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Shattering Sunroofs

16K views 34 replies 17 participants last post by  Essjay 
#1 ·
We've bought a brand new VW Tiguan R-line my19 and the sunroof just shattered on a 30mph road doing about 25mph. No impact to the sunroof by debris just the sound of air rushing in. The sunroof was pushed outwards but part of the glass had fallen in.
There is a class action suit in America to do with shattering sunroofs and I've read a couple of posts via a google search so wanted to ask if this has happened to anyone on here?

Thanks mark

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#2 ·
A very rare occurrence but it has happened to a forum members friend, have a read here https://www.tiguanforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=5205

A different forum member has also had this happen here https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?8603785-Tiguan-2017-Moon-Roof-quot-Exploded-quot-While-Driving

Another one here but on a Golf with pictures of the shattered roof https://www.vwroc.com/forums/topic/30258-exploding-sunroof/

One mentions as you do the sunroof seems to have been pushed outwards which would indicate a similar reason for it happening rather than just a faulty roof.
 
#3 ·
So VW are adamant without any evidence that sunroofs do not shatter. They claim that its impact damage so not covered by warranty and the vw owner, I.e. us, has to pay for a new panoramic sunroof.
VW customer services refuse me access to speak to a member of staff from their warranty department and shut this complain down at every opportunity. Now referring this complaint to the ombudsman to recover our costs.
Are there any other VW vehicle owners that have had the same issue? I would love to chat to them about their case/ complaint. There is a class action lawsuit currently in America but would like information from UK owners.

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#4 ·
These glass pano roofs have always given me the heeebee geeebeees!

Many, many years ago i rolled a Ford Capri with Webasto fabric sunroof, at quite some speed, and I can still visualise the tarmac rushing past just clear of my head as i slid down the road, sunroof having detached from car...
Scarey stuff!

Hope you get it sorted.

Ps have a colleague with a 3 yo RS A6 (£60k+?) And his glass pano sunroof roof leaks, now to the extent that it's damaging the electronics and wiring! Dealer is talking of a £5k repair!
 
#5 ·
Wolfsburger said:
These glass pano roofs have always given me the heeebee geeebeees!
I'm not a fan either, you hear of so many problems with them on other marques too. In my opinion they're just a ticking time bomb.

I've only got one because it was standard on the R-Line, I wouldn't spec' one given the choice. I don't even use the thing, mine stays shut with the blind permanently closed.
 
#6 ·
If one does get broken, does anyone know if there's a metal panel replacement option?
 
#7 ·
TIGeRLine said:
I've only got one because it was standard on the R-Line, I wouldn't spec' one given the choice. I don't even use the thing, mine stays shut with the blind permanently closed.
I'd be miffed to have "spent" ~£1K on something I didn't want. Although I wouldn't want the 20" wheels either!

You do hear regular horror stories about rattling and leaks, but presumably VW wouldn't fit them as standard to quite a few models in they were as bad in reality as is made out.

We have a couple of mk2 Honda Jazz's in the family with fixed glass roofs and that seems a good solution. Kids think they're brilliant. Having said that, Honda has dropped them on the latest model.
 
#8 ·
The issue here for me is that VW know there is a problem and in fact are being sued. There are stories on these types of forums which can be found with a 60 second google search but VW deny that any sunroofs have shattered because of a fault with the sunroof, the fittings of the sunroof or the fitment process so not covered under warranty. It is always, for them, the default option that its impact damage.
The issue is that VW and their dealerships are happy to tell the owners of such vehicles that they are lying rather than look into why the sunroofs are shattering. VW / Arnold Clark are happy that some of the glass shatters inside the car over passengers rather than "Pay" to fix the issue and stop it happening in the future. So we are back to Profits over safety.
VW and Arnold Clark like to think they have the upper hand in that not many people can afford to take them to court so as a business tactically hide behind a screen trying to stop stories getting out into the public arena.
Painfully I thought VW were a premium brand, I even buy their commercial vehicles, and that they would look after their customers but like so many great brands they are only interested in immediate profit/sale and not the longterm vision of returning customers.
I've spent hours on the phone to VW customer services / warranty and no one their is interested. The motoring ombudsman is paid for directly by the car industry so is helpless to make a difference and they advise speaking to the citizens advice bureau who intern pass you through to their " goods and services division" who are now responsible for notifying trading standards as trading standards no longer speak directly to the general public.
So where does that leave the hard working man or woman that has spent the thick end of £37k on a car that is unsafe and at anytime can shower its passengers with glass? Out of pocket having to pay to get they're car back and not knowing if this is going to happen again.
The general manager at Arnold Clark in Glasgow, Mr Stuart Ward, showed the indifference of a serial killer when it came to the conversation of safety of a car they sold us. "Were not doing anything" were a part of the conversation which tells the whole story.
For those people who may read this and think that I'm just a bitter complainer who wants attention, then next time your in a VW with a sunroof make sure the inner screen is closed at all times.
Anyone who has had this happen please get in touch.

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#31 ·
The issue here for me is that VW know there is a problem and in fact are being sued. There are stories on these types of forums which can be found with a 60 second google search but VW deny that any sunroofs have shattered because of a fault with the sunroof, the fittings of the sunroof or the fitment process so not covered under warranty. It is always, for them, the default option that its impact damage.
The issue is that VW and their dealerships are happy to tell the owners of such vehicles that they are lying rather than look into why the sunroofs are shattering. VW / Arnold Clark are happy that some of the glass shatters inside the car over passengers rather than "Pay" to fix the issue and stop it happening in the future. So we are back to Profits over safety.
VW and Arnold Clark like to think they have the upper hand in that not many people can afford to take them to court so as a business tactically hide behind a screen trying to stop stories getting out into the public arena.
Painfully I thought VW were a premium brand, I even buy their commercial vehicles, and that they would look after their customers but like so many great brands they are only interested in immediate profit/sale and not the longterm vision of returning customers.
I've spent hours on the phone to VW customer services / warranty and no one their is interested. The motoring ombudsman is paid for directly by the car industry so is helpless to make a difference and they advise speaking to the citizens advice bureau who intern pass you through to their " goods and services division" who are now responsible for notifying trading standards as trading standards no longer speak directly to the general public.
So where does that leave the hard working man or woman that has spent the thick end of £37k on a car that is unsafe and at anytime can shower its passengers with glass? Out of pocket having to pay to get they're car back and not knowing if this is going to happen again.
The general manager at Arnold Clark in Glasgow, Mr Stuart Ward, showed the indifference of a serial killer when it came to the conversation of safety of a car they sold us. "Were not doing anything" were a part of the conversation which tells the whole story.
For those people who may read this and think that I'm just a bitter complainer who wants attention, then next time your in a VW with a sunroof make sure the inner screen is closed at all times.
Anyone who has had this happen please get in touch.

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Hello, how far has this gone for you now 3 years later? This literally happened to us today. No evidence for any impact cause. Just went "bang" as we were driving along. Terrifying.
 
#10 ·
Your exactly right but i would'nt say Legal Suicide. What does that say about how they view their customers.
They could have avoided all this and fixed the car without accepting liability and we would have been non the wiser or even complain. If i can get one person to switch from buying VW I consider all this time a success.

Allowing an issue where people/children/pets can be showered with glass and glass dust and not look into why these sunroofs are shattering are the reason why there's a law suit against them in the first place.

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#11 ·
I don't know if it still the case but there used to be a clear protective film that could be applied to glass that in the event of the glass breaking, the film kept all the bits of glass together. I have seen it used a number of times in the past on internal doors in houses that are largely made up of glass panels where the owner had young children. Glass back then was very thin and if broken, formed jagged pieces. Of course, now most internal glass is safely glass so this product may not still be around but if it is, I assume if placed on the inside of the pano-roof glass, in the event it does shatter, it should protect the people below and I would have thought that it would be largely invisible otherwise? Might be an option for those who are concerned?
 
#12 ·
Hi,

I appreciate your time and suggestion of the film but do you think you should pay £37k for a premium Tiguan R line car and then have to put film on the underside of the panoramic sunroof incase it shatters? Would you really buy a car if you had to do this?
If anything VW should apply it so it can say to buyers that it's an extra safety feature of the car.

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#13 ·
I have paid about £37k for a premium R-Line car and if I knew the pano-roof was likely to shatter and that I would have to install this film then I would not have proceeded with the purchase - I agree it is not reasonable to do that. However, a lot of people are in the same position as me. We didn't know about this problem when we bought our car and given VW apparently don't acknowledge there is a problem, I was merely suggesting this is one thing that could possibly be done to alleviate concerns for those who are worried. I am not suggesting this is an acceptable solution.
 
#15 ·
How do you know theres non? If people just pay for the new sunroof, as VW warranty wont, and then don't do anything or say anything how do we as consumers know about it. We don't but by me highlighting the issue we have had it may get others to say something. That's why I've asked for people to get in touch.
How do we also know that your not from VW trying to stop my request for othets by coming on this thread? We could call it Shattergate!!

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#16 ·
John27.
Yes i agree and as one person put it VW would be committing legal suicide if they openly accepted there was a problem.
My advice is to keep the curtain closed or indeed apply the film then you know.
Ill get the photos of our sunroof put up which shows part of the sunroof in a popped up position as though it blew outwards and then once the glass had broken gravity dragged it into the car.

The photos tell it better than me.

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#17 ·
majaem1 said:
How do you know theres non? If people just pay for the new sunroof, as VW warranty wont, and then don't do anything or say anything how do we as consumers know about it. We don't but by me highlighting the issue we have had it may get others to say something. That's why I've asked for people to get in touch.
How do we also know that your not from VW trying to stop my request for othets by coming on this thread? We could call it Shattergate!!
Mate, you really, really need to chill a bit.

Believe me, if users on this Forum had suffered shattered pano roofs, we would have heard.

Again, get a bit of perspective.
 
#18 ·
Would have thought there is sufficient consumer protection legislation to enable you to reject and return the vehicle. Check out the Which? website:-https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

e.g. If you are outside the 30-day right to reject, you have to give the retailer one opportunity to repair or replace any goods or digital content which are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described.

You can state your preference, but the retailer can normally choose whichever would be cheapest or easier for it to do.

If the attempt at a repair or replacement is unsuccessful, you can then claim a refund or a price reduction if you wish to keep the product.

You're entitled to a full or partial refund instead of a repair or replacement if any of the following are true:

the cost of the repair or replacement is disproportionate to the value of the goods or digital content
a repair or replacement is impossible
a repair or replacement would cause you significant inconvenience
the repair would take an unreasonably long amount of time.
If a repair or replacement is not possible, or the attempt at repair fails, or the first replacement also turns out to be defective, you have a further right to receive a refund of up to 100% of the price you paid, or to reject the goods for a full refund.

If you don't want a refund and still want your product repaired or replaced, you have the right to request that the retailer makes further attempts at a repair or replacement.

Use our step-by-step guide if you want to ask a retailer to repair or replace something you've bought that subsequently develops a fault.
 
#19 ·
Ive been in touch with the purchasing dealer, Arnold Clark, who have stated that as the car is over six months old the onus is on the vehicle owner to prove there is/was a fault. When VW removed the sunroof originally all the glass fell out so its now quite difficult to prove there was a fault and all the while VW claim we are lying and that the sunroof could only be smashed due to an impact as their sunroofs dont shatter.
The consumer credit act applies when goods are faulty. Proving such will be difficult and costly as VW know. Arnold Clark and VW have in house legal departments whereas the working man would need to seek legal advice which would end up being more costly than the sunroof which is why there is a class action suit in America so its not just one person fighting VW its a group.

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#20 ·
Im assuming that because you are on this forum, you have a new style, mk2 Tiguan?

Its just that the class action in the USA covers all models of VW, but not a single mk2 Tiguan, just a few mk1s......

Like I said, if this was a mk2 issue, we would know about it.

Unfortunately, I think you are going to struggle to get VW to pay up with no history of this on the mk2.
 
#21 ·
majaem1 said:
Ive been in touch with the purchasing dealer, Arnold Clark, who have stated that as the car is over six months old the onus is on the vehicle owner to prove there is/was a fault. When VW removed the sunroof originally all the glass fell out so its now quite difficult to prove there was a fault and all the while VW claim we are lying and that the sunroof could only be smashed due to an impact as their sunroofs dont shatter.
The consumer credit act applies when goods are faulty. Proving such will be difficult and costly as VW know. Arnold Clark and VW have in house legal departments whereas the working man would need to seek legal advice which would end up being more costly than the sunroof which is why there is a class action suit in America so its not just one person fighting VW its a group.
Good luck. Don't let anyone put you off fighting your corner.
 
#22 ·
I have just had this issue with my 2019 Tiguan panaramic sunroof. Just closed the boot and the whole thing fell through. Called the official dealership where I purchased and they said I had to claim on insurance as there was no way for them to tell the cause of the issue.

Definitely seems suspect as in America there is class action lawsuit.

Still waiting for Autoglass to fix as it's a specialist part so enjoying the rain Vs my makeshift fix!

Similar to other users here the glass shattered upwards. Motor vehicle Automotive tire Automotive lighting Hood Window
 

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#23 ·
taximike said:
I have just had this issue with my 2019 Tiguan panaramic sunroof. Just closed the boot and the whole thing fell through. Called the official dealership where I purchased and they said I had to claim on insurance as there was no way for them to tell the cause of the issue.

Definitely seems suspect as in America there is class action lawsuit.

Still waiting for Autoglass to fix as it's a specialist part so enjoying the rain Vs my makeshift fix!

Similar to other users here the glass shattered upwards. PXL_20200925_083235323.jpg
It's as if the air pressure inside the car increases when the boot is shut as it has nowhere to escape so the weak point is the sunroof which is pushed outwards.

I hope you get a speedy and good quality repair, let us know how it goes.
 
#24 ·
Just out of curiosity I'm wondering how many with shattered sunroofs have manual boot closures rather than electric? The electric boot obviously closes a lot slower, so I'm wondering if it's the greater force used when manually closing which is causing the greater pressure buildup.

One would have thought that this should have been rigorously tested in the design stage, if indeed this is the cause. It might be prudent for those with both sunroofs and manual tailgates from now on to be conscious of closing it as gently as possible, just in case.

Steve
 
#25 ·
Steve - I was thinking the exact same thing.

I actually brought my significant other (to has a habit of slamming the boot) into the room to show her what can happen.

I think the next time this happens, I might just proactively open a small gap in my driverside window just in case...

T
 
#26 ·
Tammma said:
Steve - I was thinking the exact same thing.

I actually brought my significant other (to has a habit of slamming the boot) into the room to show her what can happen.

I think the next time this happens, I might just proactively open a small gap in my driverside window just in case...

T
That's interesting because I have a similar situation. When closing my (manual) tailgate, I pull it down to around chest height with the handle then let go and it gently closes using only its own weight, whereas my wife tends to slam it with as much force as she can muster. Similarly with the doors - maybe because our old Vectra Estate doors did seem to need a good slam - but with the new Tig a gentle push suffices. I've noticed if she closes her door when mine is still open, it really slams hard so the air resistance (or lack of it) does make a significant difference.

However, if I show her the damaged sunroof pictures above it'll just make her seriously paranoid, so I'll continue with gentle persuasion!
 
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