Ending the sticky Sunroof: A REAL solution
 

I've read a lot about the sticking of SVX sunroofs, and I've tried a lot of the fixes mentioned here, all of them in fact, but none were working for me. I tried cleaning everything... I tried lubricating the tracks with silicone like the TSB suggested, and I tried adjusting the sunroof clutch nut a little bit...

None of it worked. Here's what I ended up doing, and hopefully we'll all have working sunroofs if you do what I did. I cleaned the tracks, and then sprayed them with white lithium grease. I tried silicone, but there were still tiny pieces of dirt in the tracks that just made the movement kinda jaggedy, and it sounded AWFUL (think pieces of sand between two metal plates). The lithium grease will probably attract dirt, but it DOES make it slide a lot easier, quieter, and mroe smoothly.

I then read about the sunroof clutch nut, located rearward of the dome light. The nut is not some 'weird' size, it's a 14mm nut. The reason you can't get a socket on it is that it has a metal washer behind it, that is bend downwards to keep the nut from rotating.

What you need to do is bend the tabs back to allow the nut to rotate, I did this with a small screwdriver and a hammer. You don't have to bend them back all the way, I only did so partially, just enough that I could get a socket on the END of the nut. I was never able to get the socket fully onto the nut, but it didn't matter.

Now it gets tricky. I had the keys in the car, and pressed the sunroof button. You'll notice that the nut spins around while the sunroof is moving. Open your sunroof.... okay. Now press the close button, but watch the nut. Your sunroof will close, but the nut will continue to rotate for about a second or so.

That is SLACK, and it is thy enemy. You must tighten the nut (clockwise) to remove this slack... I adjusted mine so that once the sunroof closes, it rotates about 1 turn. That's a LOT less than it used to, I'm guessing I ended up turning mine about 720 degrees at least.... 2 whole turns.

Once you finish with that, try to pry up the metal washer tabs a little, but it's no big deal really. It doesn't really matter. Put the plug back in, and enjoy your quiet, smooth, unassissted sunroof, the way subaru intended it to be.

- Jim

I will look at this and give it a try. Thanks for the solution. If you have any pictures, we can do a how to. If not, maybe I can do it.
:)

Is that a fix if the sunroof refuses to pop up? Or only if there are sliding problems?

Both/Either.

The TSB for a sunroof that refuses to pop up is to lubricate the mechanism AND the sunroof gasket (not the fuzzy part, the rubber seal) with silicone. This did not work for me, and it made the sliding somewhat awful. Lithium grease makes it much quieter and smoother, and turning the sunroof nut until there's barely any slack makes it pop up instantly.

You're welcome. :D

- Jim

I think I'll take a look at mine and see how much slack it has.

Thanks!

I don't think it's a "slack" that you are adjusting, because I did this on my Legacy's sunroof, and the "nut" you are talking about is really a preload to a friction plate wich is adjusted to just barely slip when the sunroof comes to fully closed or open, so that the motor would not stall and burn.

But maybe it's diffrent on the SVX, I'm not sure.



/Sonny :cool:

Sunroof still works great. :) I love it!

I just finished this fix and now my sunroof works great!! No more having to push up on the sunroof to get it to open:).Thanks for the advice.

I will try this on the weekend. Mine has trouble with the outer (fuzzy) gasket. It fits too tight.

my sun roof opens if i press the button and then push the roof open slightly..then it pops right open...closing isnt a prob either. I also tried cleaning the tracks and wd-40ing it and nothing happened.

well i guess ill just have to live with the push up method...I just tightened the heck out of the nut and to no avail my sunroof still needs a nudge to pop up :( oh well atleast i tried...

im going to have to try this as well.... im tired of pushing up every once in awhile ;(

No problem. Mine is still working great as well... the only time it's needed a nudge was right after a rain, so I'm assuming the water just makes it 'stick' a little.

I've confirmed the outer gasket is not the problem on my sunroof. I removed it completely and it still can't open the sunroof. I used lithium grease on the tracks and that didn't help either. Grease was added to the inner gasket as well.

I did not get an opportunity to "adjust the nut" but I will try that at my next opportunity.

now we need find a way to make the sunroof open automatically with only one push of the button...that way we dont have to hold the button down...thats the only thing i hate but its definatly better withought having to push up on it ;)