whats the motor called? " latching motor"?

 

[bigwinn]

Left the chat means it’s failed

It’s only expensive if the parts are costly or someone charges you a fortune to do it

The motor should be fine if you can hear it running. It’s the driveshafts that fail and will need replacing

Where are you based

I have a pair of driveshafts here if you need to buy some as I’ve seen them for silly prices on eBay

But- of course- check that’s your issue before buying

 

[bigwinn]

 

[sean86114]

haha. English is my 3rd language and I am in Canada; I dont think we use that context very often.. oh well you learn something new everyday. so yeah, I really appreciate your help. do you ship overseas?

 

[bigwinn]

Happy to ship to you

 

[x-driver]

Isn't there a plastic gear that is most prone to fail, not the cables/shafts?

 

[NaweedMustafa]

With the roof half open, try and close the latching part with the hex tool provided with your BMW toolkit. If you see the claws move in and out via manual intervention, then you may simply have a cable break on the harness itself to that motor drive. was a 4 euro fix with some Aliexpress heatshrink+solder combo. Used that opportunity to protect the cables around it that haven't snapped.