That’s true, but I’m still wondering if it’s sunbelt related.
I also wonder if there’s an adhesive plastic sheet that could be added to the sunroof to contain a catastrophic failure. If not, perhaps it’d be a good idea.
I don’t think a 15 pound sheet of laminated glass coming down on a person’s neck would be more pleasing than tempered glass shattering. I have replaced a few failed sun roof panels, no sign of explosives.
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Especially since it would come down in shards sharp enough to cut your head off!
He said laminated glass. Some people have proposed it be laminated to avoid the smaller bits and pieces. It would then break like a windshield which stays more or less intact. So an intact sheet of broken glass that size coming down onto your head is also not a very appealing option… assuming it would detach from the frame…
That’s true. And I support laminated glass. Or a sheet of clear adhesive plastic underlying the glass.
If the only way out of a sinking or burning car with no electrical power was the sunroof I would prefer tempered glass which my breakout tool will shatter.
That’s an interesting argument.
I wonder how many incidents each year a tempered glass roof would have helped, vs. how many times a laminated roof would have helped.
Nothing’s perfect for all occasions.
BFH seems perfect for all occasions. (Big Frikkin Hammer)
Laminated glass does not come down in shards.
I was just reminded of a tragic accident in the late 1970s/early 1980s. The local Datsun dealer’s Son was driving his 280Z with moon roof. He stopped at a red light and was rear ended hard. His car was squished against the car ahead of him. The fuel tank was ruptured, battery destroyed, and doors jammed. break out tools were non-existent. If he had one breaking the side window would have been the best idea. He burned to death. Needing to exit the moon roof would probably only apply for a vehicle sinking in water. Vehicles sinking in water usually retain battery power. Very remote possibility of needing to break and exit from a moon roof. At work I participated as an assistant in break out tool training. We acquired a salvage yard side window, Placed it over a trash can, and had a volunteer use the spring loaded breakout tool. It shattered into small cubes which would have at most inflicted minor scratches. Everyone was given a tool. Mine is clipped in my driver door map pocket.
Here’s the latest, appears to be much more widespread (5X - 10X) due to underreporting. More common now maybe because sunroofs are getting so much bigger (“panoramic”).
From that article:
Global News writes that, since 2000, the regulatory agency has 351 recorded complaints about breaking sunroofs
I’m sorry, there’s still nothing to see here. 351 cases over 17 years out of between 6 and 20 million cars sold per year isn’t even a blip on the statistical radar. Even being generous and lowballing the number of cars sold per year to 6 million, that works out to staggering odds of the sunroof actually exploding.
You are literally more likely to drown in your bathtub than have a sunroof explode.
Small number, true. Just bugs me that I’ll probably have to live with it on my next car, even though I’d much prefer NO sunroof at all.
This triggered a memory for a development effort I was involved in many years ago. We had a tinted window of basically tempered float glass between a hot source and the outside world. They would suddenly shatter for no apparent reason. It was quite an lengthy investigation and required a number of mitigations be put in place to prevent it happening. The primary trigger was thermal- expansion or contraction causing stress on the pane. To eliminate it, we had to redesign the holding mechanism so it could more readily accommodate the CTE of the glass and also subject the raw pane to a very specific thermal gradient profile to temper it and then, most importantly, anneal it so it would not have as much residual stress. Simply tempering it did not work. In the end, looking at how (a large corporation that makes carafes for coffee making) manufactured their glass helped guide the changes…
Yeah, I understand where you’re coming from. Personally I wish I didn’t have to get radar speed control and lane keeper assist just to have keyless start, but what can ya do.
I suppose the other side of the argument is that if we really could pick options a’la’carte like we used to, everything would be more expensive.
BMW still does this to a degree, and the amount it costs to go from standard to extendable sun visors is just stupid.