1st Gen R52 Cooper Convertible Most liked posts in thread: Soft top stuck closed on drivers side

The dealer said the sunroof assembly will need to be replaced and that it will be about $3000 with labor. They also said that they won't cover it even though I've only had the car for a month and it's clearly been a problem since before they sold it to me.

Kind of shitty that this is a common issue and that the best they offered was to "help me out" with the labor costs.

I'm hoping that I can open up the mechanism and fix the cable end like I've seen on YouTube. Assuming, of course, that the cable end crimp is the problem.

 

I'm referring to this video, only because I haven't really seen any other information on it - seems to be a difficult subject to get reliable search results for.

Do you know which part is the one that gets damaged/twisted? I think this is just a repair to the bad crimp on the end of the bowden cable connecting the latches to the electric motor.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1HCxc5vLDw]YouTube - ‪Mini Cooper Convertible Top Repair Part 1‬‏[/ame]

 

This is what I repaired today. The cable end on the right had pulled out of the crimp in the part on the left.

 

Okay the JB Weld failed and I bought a new set of cables so I could just replace the bad one. Now the sunroof opens.

Trouble is, now the rest of the top won't retract...

I've checked all the switches in the boot multiple times. It opens the sunroof fully, then a red light comes on at the top control buttons and the top won't retract. If I keep my finger on the retract button, then press the close button, it makes a sound like the hydraulics are operating but nothing happens.

A few google searches have come up with stories of folks who needed the dealer to perform some sort of reset or re-initializaton procedure to clear a fault. Has anyone had this happen to them?

 

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This is the part I replaced. It comes as a pair, but if one side goes, you really should replace both while you're at it - it's easier to replace the cable when it's working than when it's not, so the good side will go quicker than the bad side.

Be sure to use blue locktite on the screws/bolts when you put them back in - they're easy to strip if you overtighten them, but they need to stay put or the rails and parts will get out of alignment.