Looking to buy a car fitted with a panoramic sunroof. It is a sunroof that goes from the windscreen to the back of the car. Was wondering how strong they are and if anyone had problems with them cracking etc. Like the front windscreen the sunroof is part of the stuctute of the car and was wondering how will it stand potholes, rough roads etc. Ford S-max owners have reported seeing crack in the sunroof after a few years. Nissan brochure says they are very strong.
Just that in the past i had a cricket ball smash through my small sunroof on a '96 mondeo.
I am aware that the sunroof is very strong but i leave my car parked on the main road overnight. Some time ago i was woken up one night by drunks. One of them was standing on a taxi's roof taking a leak. True this type of behaviour is not common where i live but what will happen if he stood on my roof? Will the glass crack with this plonker jumping up and down? Can anyone stand on their panoramic roof and see if it takes their weight? Just joking.
Have rang my current insurers and they say it is not covered under windscreen cover and that i have to put a claim in which can affect my NCB in the long run. (Have not bought the car yet, just asked them what if i had a car with a panoramic sunroof)
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If a drunk stands on your tin car roof it will dent severely and you will have to make an insurance claim, if a cricket ball lands on your ca roof it will dent badly and you will need to raise a claim....
Car windscreens have been part of the body shell for years
So where is the difference?
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>>If a drunk stands on your tin car roof it will dent severely and you will have to make an insurance claim, if a cricket ball lands on your ca roof it will dent badly and you will need to raise a claim....>>
And much cheaper to replace a piece of glass than repair a tin roof.
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A sunroof is a leak waiting to happen. Big sunroof, big leak. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Mon 23 Aug 10 at 09:02
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My last Scenic had panoramic sunroof and by the time it was 3 years old it creaked very badly. Distractingly so.
If cold or frosty it creaked when the car heated up. When hot it creaked.
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>> A sunroof is a leak waiting to happen. Big sunroof, big leak. :-)
Since a panoramic sunroof doesn't move, it can be properly sealed. The one on my Qashqai hasn't had a problem and I've not heard of anyone having problem with it.
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>> Since a panoramic sunroof doesn't move, it can be properly sealed.
>>
Does that make it a mobile greenhouse, or conservatory, whichever it will need powerful aircon.
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The panoramic sunroof in our Scenic did open (at least the front half of it did). There was the odd story floating around of random cracking / shattering, but ours was fine. Didn't leak either. It didn't quite sit flush on one corner when we bought the car, but this was fixed first time, and permanently by the local dealer under the manufacturer's warranty.
It made the interior of the car so much lighter and gave a real sensation of space. I doubt it would have withstood a drunken idiot jumping on it, but then as was pointed out earlier, neither would a conventional steel roof panel.
We liked the panoramic roof a lot.
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We have one in wifey's new Jazz but drive with the blind closed most of the time. She would never open it because she'd never think to (I opened the sunroof once on her last car and it pulled the seal out as it was stuck to the glass!).
I open the blind in the Jazz now and again but find it's too bright if the sun is out.
One advantage is bird muck doesn't mark it like it would paint!
Last edited by: Bill Payer on Mon 23 Aug 10 at 21:38
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My S-Max has the full (almost) length panoramic roof (non-opening) with integral blinds which are usually closed. Air con works well to keep the heat down. No sign of cracking or even creaking at the moment. Adds a lot of light to the otherwise dark interior, so much so that I did not realise for a time that the car had 'mood lighting' installed - the street lights just flood the car with light to overpower the subtle red of the lights set into the underside of the rear view mirror.
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>> the subtle red of the lights set into the underside of the rear view
>> mirror.
>>
Is there something you're trying to tell us about the S-MAX ?
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I have a question. What is the definition of a panoramic sunroof - is it one that doesn't open, or is it defined by its size relative of the roof of the car?
And if the latter, is there a name for sunroofs that don't open?
(I ask partly because just this evening, my wife was expressing surprise that some sunroofs don't open - she couldn't see the point of such a feature, since she thought that the sole point of sunroofs was ventilation. My perspective is the opposite - I just like the extra light coming in.)
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What on earth is 'mood lighting'? Who defines the mood or the colour to match it?
I thought that sort of thing was what the boyracers and chavs got up to. Maybe Ford is just trying to jump the gun, knowing the sort of fourth or fifth owner its cars will have.
Actually, I've just remembered (as ever) that MkII Jaguars used to have a rather unusual blue-ish fascia lighting.
Last edited by: Mike Hannon on Tue 24 Aug 10 at 10:42
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Glass panels in the roof of the 2005 Berlingo have never given a minute's trouble and make the inside much lighter.
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I love sunroofs. I go out of my way to choose cars with them. My Mondeo has a small opening one and the Qashqai has a sealed panoramic one. I love the extra light and find cars without this feature gloomy inside. I guess most cars I've had have had a sunroof. None of them have leaked.
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According to the manual, my car has a "moonroof"
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What car is that then Dave........?
:-)
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Have I not mentioned it yet...?
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I'm sure I don't know what you mean......mentioned what ?
:-)
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Could it be the latest addition to my fleet?
I didn't say anything because I was afraid that I might offend Kevin, by not buying A Daimler Super. They're going for silly money, £14k for a 2001 on Autotrader right now, two others for £8k, 1999 models. For substantially less than that I bought a 2003 Lexus LS430 a few weeks ago. With a moon roof.
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Do you find yourself favouring a single Michael Jackson-esque glove while driving it ?
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I'm available for weddings and funerals. Where's my cap?
Wife has taken to sitting in the back and watching telly while having her rear massaged.
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"I love sunroofs. . . . I love the extra light and find cars without this feature gloomy inside."
Me too. Could it be something to do with having lived north of the Tweed, where every extra photon is welcome?
Coincidentally, I was looking at a Qashqai in Inverness yesterday and was struck (metaphorically) by the huge sunroof, and immediately decided that I was seriously interested.
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I have come to like mine Tyro. Took a while but it has gradually come to me what a good package it is. Mine is a 2.0 diesel auto 4x4 and it felt very cosseting in last winter's bad weather. A few minor quality niggles but overall very good. I would have another if that suited my needs at the time.
Last edited by: Humph D'bout on Tue 24 Aug 10 at 12:53
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>> I have come to like mine Tyro. Took a while but it has gradually come
>> to me what a good package it is. Mine is a 2.0 diesel auto 4x4
>> and it felt very cosseting in last winter's bad weather.
Exactly what I bought, an excellent package overall. When I originally had a test drive it was in version with no sunroof and my wife wasn't at all impressed. However they did have one with a sunroof in the showroom and it swung the decision.
The only time the blind is closed is when it is parked up during the daytime.
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Which part of the country are you in Steve ? We could nod to each other knowingly like members of a secret society.......
:-)
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We've got one on the Roomie, the family really like it, the front blind tends to stay shut, but it certainly lightens up the interiour... I had doubts abot its strength, but aren't they laminated glass like the windscreen?
Last edited by: hobby on Tue 24 Aug 10 at 16:44
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A panoramic sunroof could lead to a messy divorce. Imagine a situation where you are having some extra-marital thingy in the car as the Google Earth plane pases over...
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You would have to be seriously unlucky :-)
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Or one of Pat's colleagues drives past.
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Panoramic Sunroof - Has anyone had problems? - Zero
