Hi,

I've got a late 2012 A6 Avant C7 3.0 TFSI which is imported from Japan. 

The panoramic roof isn't working from the switch on the roof, neither the sunroof itself or the blind do anything from the switches. I've plugged VCDS in and run the basic settings to relearn, the blind is fine but the roof itself opened but not all the way then closed, then opened again, not all the way and then stopped. I've tried to hold the switch, run the process multiple times and nothing works, in the end I had to close it manually with an allen key.

I feel like there are 2 issues, the motor works but it seems to not be able to fully open the roof and it seems to struggle, I've tried to help by pushing the roof as it goes but it doesn't help. Looking at the mechanism there is some loose foam from the headlining around it so I suspect it has got into the mechanism and is jamming it. The other issue is I suspect the switch panel has failed, the interior light is intermittent and pushing on it makes it work again which suggests a loose connection?

Is there a way to see if the switch is working in VCDS? I've bought another interior light/switch panel but its not the same, it doesn't have the glasses holder but the switch looks the same so when that arrives I'll try it but would be good to see if the switch is working or not

Any tips for diagnosing or fixing?

Edited February 5Feb 5 by JapAudi

Any indication of water ingress? Panoramic roofs are notoriously troublesome. They are meant to have slide rails lubricated every couple of years. VW have special grease at a daft price, part number G00045002.

Good news you have VCDS as you need that to relearn. You could try a new motor. Again, prohibitively expensive new, but second hand for probably £100 or so. There’s a separate motor front and back, the rear one controls the sun blind. If the sunroof stops part way through, that does sound like pinch protection, however there’s even issues with small alloy cog on motor shearing. If there has been water ingress, there’s the possibility of corrosion on switch contacts.

To really see what’s going on, you need to drop headlining. Held in place with Torx screws, interior grab handles, A pillar and C pillar trim, etc. Interior grab handles, Use special tool from RS Tools, which is basically angled flat head screwdriver.

Work clean, as headlining marks easily. You need to be under cover with decent light.

took the headlining out and tried to run the relearn process but it didn't help. The blind works fine so I swapped the motors between roof and blind, didn't make any difference so the issue must be in the mechanism some where. Decided taking the mech apart was more effort than I wanted to expend so put the headlining back in and just won't use the roof. Maybe in the summer if I still have it I'll pull it all apart and try and fix it

Yes, it’s a laborious job. Fine if you have the time, space and facilities to work under cover.