2008 XC70, loaded. Bought 2 years ago, now has 94,000 miles.

This morning the weather was great, so I tried to open the sunroof.

I was greeted by an immediate metallic clashing noise and the sunroof stopped.

I closed it and opened the rear upwards - that appeared to go fine.

I tried the opening again and got the same noise and stoppage.

I have not used the sunroof in about a month, and have not had any prior trouble with it.

The car is going for service tomorrow.

Any suggestions as to what is wrong?

Mine just acted up for the first time last month. I removed some maple tree
seeds in the tracks and it was back to normal.

Maybe you'll be so lucky?

Happy holidays! Bill

Thanks for the QUICK response.

I decided not to have a tech look at the problem ($$$) as I won't need the sunroof open for a while.

Any tips on removing the trim and the interior light assembly, where I think the motor is mounted?

I don't think accessing the motor will do you any good at this point. The SR is not moving which is causing the motor to grind against the cables.

Does your SR look like this:
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=176304

Removing those 4 T25 screws will let you take the SR off. Then you can take a look at the tracks and find out what is binding up the cables.

--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

Klaus - Yes it does - I will investigate as soon as I can.

Thanks

Pop the sunroof up and inspect the tracks as best as you can. Look for something blocking it, leaves, seeds, dead birds, etc.

The loud ratcheting noise is the drive gear slipping on the steel cable. Don't do that too often, please.
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

Might not be the case but when I replaced my 855Ts sunroof for the same reason I discovered that the rear facing mechanism and bracket had been broken by (my) sliding the ceiling panel back too vigorously. I was replacing the headliner and pulled an entire sunroof unit from the salvage yard.

See what the shop can diagnose. If it's like the older models, once the side trim pieces are removed the torx screws are visible. Remove them and the glass comes out easily enough from the top, so you can inspect all the pivots and levers, looking for a broken or misaligned one.

Good luck,

P.S. Now that I've bought an '08 V70 for my wife I have a strong urge to dump the F150 and find an '08 or '09 XC70. Love the V70, 3.2l and all.

Erwin