So I have a 97 a4 that has been getting a bunch of love the last few weeks. My questions today is how hard is replacing the sunroof motor on a first gen a4. Mine has the smaller control panel for the sunroof. I'm guessing I need to pull the headliner...how much of a pain is this. Symptoms are the motor opens the sunroof back section up and down but when you go to open the sunroof into the roof it jams about 3-4in going back. I popped the manual open close port...(whatever you call it...accepts an allen wrench to manually move the sunroof) even doing it manually it jams in the same space.

 

If it does the same thing when you crank it manually, I doubt it's the motor. Might be more like the cable system and that, unfortunately, is a big mess. But before you panic, also look at the little wind screen on the back, just below the glass. That gets pushed down as the sunroof slides back. If it doesn't, it gets caught on the bows right under the sheet metal and the whole mechanism goes no where.