firesice18 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 So the other day I go to close my sunroof and it wont close all the way. When I get home I take a look at whats going on and find out that the piece of plastic that pushes the wind deflector down during the close procedure, has broken off. Now I have to manually push this piece down when I close my sunroof - BOO!! This weekend I took the glass off to find out if there is a simple solution... there does not appear to be a cheap replacement procedure for this piece as it is molded into the sunroof rail. RIDICULOUS! For those of you who want to see exactly what fails please see below. This image is of the passenger side (not fully broken yet) just before its getting ready to break. You can see there are several cracks in the plastic (highlighted in red) which will lead to failure eventually. This piece comes on the sunroof rails and cost about $700 for the parts only. I am going to see if I can simply remove the wind deflector altogether and hopefully regain my sunroof without paying out the @$$ for it. I don't think this should cause any sealing issues. I'll keep you posted. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firesice18 Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 Here is a pic of the drivers side - the side that actually broke. You can compare the two and see exactly what is broken/missing causing the fault. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 That's strange - first one I've heard of with that type of failure. Mine is 7 years old and I use the moonroof almost daily and I don't have those issues. Are you sure you didn't get something stuck that was preventing the wind deflector from closing putting stress on those parts? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firesice18 Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 Positive. It operated smoothly up until that piece chipped off and I hardly used it before then. I did however successfully remove the wind deflector with ease last night and now it operates fine again. It's a bit noisier and more airflow comes into the car, but a no cost solution for those with the same problem. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Positive. It operated smoothly up until that piece chipped off and I hardly used it before then. I did however successfully remove the wind deflector with ease last night and now it operates fine again. It's a bit noisier and more airflow comes into the car, but a no cost solution for those with the same problem. Strange, especially if you rarely used it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bline Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 (edited) My 08 Milan sunroof had the same problem back in September. How hard is it to remove the deflector? Edited December 5, 2012 by bline 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cawalker Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Firesice18, Can you (or anyone else) please explain how you removed the glass of the sunroof? I have the same problem (driver side part broken), but I found the broken piece in the track. I am hoping I can reattach that piece or repair it some way. Right now I am pushing the deflector down with my finger to shut the sunroof. Thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PublicHair Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Sounds like time for plastic epoxy. Then it won't break again..at least in that spot 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefoeyouknow Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 This is getting more and more common. I've had 3 of these in the shop this year alone, and nobody has yet given me the go-ahead to order a new moon-roof frame. I probably did 2 last summer and 2 or 3 the summer before. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickstewartroc Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 Firesice18, Can you (or anyone else) please explain how you removed the glass of the sunroof? I have the same problem (driver side part broken), but I found the broken piece in the track. I am hoping I can reattach that piece or repair it some way. Right now I am pushing the deflector down with my finger to shut the sunroof. Thanks. I'm in the same boat, did you figure out how to remove it? Thanks, Nick 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefoeyouknow Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 You have to remove the concertina blinds on the left and right sides, After that, the rest will be made clear. Incidentally, all of you asking about a way to replace the broken blocker guide, you can't. You have to get a whole moonroof frame, which means pulling the a,b and c pillar trim and dropping the headliner. You can remove the headliner by laying the driver seat all the way back, removing the console and shifter and removing the passenger seat. You tilt and turn the headliner and take it out through the front right door. After that, removing the frame is easy and comes out much the same way. Good luck. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickstewartroc Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 You have to remove the concertina blinds on the left and right sides, After that, the rest will be made clear. Incidentally, all of you asking about a way to replace the broken blocker guide, you can't. You have to get a whole moonroof frame, which means pulling the a,b and c pillar trim and dropping the headliner. You can remove the headliner by laying the driver seat all the way back, removing the console and shifter and removing the passenger seat. You tilt and turn the headliner and take it out through the front right door. After that, removing the frame is easy and comes out much the same way. Good luck. Thanks! I will see what i can do! As for replacing just that piece, I do realize that its one unit and have to drop the headliner, etc. But I am going to attempt the epoxy fix on it. I don't want my local dealer touching my car at this point, let alone an intensive thing such as this! Especially when i have to pay almost 200 just for them to look at it, and "it may not be covered" crap. If nothing else, I'll just remove the wind deflector! Thanks for the info! Nick 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machausta Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Reminds me of my 2001 Ford Escape's sunroof issues... http://www.tgautomotive.com/Ford_Escape_Sunroof_Repair_Kit_p/ilas.htm just for reference, I don't think it would actually work on the fusion. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thom1486 Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 Had this same problem, and dealer told me it would cost an incredible amount to repair. nickstewartroc, let me know how the epoxy works out! May try that myself. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickstewartroc Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Hey Thom, Unfortunately I ran into two problems trying to epoxy it. First was the fact that there wasn't enough meat where it needed to be glued, and second was that I couldn't get the glass out since its such a huge project. I ended up just taking off the wind deflector. Its not really noticeable with it gone, and the sunroof now works! -Nick Had this same problem, and dealer told me it would cost an incredible amount to repair. nickstewartroc, let me know how the epoxy works out! May try that myself. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefoeyouknow Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Get a used moonroof frame, change it yourself. I like to epoxy a metal backing across the tabs before they break. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilkinda65 Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Hi, this is my first post here and it's for this same issue. We just picked this car up yesterday for my daughter (2010 Fusion SE) and the whole day the sunroof worked fine yesterday and today. She comes home from school and tells me the sunroof will not close. i look and sure enough the drivers side of the wind deflector will not go down and is causing the window to jam and not close. I took the edge of my cellphone and held it down while she closed it. We are headed to the dealer. Since the car was a CPO car with a for ESP Premium warranty up to 100k miles (currently has 48k) I was told this would be covered.... fingers are crossed. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefoeyouknow Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 CPO should take care of you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Langer Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 2008 Fusion SEL here with the same issue...bought the car used with around 35K and the plastic piece that pushes the wind deflector down broke shortly thereafter. I'm curious where exactly you cut the metal wind deflector brackets to make it close properly - and were there any sealing issues after? I've also looked at some aftermarket wind deflectors that mount in front of the sunroof as a workaround if the turbulence is too much after removing the original deflector. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Target Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I have the same problem on my 2010. On mine, I only see the metal rods that provide the tension. I don't have any plastic over them. What I'd like to know is what is pushing down those rods? Or the plastic that should be there? I'd like to think there was something flat I could attached to the rods to have them lay down. Any thoughts? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Langer Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 There are plastic pieces along the track that push the metal rods (which connect to the wind deflector at the front) down. When the sunroof is open, they are hard to see, but if you can look up under the glass while it is slid back, you can see the plastic pieces. Since mine is broken, I can take a flashlight and look closey at each side and see the differences. I'm tempted to cut the metal rods and the deflector off, but I don't want to break something else and cause the sunroof to not open/close at all. Mine still works IF I hold the deflector down while the roof closes and pull my finger off of it quickly right as it closes...otherwise, it jams. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefoeyouknow Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 there's 2 torx screws that attach the retaining straps for the deflector. If you take them out, you can lift the deflector right off. No more problem. It's that or you remove the console and seats, the a b and c pillar trims and pull the headliner so you can swap out the ENTIRE moonroof frame assembly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkStar Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 (edited) I appreciate all who've contributed to this post, particularly firesice18. I had the same issue on the left side of the windscreen. I did remove the screw and found that the master link from a bicycle chain has just the size, stiffness, and hole size for the mounting screw to work around the problem. When the link is inserted as per the photo, the link pulls down the restraining strap just enough that the moon roof operates properly. Edited July 2, 2014 by DarkStar 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FusionDiffusion Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Interesting fix idea. However I think I'd be more inclined to just remove the deflector since it's not doing anything if it stays down? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Langer Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Very interesting idea with the bike chain link. Thanks for all the tips and suggestions in this thread - I removed my windscreen last night in about two minutes and the roof works great now. I can't believe it was that easy...it goes to show I should have poked around a little more and been a little adventurous! I'm still frustrated by this poor design and its proneness to failure, but at least it doesn't render the entire moonroof useless. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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