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Appears to me that your driver's side tab is broken, and the passenger side has hairline cracks in it.
This can happen with debris or ice (or defective part?)
Defective parts, but not likely.
To impact both sides, I suspect someone, or something was sticking out of the moonroof when it was closed.
I had a Limo service once and customers were constantly standing up and out of the sunroofs. Yes their was 2 on my stretch limo. I do remember now that at one time the rail was damaged but it was a metal brace that we easily bent back into shape unlike the picture with the plastic parts on the Mazda.
Update - we dropped the head liner, and played with it for a while, then removed the frame through the rear hatch.
Both "rails" are damaged, especially with cracks on the underside. We did note the broken "tab" on the drivers side earlier.
Taking them apart, the metal claw does not slide through the groove on the drivers side, it jams in place, thus the rail does not raise. The passenger side still slides smoothly without any friction. I am curious about the wear that can be seen on the metal claw, they can be seen circled in the edits the Chief made.
We have ordered two new ones, one for each side. They should be here tomorrow.
Ill add photos of this when i can.
This should be final update. New parts arrived, they are not quite as pictured. It includes the drive cable, traveler, and the plastic arm that Carrie’s the moon roof.
Replacement was straightforward, have to ensure that L and R sides are at the same point.
Reinstalled moonroof, checked that it did not bind manually, then connected motor and overhead switch panel to verify electric operation. Ours had two issues. When closing it would hit the defector arms and reverse. If we pushed them down it would close normally. The other issue was the vent position was actually only closed, and closed was still a little open. Both of these were solved by manually cranking the moon roof to vent after pushing the button to vent. I think there is a register between the computer and the motor that was broken with our disassembly.
These are the two assemblies that were removed Close up of drivers arm, cracks can be clearly seen. The metal claw slides through the channel. This one is so worn that the claw catches at the top and does not slide through. More damage to the arm.
Mazda should be ashamed to use such cheap junky parts. Those parts should have been made better ,and or made of a better material . Seeing what is in the sausage and how it is made ,can make you lose your appetite for it .
Last edited by THE CHIEF; Aug 20, 2023 at 04:35 PM.
Mazda should be ashamed to use such cheap junky parts. Those parts should have been made better ,and or made of a better material . Seeing what is in the sausage and how it is made ,can make you lose your appetite for it .
Some of the best parts of a sausage would make most people lose their appetite
If these were "junky" parts, we should expect to hear far more about them, and we don't.
I'd be more interested in where and how the vehicle was stored and if something was caught in the track.
Two things the OP has never answered or confirmed.
They also admittedly said they open and closed the roof after removing the glass in an attempt to find the issue.
Which, though they didn't say, may have caused further damage.
I don't know all the facts ,but IMHO this shouldn't have happened to a 3 year old vehicle. My sunroof on my 2023 carbon edition has only be open a few times and not by me. I'm thinking about removing the fuse ,so it wont open .
