Have you had moon roof issues?

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Only had one, and it leaked occasionally. I liked it, but TBH I rarely used it. Wife hated having the sun on her when we went places.

Can't say I want another. Cars with them are probably too highly optioned for me.
 
1992 Honda Accord - 26 years old, 198k miles, hasn't seen the inside of a garage in 13 years, and I've never had a problem with the sunroof. It's never leaked and it still opens and closes perfectly. It also has a shade I can close if I don't want the sun shining down on me.
 
Never had a problem on any of my Honda's...now the F150....different. One day driving home with the sunroof open, I drove, unknowingly, straight into torrential rains that produced a small tornado. Try to close the sunroof...NOTHING...wth??? Manage to pull into a covered carport and tried to shut it again and again, nothing. Tornado sirens are going off all over the place. Check the fuses really quick, all good. Went and hid until the thing blow over. Got it home and pulled into the garage. Checked all the circuits with a volt meter, all is good. Took it to a glass place and they said...oh yeah, pretty common. Apparently, there is some sort of plastic rail trigger that is suppose to stop the glass from going to far back and then set the switch so that it will close. It broke. Choices...they could get it to work for about 150, just don't let the sunroof go all they way back, or replace the whole assembly with the exact same parts for about 600....guess which route I took. Since then, I've never touched it.
 
I was enthusiastic about sunroofs until I got a car with working a/c. But if you like them then enjoy. The only downside is possibly sticking open at a bad time, which is only a potential problem. But do make sure you have enough headroom before you buy. That was a problem for anyone much over 6' with the old European Ford Capri's.

Claud.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav


You mean like GM W bodies that drain into the rocker panels with a tiny drain hole that probably clogged before it left the factory and rots them out?
Over the years I have had and seen ruined headliners, seats, rugs, rotted out rockers, broken sliders one STB half open in a storm.

Yep, Toyota used that kind of setup. Except it was a full length of vinyl tubing running from the sunroof/moonroof to the plastic quarter panel vent.
 
I’m sure I’ve had a dozen or so … GM, Chrysler, & Ford … no issues …
 
My favorite time to using a sunroof was during a warm summer night on the highway.
 
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Have had sunroofs and moonroofs on various cars over the years.
Zero issues and they are nice to have for us.
Our loan Honda with a moonroof was an '02 Accord.
No issues out to when the car was scrapped due to nearly dead automatic at fifteen years of age.
 
Only issue is that our Forester has a stone chip in the glass. Otherwise both cars have been fine.

But exploding moonroofs seem to be common complaints with some cars. It all depends on the type of glass and how much stress the body design puts on them.
 
Originally Posted By: nthach
Originally Posted By: Trav


You mean like GM W bodies that drain into the rocker panels with a tiny drain hole that probably clogged before it left the factory and rots them out?
Over the years I have had and seen ruined headliners, seats, rugs, rotted out rockers, broken sliders one STB half open in a storm.

Yep, Toyota used that kind of setup. Except it was a full length of vinyl tubing running from the sunroof/moonroof to the plastic quarter panel vent.


I moved them to the rear of the trunk just behind the rear bumper cover with rubber grommets and silicone When I replaced both inner and outer rocker panels. End of problem, I just cant believe they did something so stupid.
You would never know the roof was leaking until it rots out because the rockers are filling with water and not coming in the car.
 
Going back through my DD history-all of my cars('94 Maxima, the LS, and the MKZ) have had moon roofs. The Maxima one was aftermarket.

In any case, given the option of identically equipped cars but one with and one without, I'd choose without for a couple of reasons.

On a practical level, I never use them. To me it's all or nothing-I'll drop the top on the MG rather than getting just a little overhead from an opening in the top. Also, this has never come up in any cars I've regularly driven, but I'm a tall guy and I've been in small cars where the extra inch the roof eats up makes head room a bit snug for me.

My LS leaked. There was a known issue with them where the rubber hoses connecting to the drain would shrink and pull loose. I fixed it myself a few times, but it was a struggle and got worse as the car got older(access was poor unless you dropped the whole headliner-something I didn't want to do). Finally, my mechanic did SOMETHING and it never leaked again. In any case, it would start as a slow drip but heavy rain would have nearly a constant drip on my left leg when driving. It happened on both sides, and got a few of my passengers also.

They're popular enough that it can be tough these days to find a car that offers one as a option and doesn't have one. I've also seen cars where it's not even optional.

The last car I seriously considered buying new was a Chevy SS. The options are few on it, but I wanted a manual with no sunroof. That particular combination would have likely required ordering.
 
Let me put it to you this way, I was in Detriot on business and was working with an engineer responsible for sun roofs and he said it best...'A sun roof is nothing more than a engineered and managed water leak". What he meant was all sunroofs leak, its just the way drainage is designed to carry water away. Every vehicle I have ever owned has sunroofs just because I always buy top trim loaded vehicles. I've only had 2 leak. My CTS leaked but it was a simple fix - a drain was clogged. My Sierra Denali Pickup leaked and it was a seal that got pinched and was channeling water in faster than the drains could take it away in a hard rain or car wash. I think it cost $35 and I had it installed under an hour. I like sunroofs for the vent feature (not fully open) for quiet fresh air on a moderate day and it also helps vent hot air out when parked. Get the sunroof and don't worry. Check the drains every once in awhile and condition the seals and you will be fine.
 
My mom had a 1985 Nissan Maxima until 1994. It had a sunroof, but at some point it got stuck and we just left it that way. It didn't leak water, it just became another electrical nuisance that the stupid car had. We simply left it alone, much like how we left the dome light alone, the tape deck alone, and a variety of other stupid things alone. We had someone across the street who had to deal with the same stupid things in their 85 Maxima.

I don't remember if my dad's 1997 Lexus ES300 had a sunroof or not because we never used it. We never experienced a leak, and the car was 9 years old when he sold it.
 
I would be buying this car used so I can't ask for it not to have it if it's this trim level. I either buy this trim level and have a moon roof or don't
smile.gif
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Has anyone experienced moonroofs exploding? Didn't even know that was a thing until I googled it.

I like the idea of having it but I think worrying about leaks, rust, exploding moonroofs and a flying rock landing on top is worse than not having it.

But then I'd have to think, I can't imagine how many people have had these issues and I see moonroofs anywhere. Maybe it's not as common as I think.

I just don't want to be jacking the car up on one corner and having the moon roof explode because the car body started to twist slightly.
 
Never had an issue in the 4 Volvos I’ve owned. The roofs were/are used every time the car is unless it’s precipitating.
 
Originally Posted By: NoNameJoe
I would be buying this car used so I can't ask for it not to have it if it's this trim level. I either buy this trim level and have a moon roof or don't
smile.gif
.

Has anyone experienced moonroofs exploding? Didn't even know that was a thing until I googled it.

I like the idea of having it but I think worrying about leaks, rust, exploding moonroofs and a flying rock landing on top is worse than not having it.

But then I'd have to think, I can't imagine how many people have had these issues and I see moonroofs anywhere. Maybe it's not as common as I think.

I just don't want to be jacking the car up on one corner and having the moon roof explode because the car body started to twist slightly.


It's very rare but it does happen. Don't worry about it though, glass including moonroofs is covered under comprehensive on your insurance so it doesn't matter if it explodes or not. Never had one go in owning them for over 20 years, but windshields seem to last only 3-5 years before some rock breaks them, at least around here.
 
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