For reasons too complicated to explain, I stupidly got a small notebook stuck back in the area where the sunroof and sunshield panel (is that what you call the panel under the sunroof glass?) go back into the car roof. Does anybody know if removing the headliner (over the backseat) will give access to that roof area where the sunroof and sunshield slide to the rear??

I'd like to remove the notebook before it causes the sunroof or panel to jam.

 

In our 325 and in my old 9000, the sunroof was a cartridge. When you dropped the headliner you only saw a sealed box with all the sunroof components inside. On those cars you would need to go in from the top/outside.

 

I know that if I drop the headliner on a 95 I can retrieve the notebook easily. The back area where the glass and the sunshade are sliding is hollow. There's just a cross beam in the middle, but that's just for structural support in my opinion.

If you ignore the "trailing crossmember", as that should not be there (actually it is attached to the glass carrier), you can get a glimpse of what you can see if you drop the headliner:



I don't know if your 2003 might have a different roof structure, though.

 

It migfh be easier to try removing the glass panel and the sunroof shade to see if you can get at the notebook that way. Removing the headliner is a major PITA in the A6.

Go to page 2 of this tech article I wrote for healdiner removal which covers how to remove the glass panel and shade. It would save you hours of work if you can get at the notebook that way.
http://www.audiworld.com/tech/int67.shtml

Good luck!!!

 

Everyone - thanks for the quick responses. This forum never fails to amaze me with the depth of knowledge and willingness to help.

I spoke to a local interior shop who agreed that removing the sunroof may be the quickest, easiest path. I also printed out the technical article -- all 30 pages -- to a .pdf file and will bring it on my laptop to the shop. The good news is he quoted not-to-exceed $75 even though I told him it was an Audi A6.

I'll let you know how it goes, in case anyone else is as bone-headed as me and loses something into the roof cavity. Moral to the story: don't slip anything in through the sunroof opening.

 

Using just a flashlight and one of those 2-foot bendable gizmos with three little arms on the end, the dude pulled the notebook from between the sunroof and panel in less than 3 minutes. He only took $5 for the work. And, he noticed the tear in my driver's seat bolster and we discussed how to fix it -- I got a quote for $120-160 to remove the seat, the seat cover, and replace the ripped seat panel.