Moonroof stuck open (2000 Camry XLE) and it's raining!!!

[spup345]

I have a 2000 Toyota Camry XLE. I pressed the "Slide Open" button to open the moonroof and it is in the fully opened position. Then I pressed the "Tilt Up" button to close it and it won't budge. I hear a tiny electronic click noise in the button when I push it, but the moon roof simply won't close.

What can I do? Right now my poor wife & kids are driving around in the rain with a tarp stretched across the top and the closed doors holding it down because she was on the way out when this happened...ugh...

A manual override somehow? A fuse to check (I can't seem to figure out which fuse in the Haynes manual which I have for the car).

Thanks for any tips/advice (besides taking it to the dealer/mechanic).

[bigbird]

i had the same issue, and it is likely wasted. what has probably happened is that the roof either came off the tracks, or some crappy plastic piece has broken, keeping it from moving. either way, replacing teh track is really the only option. to manually move it you have to pretty much remove it from the car. at least thats what i have been told. mine broke but i was able to get it closed enough screwing with the controlls that it doesnt leak anywhere.

[zythr]

You may wind up taking it to the dealer/mechanic. There should be a hole near the sun/moon roof that you can slip the included manual crank into, then you manuallly turn the handle to close the roof. This can damage the motor, so make sure that you positively can't close it with the buttons before trying this.

[spup345]

Fixed....Well, sorta....I found out that on my TMMK (US) model Camry, the motor is underneath the maplight (the light adjacent to the moon roof controls). So I popped the map light cover off with a tiny flat-head screwdriver, undid all 4 screws and pulled it out to access the motor.

You ARE able to manually close the moon roof with a small hex wrench/allen wrench (clockwise closes). I closed it about 3 inches and then retested the close switch (tilt-up). It worked! I then opened it all the way again, and voila, it was stuck again. I manually closed it 3 inches and then the switch closed it the rest of the way again.

So, it wasn't the motor (by the way, you can test to see if the motor is burnt out by following the instructions in the factory service repair manual involving connecting the battery leads to the motor switch and then reversing polarity to test the opposite direction). It must be something wrong or broken on the rear of the tracks. Like the plastic is worn down or something right at the rear of the track so that when the roof is fully open, it doesn't engage properly anymore.

But anyway, at least the motor still works, I was able to manually close the moon roof, and all the electrical components are fine. I'm not going to bother to replace the tracks or investigate further at this point because we just will never open it fully anymore (we rarely open it at all anyways except for the kids to have fun). I'll also keep the correct hex wrench in the car for emergencies.

Thanks and I hope this helps future folks.

On a side note, this info is all detailed in the factory service repair manual (not the Haynes or Chilton, the real deal one used by repair shops), but I leave that up to you to figure out how to get your hands or eyes on one...it was a lifesaver for me given that Haynes/Chilton don't even have moon roof sections in them.

[eyeball96]

Originally Posted by spup345

Fixed....Well, sorta....I found out that on my TMMK (US) model Camry, the motor is underneath the maplight (the light adjacent to the moon roof controls). So I popped the map light cover off with a tiny flat-head screwdriver, undid all 4 screws and pulled it out to access the motor.

You ARE able to manually close the moon roof with a small hex wrench/allen wrench (clockwise closes). I closed it about 3 inches and then retested the close switch (tilt-up). It worked! I then opened it all the way again, and voila, it was stuck again. I manually closed it 3 inches and then the switch closed it the rest of the way again.

So, it wasn't the motor (by the way, you can test to see if the motor is burnt out by following the instructions in the factory service repair manual involving connecting the battery leads to the motor switch and then reversing polarity to test the opposite direction). It must be something wrong or broken on the rear of the tracks. Like the plastic is worn down or something right at the rear of the track so that when the roof is fully open, it doesn't engage properly anymore.

But anyway, at least the motor still works, I was able to manually close the moon roof, and all the electrical components are fine. I'm not going to bother to replace the tracks or investigate further at this point because we just will never open it fully anymore (we rarely open it at all anyways except for the kids to have fun). I'll also keep the correct hex wrench in the car for emergencies.

Thanks and I hope this helps future folks.

On a side note, this info is all detailed in the factory service repair manual (not the Haynes or Chilton, the real deal one used by repair shops), but I leave that up to you to figure out how to get your hands or eyes on one...it was a lifesaver for me given that Haynes/Chilton don't even have moon roof sections in them.

I was going to tell ya that, but you figured it out before I could!

My sunroof still works on the 96, but I expect it not to at anytime. I mean dang, it is an almost 15 y/o car.

It's still the best car I ever owned in my lifetime

[projektvertx]

Originally Posted by eyeball96

I was going to tell ya that, but you figured it out before I could!

My sunroof still works on the 96, but I expect it not to at anytime. I mean dang, it is an almost 15 y/o car.

It's still the best car I ever owned in my lifetime

I think repetitive use does wonders with a sunroof. Mine functions fine, and I use it regularly. On the other hand, my dad barely uses the sunroof on his '97 RL and the motor always glitches on him when he does use it (so he just stopped using it) I also rarely use tilt (it's been used like 5 times) so the usual motion is limited to sliding front and back. I figure I might as well minimize the odds that the track bends or something breaks/slips off

Now I know where to look if my sunroof ever does jam, thanks for the update