Coheed566

Hello all, I bought a 1999 Lexus LS 400 couple of years back. The sun roof didn't work properly but I didn't really mind. Just today some rain started coming into the car and soaking the console, so I guess I have to fix it or see if it's possible to fix myself. Rather than try to explain what it does I just uploaded a video to youtube. I try to retract it and just stops moving, if I try to close it the roof moves forward, then goes backward again like its hung up. I tried cleaning the tracks to no avail. Let me know if the link doesn't work. Thanks in advance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj45...ature=youtu.be

dicer

link is no good, says its protected content or what ever. I don't plan on signing on to be a youtube member.

And why not give what year it is they maybe different.

Coheed566

I added the year to my original post. I think maybe the video wasn't done uploading or something, I tried the link from another browser seem to work ok.

Shaud843

Video worked fine for me... did you check to make sure no objects are in the track? Saw this in the RX forum maybe this could be a solution?

Coheed566

I cleaned out every area I could actually see or get to, you can still see some residue from this in the pictures. I know these aren't particularly helpful but not sure where else to try to clean. It seems like it just hangs up on something but I can't physically see anything in the tracks

dicer

this is how youtube works when you link it correctly

Coheed566

Thanks, very informative post

Coheed566

In case anyone strolls across this post with the same problem, I finally got a local Lexus expert (25 years experience working for a Lexus Dealership as their head mechanic) to look at the sunroof during a diagnostic - he told me since my car sat for a year or more in the elements with the previous owner, the drain lines ended up clogging from debris, which in turn retained water around the tracks for the sun roof, which essentially rusted it shut. The motor was fine but there was no way the track could be cleaned. To replace the sunroof would cost about 2k, and the car is barely worth that so I opted to just leave it be.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

I had a similar problem. I removed the sunroof myself and installed one from a junkyard. Big job sincethe while interior had to come out.

Coheed566

Yeah I watched a video of how to install one and it was far beyond my mechanical aptitude, I am convinced if I did it myself I would end up not putting the interior back together properly and regret the whole damn thing lol

spuds

As per usage for sunroof Ive found tilting rear open and cracking windows one inch open does a fine job of mediating heat build up inside with my black car parked in the desert sun.

Coheed566

I actually never got to use the sunroof on mine without forcing it backward or forward with my hand at the same time as pushing the button, so it was a pain in the ***. The tilt never worked properly, and I had to force it up into position to have a decent seal on it. Then one day it broke the metal arm near the front and then it all just died and quit working. Fortunately, I just bought another Lexus, a 2000 LS400 and the sunroof works perfectly, though I am so used to being scared to use it in my other one that I barely touch it in the new one lol