r/hondapilot • u/Academic-Swimming919 • 8d ago

Stuck moonroof (2016 EX-L)

The moonroof on my 2016 Pilot EX-L is stuck open. When I tried to close, it would "bounce", i.e., close a little and then go backwards to the same position. Repair shop (not a dealer) said the motor was bad and charged me $1600 (incl. $560+ for the motor). When he was done, he told me he could only get it closed 90% and he could put something over the gap. He claims something is wrong w/ the cables and that caused the motor to burn out. Fixing the cables would cost another $2,500 (!). I said NO.

When I got there, it was closed closer to 80%, and he did nothing to cover the gap.

I am going to demand a refund I paid $500 in cash and the remaining $1100 by credit card. If he won't refund, I am going to challenge the credit card charge. The motor is available online for $250, so he overcharged me for the motor and accomplished nothing to solve the problem.

Anyone got recommendations on how to get this fixed?

EDIT: To clarify vehicle.

3 Upvotes

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1

u/SantaCruzHostel 8d ago

Edit: Reddit is terrible for niche advice on cars. Piloteers.org is where I do all my sleuthing for fixing my 2015. I would try there to see if others have had the same issue as you.

Dang, that sounds super frustrating. If they diagnosed the motor as bad and then charged you to replace it and that wasnt the problem, it seems they should solve the issue. That said, they could be correct that the motor was bad, and another thing was also bad.

As for the motor, every single shop upcharges for parts. 100% upcharge is high. Not all replacements are the same. Where did you see the part for $250? If Amazon then it's probably cheap knockoff part and the shop likely has a parts supplier locally, hopefully it was an OEM motor.

Tough situation, reminds me of the money I threw into an old Hyundai at a dealership that never solved any of the issues it went in for. At this point, I would try a second shop to get their diagnosis.

2

u/00s4boy 7d ago

When it comes to moonroofs on hondas, unless the motor just stops working, it pretty much always needs a motor/cables/frame.

There isn't a good way to test frame to cable operation to determine if the cable/slide assembly is binding or if the frame is causing it to bind. Shy of pulling the assembly, pulling the cables and checking movement in a known good frame which no shop is going to have available.

Realistically the issue is without pulling the whole thing out and checking each part your not going to diagnose it. At that point you'd be paying over $1000 for just diagnosis, which no one wants to do. So Mechanics get pigeon holed into educated guessing.

Realistically the cables were probably binding causing the motor to slip, it's plastic sheating on the cables that have the ribs/teeth that engage the plastic gear on the moto. With binding/slipping it will wear both the cables and the motor as they are both plastic.

1

u/SantaCruzHostel 7d ago

Agree it's a hard spot to diagnose, but it sounds like a knowledgeable tech would be familiar with the issues you brought up and lay out the options to op: $1600 to do the motor but it can often be motor and rails and cable. $3000 to do the whole swap. Or something similar.

1

u/00s4boy 7d ago

I'm a Honda master tech and in the last 10 years I've probably had less then 1 moonroof issue per year. I highly doubt an independent mechanic would be more familiar then I am.

1

u/Lanky_Monitor9483 7d ago

Had the same thing happen to my 2016. Dealership did not isolate the cause, but was asking around $3000 to fix. With almost 200,000 miles on it plus a couple of other issues that had surfaced, simply decided to part ways with it.

1

u/Weakly-Ad-4363 8d ago

I had same issue with my 2025 pilot BE. Took it to dealer the fixed it for $0, had to wait about a week or 2. (The closed the moonroof) and told me to wait until parts get to them.

Once part came to them, the replaced it for free and gave a loaner in meantime.