BMW E30 Sunroof Cable Adjustment

The sunroof is attached with six Torx head screws. A Torx screw is easily identified by star with six points in the head. One of the advantages of the Torx system is that you are able to apply a lot more torque to the fastener than you would be able to with a hex head or Phillips head fastener, which means the fastener is a lot tighter.

In order to adjust the sunroof, you will need a T20 Torx screwdriver. You should on spending no more than $15 for a set of four of them.

The headliner portion of the sunroof must be slid back to expose the Torx head screws. The headliner portion is attached at the front with six metal clips which snap into the underside of the sunroof.

1. Slide the sunroof about half open.
2. Starting at the center, carefully pry the headliner away from the sunroof. You will hear a click as each of the six snaps lets go.
3. Carefully slide the headliner way back into the roof.

Now you can see the underside of the sunroof and the six Torx screws. In my case the right front Torx screw was missing. No wonder the sunroof wasn’t operating properly! I remembered a "loose screw" type of rattle that developed lately. I found the screw sitting by the right front drain hole.

Normally I’m not a big fan of Torx screws, but I can see why BMW used them here. It was easy to put the screw on the end of the T20 Torx screwdriver and stick it in the hole.

In order for the sunroof to operate properly, it must be level with the roof when it is closed. Adjusting the sunroof isn’t all that hard with the following technique.

1. Close the sunroof.
2. Each side has three Torx screws, two near the rear and one at the front. Loosen the middle screw.
3. Loosen the front and rear screws, and push the sunroof up as far as it will go.
4. Tighten the screws just enough to hold the sunroof up high. Push down the sunroof until it is level with the rest of the roof.
5. It may take you a couple of trys to get the right tension which holds the sunroof up but allows you to push it down.
6. Tighten all three screws, and repeat this with the other side.

Once the sunroof is leveled you will need to replace the headliner. The headliner is attached at the rear with two channels that stick out of the top of the sunroof. These channels engage two rods that are attached at the edge of the sunroof and point toward the center of the sunroof.

1. Open the sunroof in the "vent" position, where the rear of the sunroof sticks up in the air.
2. Carefully slide the headliner forward, then push it up at the rear.
3. Working from outside the car, engage one rod into the channel in the headliner. Then engage the other side.
4. Lower the sunroof and retract it back into the roof a little more than halfway back.
5. The six clips should line up exactly with the six square holes in the sunroof. If clips are behind the holes, then you haven’t engaged the rods in the channels.
6. Carefully push each metal clip into the square hole. You will hear a solid click when each of them are fully engaged.

At this point I thought I was done and started closing the sunroof. A horrible tearing sound resulted! The headliner is supposed to slip into channels which are at about the front third of the sunroof opening.

When I removed the headliner, the outside of the headliner was bent up and did not enter the channel. The tearing sound was the headliner tearing apart. So, I backed the sunroof back and bent the corners down. I carefully closed the sunroof and made sure that the edges of the headliner entered the channel.