C3 sunroof blind repair

Leanmor

Member
Fellow Frogger
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Messages
90
Location
South Australia
Hi Folks

The wifes car has a problem with the pull across blind in the back, it is starting to come out of the clamp (I guess) I have had a look to see if there was a way too relaese the blind from the side rails but can't quite work it out, has anybody had similar problems & been able to repair?

Cheers
Neal
 
The usual issue with these is that the plastic strip that the blind material is attached to begins to separate from the metal bar that it is clipped to.

On our example it appeared the plastic strip had deformed slightly from heat and would no longer clip on to the bar properly. Solution was to glue it at 3 points (centre & ends). Just a dot of araldite, so you can get it off again in the future if blind replacement was required.

I know that the sliders on the sides of the bar are available as spare parts.

Cheers
 
More help

Thanks Spiz

Yes the problem is exactly as you have described but the access to the blind is the hard part & I would be berated for making a horrible mess with araldite, is there no way to remove the blind to repair more satisfactory?:approve:

Regards

Neal
 
Thanks Spiz

Yes the problem is exactly as you have described but the access to the blind is the hard part & I would be berated for making a horrible mess with araldite, is there no way to remove the blind to repair more satisfactory?:approve:

Regards

Neal

There is no other way except maybe removing the whole sunroof. The metal bar will separate from the plastic sliders, but only if the blind is unclipped first. (just slide it so it becomes diagonal relative to the car and the sliders will come out.)

How it could be done:
- Mix up some araldite and have an ice cream stick ready to apply it
- Apply a dab of araldite to the raised ridge on the bar in the spot(s) required. I did this by looking through the sunroof from the outside.
-Use tape to hold the blind in place until the glue sets.
-Make sure the blind is exactly centered on the bar or you will have issues!

It is not that hard to do, and with araldite you can reposition/clean it off & start again if required.
Super glue would be a disaster. (& probably end up all over the seats etc.)

Cheers
 
You definitely don't have to remove the whole sunroof frame/assembly, which is a major job. I forget exactly, but I think the blind housing clips onto the bottom of the sunroof frame. If you need to remove the mobile portion of the glass, which might give you partial access to the blind housing, you open the sunroof and it's held to the mobile carriage by some Torx screws. You may not need to remove the glass to get the blinds out, but I'd ask your dealer first as new blinds will set you back an eye-watering sum if you get it wrong. Certainly, you can glue the blind fabric back to the plastic holder, but if the plastic holder is badly distorted, then it's not going to turn out very well. It's a shame the blinds are such rubbish as the concept is quite good. Most dealers will have done the blind repair many times, so it may be a good one to simply farm out. Also look out for broken plastic on the mobile carriage and remove it if it's flapping about. The Panoramic roof can jam, so it's worth taking care of it and keeping the tracks clean unless you don't mind paying several thousand for a new assembly.
 
Hi Neal,

I realise you haven't been active here for a while but wonder if you had any luck with your blind repair ??

Our C3 has just had the same failure during the week. The heat of the 45 degree day here in Sydney last week was too much for both blinds and they've both come loose as you described above.

I've repaired the front blind using Sika 221 Adhesive - it's the glue they use to build buses so it's pretty strong, elastic and good in heat - but access to the front blind was easy.

With the rear blind I can't get access between the blind and the glass - I have small hands but I can't even get a finger tip in there to try and clip the blind back in place again.

Just wondering if you were able to remove the blind assembly as suggested by David S ?

Cheers

Justin
 
Can't believe I'm back here in this thread 3 years later.....

and how relatively easy a fix this was.....

and how it took me 3 years to get around to fixing it fully.

So - the issue was that the rear sunblind was detached from the bar that you pull on to close it - or open it. The access on the top of this bar is very restricted - certainly not enough space for me to get a finger in to press down on the channel on the end of the blind.

The solution to the access issue I found was as follows :

1/ Power on the car and raise the rear of the front sunroof - first click on the roof rotational controller
2/ The rear glass is sealed in by a special rubber / plastic combination seal. It's rubber on the rear edge - permanently attached to the glass. On the sides it's a plastic / rubber combination and it's not attached to the glass. The side sections simply clip down into the sunroof frame between the roof side and the sunroof side. There is no seal on the top front edge of the rear glass section - it's sealed by the rear edge of the front glass. I found the best way to start removing the seal was to put a small plastic panel remover in under the rear side edge of the front glass, and lever up the plastic seal beside the rear glass. The whole seal pops up and will remain attached to the rear glass at the rear edge - don't be tempted to remove the seal from the rear edge of the rear glass. Pop the seal up out of the track, and move it slightly to the side of the car. I then used a small piece of tape between the rear glass and the seal to stop it dropping down the side of the car. Do the same with the seal on the other side.
3/ At this point I also unscrewed the removable section of the antenna on the roof.
4/ Jump back inside onto the rear seats. The rear sunroof glass is only held in place by 4 small torx screws - I think from memory they're about a T28, but please confirm the size. The four screws are 2 per side - none in the leading or trailing edges of the glass. They're easily accessed from the back seat, and have blue loktite on them - remove the four screws.
5/ From underneath simply push up on the rear glass panel. It pushes up with a small amount of resistance. Once you have enough height to clear the paint on the roof, simply move it backwards - over the antenna base, and once you're far enough back to gain access to the top of the blind - lower the glass gently down on the rear roof section. It will just sit there on the rear roof section. I'm guessing I moved it back maybe 1/3 of it's depth.
6/ Voila - you now have access to the top of the blind - and to the bar and channel to apply some glue - I used the Sika 221 Adhesive again (great stuff) and glued and clamped the blind back onto the channel.
7/ Wait a day for the glue to dry, and reassemble.

The rear blind in our car had only been held on by about 1/10 of it's width for the last three years and was a little distorted, but with gluing and clamping the end result couldn't be seen from in the rear seat and worked perfectly.

Attached is a photo of the access you gain

image000000 23 edit.jpg


Hope this helps someone.

Cheers

Justin
 
Last edited:
Top