2013 XLT moonroof won't open

[Memres]

I've got a 2013 Explorer XLT and the the Tilt and Slide buttons do not respond, the sun shade responds but will only go half way so only the rear portion has shade, when pressing close again after the half way point it does not respond to pressing close again but it will open back up uncovering the back half. I have checked fuse 38 under the steering column and fuse 8 in the engine compartment. I feel like it's something simple but have no idea what it could be. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
The shade is a 2 part operation. Push to open and it goes half way. Push again and it opens the rest of the way. If you want to close it after it is half open, you have to 'pull' down on the switch. Is that what you did or did you 'push' like you mentioned? If you pushed, then it performed normally in that it opened the rest of the way.
As for the moonroof itself, it could be that the motor is no long working. The glass and shade each have their own motor.

Peter

 

[Memres]

The shade quit going past the halfway point, and the sunroof won't do anything.

 

[peterk9]

The shade quit going past the halfway point, and the sunroof won't do anything.

Have you checked the fuse for the moonroof? If it is good then perhaps the motor is bad.

Peter

 

[Mom2fourcrazies]

Welcome to the Forum.
The shade is a 2 part operation. Push to open and it goes half way. Push again and it opens the rest of the way. If you want to close it after it is half open, you have to 'pull' down on the switch. Is that what you did or did you 'push' like you mentioned? If you pushed, then it performed normally in that it opened the rest of the way.
As for the moonroof itself, it could be that the motor is no long working. The glass and shade each have their own motor.

Peter

Hi, I’m experiencing the same thing, tried replacing the switch but it didn’t fix problem, did you ever find out how to fix it?

 

[peterk9]

Hi, I’m experiencing the same thing, tried replacing the switch but it didn’t fix problem, did you ever find out how to fix it?

Welcome to the Forum.
I think you should have quoted Memres, not me as I don't have any issue with the moonroof. Unfortunately, Memres was last seen here on June 29, 2018, so I doubt the member is still here. If the moonroof will not open and the fuses are good then perhaps it is the motor that isn't working. There are two motors, one for the glass and one for the shade.

Peter

 

[Mom2fourcrazies]

Welcome to the Forum.
I think you should have quoted Memres, not me as I don't have any issue with the moonroof. Unfortunately, Memres was last seen here on June 29, 2018, so I doubt the member is still here. If the moonroof will not open and the fuses are good then perhaps it is the motor that isn't working. There are two motors, one for the glass and one for the shade.

Peter

Ok thank you. The shade works for the back window but not the front, and the moonroof won’t open at all. I will continue my search for a remedy

 

[peterk9]

Ok thank you. The shade works for the back window but not the front, and the moonroof won’t open at all. I will continue my search for a remedy

The shade is one piece. After it has closed the back part of the moonroof, you should be able to close the front section by pressing the button again. It is a 2-step procedure.

Peter

 

[Mom2fourcrazies]

The shade is one piece. After it has closed the back part of the moonroof, you should be able to close the front section by pressing the button again. It is a 2-step procedure.

Peter

I know when I go to close the front shade it does nothing.

 

[peterk9]

I know when I go to close the front shade it does nothing.

This is just a guess but I wonder if the shade motor is able to sense an issue with the glass partition motor and therefore won't close all the way.

Peter

 

[Gravityslinger]

I've got a 2013 Explorer XLT and the the Tilt and Slide buttons do not respond, the sun shade responds but will only go half way so only the rear portion has shade, when pressing close again after the half way point it does not respond to pressing close again but it will open back up uncovering the back half. I have checked fuse 38 under the steering column and fuse 8 in the engine compartment. I feel like it's something simple but have no idea what it could be. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey Memres, I went through some moonroof adventures last year with my 2013 limited. Turns out there are two drain holes in the front down inside the track area, and one large one at the rear on the passenger side.

These drain the water out that apparently naturally comes in because the glass isn't completely sealed like you would think. That water that builds up when the drains are plugged with crud runs down inside the waterproof headliner and can kill the motors.

The two front drains (one driver side one passenger) need to be "rodded out" occasionally, same for the passenger side rear. I was able to shove a piece of wire down them, attach the wire to my drill gun and spin it, then used compressed air and a rigged nozzle to blow air down them. I saw the water and crap shooting out behind each front tire.

You can see the rear drain when you open the trunk, look up on the passenger side near the top of the channel the gate seats into and there is a black fitting with a hole in it.

My glass stuck open one day as it was threatening rain, ended up pulling the front interior of the headliner down enough to get to the motors, if I recall I had to remove the front pillars to get enough clearance, its a real pain.

I rigged up a couple of wires to the battery to actuate the motor itself, because the little control board inside the motor assembly was non responsive.

Ended up buying a motor from amazon despite people saying they had problems with it performing the same as OEM. I had problems with the new motor.

Doing it over, I would spring for the more expensive OEM motor. They are the same motors for the glass and the shade.

 

[peterk9]

Hey Memres, I went through some moonroof adventures last year with my 2013 limited. Turns out there are two drain holes in the front down inside the track area, and one large one at the rear on the passenger side.
................................................................

Welcome to the Forum.
FYI, the member you quoted was last seen here on June 29, 2018, so may no longer be following this thread. However, I'm sure that member Mom2fourcrazies will appreciate your input.

Peter

 

[gatzdon]

Just chiming in to add that with a good 1/4" socket set with a universal and a couple extensions, I was able to lower the headliner about 6" and change the motors without having to remove the headliner completely. I just removed the two front pillar trim pieces.

Only thing that sucks is Ford didn't leave any means to manually turn the motor to close the sunroof (like i have seen with other manufacturers, like a torx head on the axle)

Good Luck.