It's a must-have for us now, and every car we bought since the mids has had one or a sunroof, if we couldn't get a moonroof. We use it all the time. It kind of feels wrong when we get in a car without one. I adore my moonroof. I have one of those absurd double-length ones. The only downside I've experienced so far is if you leave the cover open on a nice summer evening, sometimes the next day your car is extraordinarily hot if the sun's been baking into it.
Small price to pay for breezy drives and letting light in! As others have said, it makes your car feel extra-expansive. The only moonroof I've ever experienced that leaked was the one my dad installed in our Buick in the early 80s, and even that leakage was minimal and I love the fact that he cut a flipping hole in the roof of our brand new car because he was SO sure he could make that moonroof happen.
We've got one in our Civic and have never had any problems with it. I love watching the rain hit it, I love the occasional bonus glimpse I get of a cool bird flying by overhead, I love looking up and seeing stars or the moon when we're driving at night Moonroofs moonrooves? I also like it for nice autumn days where I don't want to open my windows, but I want a bit of fresh air. I can crack open the moonroof and get air in. It's not overly windy at all. I don't love it enough to have it become a dealbreaker on a future car, but it's a nice option to have.
Best answer: They are extremely useful for cooling down the car on hot days, but when those roof drains fail, they fail in a really horrible way that you may not discover until you feel water dripping on you inside the car. Best answer: Yeah, moonroofs open. My 5 year old Mazda has one that has never leaked, and I park it outside too, in northeast weather.
More an issue with panoramic glass roofs, Hyundai is currently getting class-action sued about this. Most of them are fine and will last the life of the car. I'd certainly trust Toyota quality on this.
I myself would hate not to have a moonroof, even if it does steal an inch of headroom and I'm a big guy who likes small, quick cars. A major benefit is that you can get significant air circulation with the vents on fresh air and the moonroof cracked, while not needing to open your windows.
That saves road noise. But I notice it also improves my gas mileage noticeably not to drive with my windows open. In theory the cracked moonroof creates a little more drag, but nothing like the scoop effect of open windows. Plenty of times I like to just open it and the windows all the way and feel the wind and the sun.
I'd miss that, even if it isn't all that often, if I couldn't do it at all. Toyota RAV4 moonroofs do open. In modern parlance, a sunroof is made of something that isn't transparent usually the same steel that the roof is , and a moonroof is made of glass.
Both of them open, usually both as a tilted "vent" perfect for letting air OUT , as well as the more traditional "slide open" perfect for messing up your hair and letting you see the sun. I loved my sunroof in several cars that had them. I loved my convertible.
The ability to open the roof on a nice day is an enormous plus for me. The cloth screen broke about a year ago and separated from the wire guides. I ripped it out and fortunately the roof is closed, albeit now permanently. Never again. Added reason — outrageous cost to repair if it malfunctions.
The pano sunroof motor on my 55,km Superb has gone. Not covered by the extended warranty either. Sorry to hear about that. Aside from the cost of the motor, the labour charge to fit it might also be more than you imagine — as the entire roof lining will need to be dropped in order to access the motor location.
It is also important to consider that if they need to remove the roof lining from the car entirely, the front windscreen will need to be taken out to create an opening big enough to do that. Okay, you talked me out of it.
I live in Florida and being hotter is not a temperature goal of mine. That should have been 7 reasons for sure. You do hear about panoramic roofs exploding occasionally, but the issue seems fairly uncommon. Still, a metal roof will never shatter into millions of razor sharp pieces and rain down on top of you — so it is something to consider.
I totally agree with this blog. I do not agree. I have just bought a car with a fixed panoramic sunroof and I love it!! Mine has an electric blind so I can cover it as I wish. Cars which have opening sunroofs are a pain especially in britain as you hardly use the, I had a car with a removable roof once and I never used it!! So I dosagree with you panoramic sunroofs are ace!! Hello Helen…. Thanks for your cheery and reasonable comments!
I just got a VW Tiguan with one and was feeling a tiny bit concerned for its usage and safety. But, on a ride today, realized the car seems lighter inside…. Cheers to panoramic sunroofs!!! I was considering one of the vista roofs but your article helped me not jump into the same old trap.
I seldom used them when I had them. My Mercedes E Iridium Silver is beautiful and has not posed any problems whatsoever. No noise, no leaks, no explosions, no structural problems, no heat that is unmanageable, etc. I have a Hyundai Elantra Gt with the panoramic sunroof and I do not think I would buy another car that had one ever again.
Other than the points mentioned above they can be very expensive to repair. Luckily it was still under warranty…barely. You could write an article like this for like everything in your life: kids, pet, house, flat, swimming pool… etc.
I am almost certain the glass would shatter and the passenger compartment would have a semi truck wheel and tire inside of it or at least bouncing off it , not a pretty sight. Actually I saw a programme the other week testing cars with panoramic sunroofs and you would be amazed at their strength.!!! Definitely what I wanted to know. I love the idea of a skyroof but with all these issues, probably better for the hip pocket as well to do without!
I have a Hyundai Elantra GT with the panoramic roof. It does not come on the regular Elantra. I have owned many convertibles over the years , but decided to try a panoramic roof. It is almost like a ragtop, but I feel safer and have hardly any of the wind noise and turbulence you have with a ragtop.
It has the electric sunshades you can close but only if the roof is closed also. I have the roof open quite a bit, even in winter, and I live in Maine. If it gets too chilly, I just close it part way and put the heat on. I had not heard about any of them exploding, and assume it is a rare thing. What causes them to explode? My Yeti has a sunroof. We love it for the open cabin feeling. However it started to leak recently.
We always parked on a hill with the front of the car pointing down. There are 4 drains in the sunroof, one in each corner. In the west of Ireland it rains a lot. We noticed water leaking down dead in the front middle of the sunroof.
The garage never asked if we were on a hill and assumed it was a minor blockage in the drains. It happened again. Around the same time I lubricated the parts for opening and closing the sunroof. We notice that sometimes it can be difficult to get the sunroof to close, which can be a worry with rain due any minute. Eventually we do get it closed sometimes an hour or two later after car restarts and tinkering with the control. I now just leave the damn thing shut. With increasing temperatures in Australia and rising skin cancer rates I feel uneasy about another source of unwanted sun.
Yes, it gives an open airy feeling but with all the other issues of weight, mechanical malfunction, exploding glass and squeaks and rattles — decided not to order it on a new X1 arriving soon.
Have an M sports great car to drive with a sunroof and occasionally I pull it back but not so enamoured that I would overlook all the negatives.
They are real. I wear a hat when I pull the sunroof down though…. Glass roofs are a personal preference. I have had one on a Cadillac for 17 years with zero problems. Had no problems on a Ford for 20 years with a moon roof with a manual sunshade. On hot days I left the roof partly open and the shade nearly closed. This allowed the heat out of the car better than anything else. Oh yes, I do remember a car I had with a sunroof problem. Of course it also leaked under the dash, in the trunk and everywhere else.
Really scary piece of junk. If you are basketball player height, I probably would not get a glass roof, but otherwise I would never buy a car without one, since they now seem like dark dungeons. Well I have a 2 year old Audi S3 and have had all the rattles and creaks imaginable from my panoramic roof.
Been back at the dealership 5 times and they have even replaced the frame with no solution. Just yesterday I had it retracted all the way back and when coming to close it…nothing.
Wont respond to switches, keys or remotes. Fuses all fine, so most probable to be a motor fault now as well. But the best part is, car can only be booked in on January 4th , and there is absolutely no manual override. So I cant use the car until then, cause being summer here in South Africa, it rains almost everyday.
So would I ever buy a car with a pano roof again…NO!! Not true in my model. The shade and roof are independent, and I can have the shade as open or closed as I want. My car is very quiet with the roof. Very little road noise. We were covered in glass. I understand this is a freak accident but it leads to a nunber of other safety questions. I will never get one again. You could of had the light post smash in the roof and harm you all..
So, are you saying that the pole hitting the roof would have been worse than it hitting a slab of glass? I love my panoramic sunroof. My wife loves it and my kids too.
When the roof is closed it brings a lot of daylight into the car. So far I have not experience any trouble with the roof construction. I think that depends where you live in the world. If you live in place with very warm summers with temp. I love the sunroofs There are sunroofs avaliable which do have an heat reflecting coating.
Idt does not get warmer, and in siome cases the carmaker got rid of the roller sytems, since the thermal comfort is not improved by it. Hello guys I read your comments and one thing I have to tell you that I owned the car with panoramic roof for 3 years and I think only used it for 3 — 5 times.
Also once I was thinking that if anything gone wrong the Panoramic roof reduce the safety as well. So therefore I will stick to the point here that I will never buy a car again with panoramic roof. The Genesis G80 sunroof is huge and has less heat issues, unlike benz, audi, etc, the retractable shade in very thick and blocks ALL light and heat from entering the cabin. I guess the German manufacturers need to take notes.
My genesis ultimate 3. Brought it to the dealer and they manually closed it. The seals have already been replaced once after 12 months and the roof has been rattling since I leased the vehicle. The companies that make them do so for all the manufacturers so the brand of vehicle is irrelevant. They are all made in Japan by the same three companies.
We purchased this one for the simple reason it was huge and one piece and does not open. We wanted an open cabin feel to be able to see out and enjoy the view and it very much does that.
Couldnt be happier with the vehicle and that feature!!! I have a VW Tiguan and love our panoramic sunroof! I will not consider a car without one. I live in Victoria and use it almost year round on city driving as well as country touring. Love it, love it, love it!!! I had a melanoma several years ago and I am worried about the sun rays getting through.
So long as the sun shades are available and I can block out the sun coming in, then I am okay with the extra heat. I am guessing the only time I would have it open would be a night drive anyway. But my main concern is whether all cars with the panoramic sunroof have the sun shades to block out the sun.
I have no idea if the Murano or Santa Fe have the sunshades. I welcome any thoughts on my reasoning. Thanks in advance. I have been driving for years now with a Mercedes-Benz A-class with the panoramic roof. It was a must-have after growing accustomed to the light in the car after driving a Alfa-Romeo Brera. Which had a very nice windshield that extended over the roof giving a ver wide viewing-angle. Add glas panels to it.
Riding on a rough highway.. Even the radio was drowned out of the noise that made…. The Mercedes is another story: the car is still light and agile.
In the summertime it s amazing and it adds to a more voluminous feeling in the car. It boils really down to the brand and car-characteristics in my mind. The Mercedes is worth it for me. Was thinking of buying the Hyundai i30 with the Panoramic sunroof…it is quite tinted and looks amazing. Depend on how they mean it. Interesting — my C did exactly the same thing last week, still in warranty but MB will not accept it exploded but say it was a stone chip which could have happened some time ago.
Did MB replace yours? I live in Phoenix, AZ and here its not rare to see them hit f with some days getting to f. So here is probably an even worse idea. Yes, but they fail to mention that they also come with the ability to close off the panoramic glass by closing the screen as well. There are times that the sun is coming in at an angle that it creates a glare on my touch screen. So I just close the shade and presto… you have a normal car roof.
The article mentioned that even with the shade, heat builds between the glass and the shade. So no, sunroofs, panoramics or otherwise a, shade or not, will never be like a normal roof. And since the new car has a more efficient AC, it actually cools down more quickly. No doubt about it, carmakers and consumers are fixated on glass in their products. The more the better seems to be the mantra, with glass replacing sheet metal at a glaring rate in many vehicles on the roads today.
But is a glass roof panel a good idea? First, the terminology. A moonroof is a sliding glass panel, usually power operated and it almost always comes with a shade panel covered in the same material as the headliner. Climate control. Speaking of keeping cool, in winter, most shade panels offer less insulation capabilities than a solid headliner. Without exception, driving at any speed over a crawl with an open glass panel will create wind noise.
At highway speeds, it can become unbearable. Roof-mounted air deflectors or the small pop-up ones that come with the panel will do little to alleviate this situation. Water leaks. Not to worry.
Under the window panel, there is a cover shade that slides back and forth to block out the sunshine. To enjoy the sunshine and panoramic view, just open the cover. This panorama window is to enjoy the view and it is the only sunroof that does not open and shut. So, it does not provide any ventilation through the roof, however, this large window provides the best sense of openness.
A sunroof will give you a sense of open-air and freedom. The openness of sunroofs cannot be compared with a car with a completely enclosed space Of course, a convertible car which has no roof is the best in terms of openness…. Driving on a sunny day in early summer is fabulous! Research shows that the noise from the sunroof is quieter than that from side windows. Ventilating the car by opening the sunroof as well as the side windows is far more efficient than opening the side windows only.
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