VW Transporter Sunblind: Dead Motor Needs Fixing

I had the exact same issue with my 2017 VW Caravelle last summer. As someone with moderate experience in car maintenance, I first suspected it might be just a fuse, but it turned out to be more complex. The car interior sunblind motor was completely dead, no response at all, just like yours. The UV protection blind was stuck halfway, which was particularly annoying on sunny days. After checking the fuses and basic connections myself, I took it to a workshop. The diagnosis revealed a burnt-out motor in the sunblind mechanism. They found the same error code in the system. Due to the integrated design of this interior accessory, they had to replace the entire car sunshade unit, including the motor assembly. Total cost was 330€ including parts and labor. The repair took about 2 hours and has worked flawlessly since then. Before suggesting more specific solutions, could you provide: Exact trim level of your Transporter, Current mileage, When did you first notice the problem, Any unusual sounds before it stopped working, The specific error code from your system This would help determine if youre dealing with the same issue I had or if its something different.

Thanks for the detailed reply. My Transporter has 135088km on it and just had its regular service last month. The error code from the system is P3B14. When checking the car interior more closely, I did notice a grinding noise just before the sunshade stopped working completely. Could this indicate worn gears in the mechanism rather than a dead motor? The window visor system was working fine until about two weeks ago. The sun protection blind is now permanently stuck in a half-open position, which is really inconvenient. Given your experience with a similar issue, I might need to brace for a complete replacement. Would be helpful to know if anyone else has experienced this specific grinding sound before total failure.

Since you mentioned the grinding noise before failure, this does sound slightly different from my case. In my VW Caravelle, the sun blind motor died without warning signs. A grinding noise often indicates mechanical wear in the gears of the sunshade mechanism rather than pure motor failure. The sun visor system in these VW models uses plastic gears that can wear down over time. At 135000km, this would be a typical wear pattern. While the motor might still be functional, worn gears in the car interior mechanism can cause the system to jam and trigger error code P3B14. However, the solution unfortunately remains similar, the entire sunblind unit usually needs replacement since the gears arent serviceable separately. The complete interior accessory replacement costs about the same, around 320-350€. For temporary relief while planning the repair, you can try manually and very gently moving the stuck sun blind using the emergency release, but be extremely careful not to force it as this could cause additional damage to the mechanism. Based on the symptoms described, especially the grinding noise, scheduling a repair soon would be advisable to prevent potential damage to other components of the sunshade system.

Thanks for the thorough information about the grinding noise issue. It does seem like my sunshade problem is similar to what others have experienced with worn gears. I checked out the emergency release option you suggested but decided not to risk causing more damage to the car interior mechanism. The window visor being stuck is annoying, but better to wait and do the repair properly. Will book it in next week for the complete UV protection blind replacement. The 350€ cost is higher than I hoped, but at least I know what to expect now. The grinding noise definitely makes sense as a wear and tear issue given the mileage. One last question, did your workshop mention anything about aftermarket car blind units being available, or is it strictly original parts for this kind of interior accessory repair?