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The other day I opened the sunroof for 1998 LS400 and it was slow. The following day it made some noise but didn't open. The tilt function was the same. Now there is no response at all. I suspect the motor died. I tried tapping the motor with a wrench but it didn't help. The car hadn't been driven for a few weeks prior but everything else works fine including the power tilt/telescope for the steering wheel. I think it may be slightly raised when it struggled the second day and might be open ever so slightly.
Does anyone know how to manually close the sunroof? Or in my case bring it down from the tilt angle? Has anyone replaced this motor before? I looked at some service manuals and it indicated removal of many things including headliner and roof panels to access. It looks somewhat accessible from the control panel opening (see photo), but the plug looks difficult/tight to access. I believe only the gold bolts are holding it in place.
Last edited by WaveRunner; Oct 21, 2022 at 01:43 PM.
I had sunroof problems, the tilt feature stopped working, and then the roof wouldn't open. I took the roof out, and the tracks and cable were all gunked up after never having been cleaned for twenty years. I cleaned them up and sprayed some silicone on them, and reinstalled and haven't had a problem since..
Sunroof Motor Issues
