Time to buy a lottery ticket, you have expended all your "Bad Luck" Any idea on the fix $$$?

Stuart..

 

Time to buy a lottery ticket, you have expended all your "Bad Luck" Any idea on the fix $$$? Stuart..

Haha, yup!

My insurance policy has full glass coverage, so that will take care of paying for the glass. MSRP on the panel is $1130 but there is only 1 that they can find in North America and its all the way in New Brunswick. So my glass shop is submitting it for approval and then it will need to be crated and shipped here.

Could be a couple weeks before the Treg is back on the road.

 

I have heard of this happening before, and I'm starting to think that I may get a 3M security film put on the inside of my pano roof, just to keep all the bits together, and off the passengers, if it happens when I have the shade retracted.
Glad that you had your shade closed, and you weren't hurt. That's the only thing that really matters, everything else can be corrected with a bit of money...

 

I have heard of this happening before, and I'm starting to think that I may get a 3M security film put on the inside of my pano roof, just to keep all the bits together, and off the passengers, if it happens when I have the shade retracted.

Wouldn't it make more sense to put the film on the outside of the glass like a clear bra on paint? The film may dampen the blow of an impact slightly, but still hold the glass together if it cracks.

 

I've been having misgivings about the pano roof lately.

Firstly, I just don't like the perforated roll up sunshade. Too flimsy & fragile. If the sunroof is even partially open and the sunshade isn't completely open, it flaps in the wind buffeting.

Secondly, the middle point where the two glass panels seal vibrates. Put your fingers on that point while driving rough pavement and you'll feel the 2 panels moving separately.

Thirdly, no matter how much sunlight the glass is claimed to block, that's just too much glass allowing too much "heat" in the summer.

And now this thread.

I see a '15 Sport with Tech and no sunroof in my very near future. I'll have to give up my beloved heated steering wheel and a few other goodies though. Lol.

 

At least you know why it may have been broken.

Sunroofs can also break sometimes for unknown reasons. It is fairly rare, but can happen to any brand at any time.

It has even happened to vehicles when parked inside, where nothing could have fallen on the sunroof. Perhaps weakened by strees or a prior impact? No idea on the real odds, but probably about as likely as being hit by lightning.

 

Long time ago I was with extended family staying at a resort cabin in the mountains. The rear window of one of the cars just spontaneously shattered overnight. The entire piece of glass: Boom!

 

Correct. It is not common .

That said, any sunroof may shatter. Sometimes for know reasons and sometimes for unknown (to us) reasons.

I am going to stick to my "likely as being hit by lightning" estimate.

 

Correct. It is not common . That said, any sunroof may shatter. Sometimes for know reasons and sometimes for unknown (to us) reasons. I am going to stick to my "likely as being hit by lightning" estimate.

Wow, it is more common than I thought.

I looked at that second article that comes up in the search results and it is right near where I live and around the same time last year. It sounds exactly like what I experienced, a loud boom instead of an impact sound. So I dug out the first pic I took right after it happened and it appears that the glass exploded outward first. See the attached image.

 

Professor of mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley says the maximum velocity of a rock coming down would be 25 miles an hour, well short of the needed 70 miles an hour. He said it is more likely the sunroof broke due to the stress caused by changes in temperatures or from fatigue. "In both cases I would say in my opinion the car manufacturer has the problem; basically it's a manufacturers defect,"

 

Consider filing a report with NHTSA, just in case this is happening to other pano roofs, including non-Touaregs. If they detect a pattern of these failures, they might look into it. Probably won't help you, but multiple owner reports could lead to a change to future sunroof designs.

Well it could happen.

 

Film the inside ASAP!

No point doing it on the outside - broken fine slivers of glass can still drop onto passengers who will automatically look up to see where the impact noise has come from...

 

What about belt and braces err both sides, inside and out??? Cheap life insurance

 

Good idea - buy a sheet of tin, two tubes of marine sealant, some pop rivets and replace the bloody glass once and for all!

Looks damned tidy too . . .

 

SUCKS to see this. This is one of my fears as my son is due to be born soon and will be sitting face up under this glass. The damn pano should be an option!

I called last week about getting film on the pano for heat rejection and glass retention in the event something causes it to break. I experienced warm weather with the pano a couple of weeks ago and there was way too much heat coming through. The tint shop recommended not tinting the glass with dark film because it might break, but using a clear film for heat rejection would be better. SHEET.

noobytoogy has an option as well.

 

I use the shade a lot in the summer and it does a good job of reducing the heat. Never use the shade when temps are below 65.