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Moonroof Issue

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MatthewJordan

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November 22, 2014
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Year, Model & Trim Level
2012 Explorer XLT 4x4
The other day in the blowing snow my wife was driving down the road and all of a sudden the moonroof opened completely on its own and then would not close again. I tried a number of things to get it to close with no luck whatsoever. Has anyone else had an issue like this? Unfortunately, it's no longer under warranty and is currently sitting at the dealership waiting for them to get time to look at it.
 



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Welcome to the Forum MatthewJordan.:wavey:
Well at least you can be thankful you weren't in Buffalo this week!
Not sure what could have caused this to happen other than a possible issue with the motor or its controls. This is the first post that I have read with this problem. Sometimes removing the negative battery cable for a period of time has solved some issues but I don't think it would likely help in this case.
Keep us posted please. Good luck.

Peter
 






Yes, Buffalo would have definitely been worse! I actually had the negative cable off and disassembled the entire switch unit on the headliner, and everything looked fine. There is a definite "burnt electrical" smell between the roof and headliner. I'm also assuming a burnt out motor, but that still doesn't explain the opening. This will be the last vehicle with a moonroof I purchase, that's for sure.
 






Almost sounds like some kind of 'short' in the motor. I have had 4 vehicle with moonroofs over the past 14 years and never had an problem with them. It is a 'must have' on my shopping list.

Peter
 






I would think it would be in the switch itself, not the motor. If I'm correct, it is the switch the feeds the power (relay?) to the motor so unless the switch failed, I don't see how the motor would just power on its own.

I will also 2nd what Peter said, I've had moonroofs in every vehicle (except a tacoma) for 16 years (6 vehicles) and never had an issue. I'd never get a vehicle without one.
 






This will be the last vehicle with a moonroof I purchase said:
Sounds to me like you have a valid reason for no more moonroof purchases. I can list a few more like hail and leaks. I also had a car full of snow once!
Click to expand...
 






MatthewJordan said:
The other day in the blowing snow my wife was driving down the road and all of a sudden the moonroof opened completely on its own and then would not close again...
Click to expand...

It's too cold to have a broken moon roof, MatthewJordan. Please pass on the current odometer reading; I'll check the available resources.

Kwasi
 






It was determined by the dealership today that the motor is burned out. The question still is how or why the motor opened and if the motor then burnt out or what happened. The motor isn't expensive but the 6 hours of labour isn't cheap. It is a 2012 with 81,000kms. It certainly has me a little gun shy of what it going to stop it from happening again...
 






MatthewJordan said:
It was determined by the dealership today that the motor is burned out. The question still is how or why the motor opened and if the motor then burnt out or what happened. The motor isn't expensive but the 6 hours of labour isn't cheap. It is a 2012 with 81,000kms. It certainly has me a little gun shy of what it going to stop it from happening again...
Click to expand...

After working with electronics, the reason it opened all the way and probably stayed there was because it had some sort of short/ current passing through allowing the motor to run. When it fully opened the moonroof, the motor probably kept running (Did you smell a burning smell or hear any sounds when it happened?) That's my guess. A paranoid person like me would also have the dealer double check the switch/ moon roof regulator if there is one, to see if there is some kind of short or glitch.
 






Moonroof motor has not been a commonly reported problem. First I have seen it on here. Anything can happen to a vehicle, and I think you just got hit with an uncommon problem.

That being said, you did not post how often you used it. If not often, it's a freakish thing. If often, parts wear.

I plan on keeping my Ex as long as it will hold out. For than reason, I open the moonroof sparingly. Maybe a couple of times in the spring with first nice weather. I mostly enjoy the light it brings in while closed. Same should hold true for convertible you intend to keep a very long time. I would not be putting the top up and down all the time unless you don't mind paying for a new motor in order to enjoy a lot a top down driving over a decade of ownership.

I don't touch the moonroof on my 9 year old Saab anymore. Lots of reports of issues 6 plus years out. Also have seen a lot of older convertibles have top motors go. I don't think manufacturers have these things up to long term spec.
 






Well, I can tell you that the moonroof was used very sparingly. I could likely count on one hand how many times it's been opened. The bottom line for me though is that it opened from the closed position voluntarily. It's not like a power window that you put down and then wouldn't go up or anything like that. It makes me very uncomfortable how this failure happened. I guess after I pay the $800 repair bill I'll pull the fuse so that hopefully this won't happen again.
 






MatthewJordan said:
Well, I can tell you that the moonroof was used very sparingly. I could likely count on one hand how many times it's been opened. The bottom line for me though is that it opened from the closed position voluntarily. It's not like a power window that you put down and then wouldn't go up or anything like that. It makes me very uncomfortable how this failure happened. I guess after I pay the $800 repair bill I'll pull the fuse so that hopefully this won't happen again.
Click to expand...

It's unfortunate and I would not be happy, but it seems to be one of those uncommon things that can happen anywhere on any make of vehicle.

Older Saabs are getting their moonroofs stuck open per Saab Central forum (should not have happened to you so soon) so I don't open mine anymore on my Saab.

Still, very bizarre that it would just open and the motor would blow, but I think an above post explains it and the fuse is a good idea.
 






MatthewJordan said:
It was determined by the dealership today that the motor is burned out. The question still is how or why the motor opened and if the motor then burnt out or what happened. The motor isn't expensive but the 6 hours of labour isn't cheap. It is a 2012 with 81,000kms...
Click to expand...


Thank you for the updates, MatthewJordan. I am not well-versed into the technical aspects of your vehicle. However, I can escalate your concern to the regional customer service manager to assist further; please PM me your VIN, full name, daytime phone number, and dealer info.

Kwasi
 






I don't understan why vehicles don't have a manual override to shut a moonroof.

My '81 Honda Prelude had a concealed spot in the roof you could uncover and put an Allen wrench in to turn that would close the top in case it got stuck open.
 






Just an update on this, it was determined that the moonroof motor went bad, I'm still not really sure why it decided to open on its own, but have been told that there is always 12V at the motor and that it is switched on the neutral side. So, 4 hours labour later and the price of a new motor, I'm back in business. Haven't decided to pull the fuse or not yet. They also checked the drain lines and they were spotless.
 






2013 explorer moonroof not working sometines

Bought used 2013 Ford Explorer in March moonroof was working fine. This summer the moonroof began to stop working on random days. We would leave it alone for few days and starts working. made an appointment to have it check by ford dealer and the day of appointment it started working before appointment I got there and they told me couldn't do nothing unless it was not working but to stop by when it wasn't working. I took it when it was not working they told me at service that technicians where gone for day, the guys at service said only think I could do is make another appointment and hope it was not working :-/ someone help getting close to end of warranty and seems like dealer don't want to help
 






Marcos2000 said:
Bought used 2013 Ford Explorer in March moonroof was working fine. This summer the moonroof began to stop working on random days. We would leave it alone for few days and starts working. made an appointment to have it check by ford dealer and the day of appointment it started working before appointment I got there and they told me couldn't do nothing unless it was not working but to stop by when it wasn't working. I took it when it was not working they told me at service that technicians where gone for day, the guys at service said only think I could do is make another appointment and hope it was not working :-/ someone help getting close to end of warranty and seems like dealer don't want to help
Click to expand...

Hi Marcos2000,

When was your most recent dealer visit, and have you made a new one since? Please let me know, along with your mileage, and I'll look into some options.

Meagan
 






I have an appointment tomorrow they told me they can't do anything unless it's not working when I take it , let cross our fingers it doesn't start working in morning cause then I have to reschedule :-/
 






My 2011 Ford Explorer did the same thing to me and has been at the dealer for three days now. I am so upset! I was on my way to work at 7:15am when the sunroof decided to open on its own and refused to shut. I drove straight to the dealer where I purchased it from and when they didn’t have the tools to fix it, they sent me 3 towns away to the Ford dealership Siemens. Freezing with the window open, I drove there to get this taken care of. I sat at the dealer from 11am-2pm when they told me that it would still be a couple hours. I got a ride and later received a call that they still can’t figure it out. How can a vehicle decide that it’s just going to open a window on its own? Great! Just great!
 



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Welcome to the Forum Jordan.:wave:
As I see it, in order to open the moonroof the motor has to receive a signal to begin operating. So it could be a problem (short?) in the motor or a problem with the switch and its wiring. I don't see any other possibilities. Perhaps other members have more insight into the possible cause. Until then, my guess would be the motor.

Peter
 






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