PT cruiser question - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

t walgamuth · #1 04-18-2009, 07:18 AM

My wife's favorite pt has a sunroof jammed open. Is there a place to crank it shut manually as there is in a benz?

Its not a fuse. It humms but won't open. (Yeah, I know it doesn't know the words!)

sunedog · #2 04-18-2009, 10:32 AM

I don't know anything about PT Cruisers, but I did a little Googling and came up with this from a PT do it yourself website. Fairly cryptic, but at least now I know there is a cable involved.

http://www.ptdoityourself.net/tl/tl_54.html
"I have a 2001 LE PT with 97.8k miles. I opened the sunroof as usual without incident, but now it won't close. I hear a clicking sound, but nothing is moving. I took it into dealer for a quick look. The dealer did not have time to service it, but did briefly look at car. --- He also checked the fuse located in the interior fuse box, which was ok and suggested that I come back in and replace the whole deal. Do you have any suggestions?

As a precaution recheck fuse #14 (20amp) in the interior fuse block. If you hear a sound when you depress the switch to close the sunroof a few things need to be checked which may be beyond your skill level and require professional assistance. However replacing the “entire deal” without first attempting to troubleshoot the problem could be an easy fix for the dealer and costly for you if the problem is minor. If you have another DC dealer in the area you may want to consider using them for a second opinion.

1. Broken or worn drive cable.
2. Binding cable.
3. Worn drive motor gear.
4. Mechanisms not synchronized.
5. Faulty sunroof drive motor."

cmbdiesel · #3 04-18-2009, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

My wife's favorite pt has a sunroof jammed open. Is there a place to crank it shut manually as there is in a benz?

Its not a fuse. It humms but won't open. (Yeah, I know it doesn't know the words!)

What year/model is the PT. I can look it up for you in Itellifix.

CSchmidt · #4 04-18-2009, 06:23 PM

Check out these guys. They have a repair kit that may show you what the parts look like.

http://www.sunroofdoctor.com/

TylerH860 · #5 04-18-2009, 06:31 PM

Step 1: Put car out in the street.

Step 2: douse with gasoline or other flammable liquid.

Step 3: Ignite liquid with match or other catalyst

Problem solved.

t walgamuth · #6 04-18-2009, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmbdiesel

What year/model is the PT. I can look it up for you in Itellifix.

01.

Thanks very much!

t walgamuth · #7 04-18-2009, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSchmidt

Check out these guys. They have a repair kit that may show you what the parts look like.

http://www.sunroofdoctor.com/

Thanks...the pt is not listed, unfortunately.

cmbdiesel · #8 04-18-2009, 08:32 PM

Intellifix has no posted repairs of the sunroof. Looked at the schematics of the roof, saw no auxiliary handle. From ptdoityourself.net

I have a 2001 LE PT with 97.8k miles. I opened the sunroof as usual without incident, but now it won't close. I hear a clicking sound, but nothing is moving. I took it into dealer for a quick look. The dealer did not have time to service it, but did briefly look at car. The radio was not working at time, neither were mirrors, or dome light. I had replaced all of the interior fuses, and he replaced one fuse in PDC under the hood, which resolved the issues with the radio and lights. He also checked the fuse located in the interior fuse box, which was ok and suggested that I come back in and replace the whole deal. Do you have any suggestions? I'm very green to the whole repair process, but I can follow any directions you give. Thanks a bunch. - Rebecca, from Georgia.

As a precaution recheck fuse #14 (20amp) in the interior fuse block. If you hear a sound when you depress the switch to close the sunroof a few things need to be checked which may be beyond your skill level and require professional assistance. However replacing the “entire deal” without first attempting to troubleshoot the problem could be an easy fix for the dealer and costly for you if the problem is minor. If you have another DC dealer in the area you may want to consider using them for a second opinion.

1. Broken or worn drive cable.
2. Binding cable.
3. Worn drive motor gear.
4. Mechanisms not synchronized.
5. Faulty sunroof drive motor.

I think I would take it by my local independent body shop. Probably save you a bunch over the dealer.

Strife · #9 04-19-2009, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerH860

Step 1: Put car out in the street.

Step 2: douse with gasoline or other flammable liquid.

Step 3: Ignite liquid with match or other catalyst

Problem solved.

I am in total agreement. After doing timing chains and belts on quite a few other cars (incl MB's), I had to take my wife's to a shop because it's a nightmare. An EIGHT SHOP HOUR NIGHTMARE. And, because the ingenious engineers at Chrysler designed timing gear alignment marks that DON"T LINE UP WHEN THE TIMING IS CORRECT, the engine lopes now and the shop claims it's OK. I have to take it to the dealer, get it fixed, and get my money back (one way or the other) from the shop.

It says a lot about the company when you consider that merging with Fiat would be considered a great improvement to the company.

cmbdiesel · #10 04-19-2009, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strife

I am in total agreement. After doing timing chains and belts on quite a few other cars (incl MB's), I had to take my wife's to a shop because it's a nightmare. An EIGHT SHOP HOUR NIGHTMARE. And, because the ingenious engineers at Chrysler designed timing gear alignment marks that DON"T LINE UP WHEN THE TIMING IS CORRECT, the engine lopes now and the shop claims it's OK. I have to take it to the dealer, get it fixed, and get my money back (one way or the other) from the shop.

It says a lot about the company when you consider that merging with Fiat would be considered a great improvement to the company.

Motor pays 3.6 hours for that job. If you paid 8, you got burned. Although the PT Cruiser is not my kind of car at all, they are reasonably well built, in comparison to other similarly priced cars. Granted they tend to have issues with the powertrain control module and cooling fans.

The Clk Man · #11 04-19-2009, 03:05 PM

I have a friend that works on cars and he told me that the PT Cruiser is built on a Neon frame and are not well built. I still think they look cool though.

cmbdiesel · #12 04-19-2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Clk Man

I have a friend that works on cars and he told me that the PT Cruiser is built on a Neon frame and are not well built. I still think they look cool though.

Built as well as or better than other cars in the price range, not well built. The Neon certainly shares some parts with the PT, but the Neon is longer, with different drive train and suspension.