more panoramic sunroof issues, AND my vw rental thoughts.

rob c · May 5, 2015

So everyone who visits here pretty much knows that the panoramic sunroof is very poorly engineered. A brief history
At 1 yr and about 25-30 k miles, groaning and shuttering in hot weather. After numerous visits to the dealership, they finally believed me and replaced the sunroof motor.
Problem solved until about 90k miles late 2013. This one is on me as I tried to open the roof when it was iced up. Result was an entire new frame and ancillary parts. Car was at the dealer for about 4 weeks (different dealer than episode 1). They had never done a replacement before and learned as they went. No problem as I had a nice 2007 awd v8 passat loaner (sweet ride)
Most recent event at 117k a couple days ago. Went to open the sunroof, crunchy noise roof went to back open position with crooked misaligned glass. No ice for sure. Just left a third dealer. Looking like another $1500 to replace the frame again. Will know tomorrow.
My 6th vw and have enjoyed them all. But when they break, nothing good can follow.
Dealer suggests I contact VW for some relief. I shall, not optimistic but it's an 800 number.

Oh, the rental from Enterprise. 2014 jetta se sedan. I know they cheapened out the Jetta sedan to hit a price point.....what a POS compared to my Sportwagen. Finishes so bad. Hate to admit it, but if the choice of a new car was between this se and a basic Toyota Corolla similar to one i rented a few weeks ago, the clear winner would be tge Toyota -hands down. (Fortunately I won't have to make that choice).

Thanks for letting me vent. I feel much better already.

iamatt · May 5, 2015

Sorry to hear that. I actually paid 500+ to have a vehicle WITHOUT a sunroof shipped to me just because of things like this. Call em up see what they say =]

ZippyNH · May 5, 2015

If you are worried about the sunroof...just close it, and pull the fuse...might take some doing depending on how much bending happened the lasttime you used it...but after your prior experiences, I'm kinda surprised you were still using it....
Problem solved.saved you $1500!!

I am CDN Josh · May 5, 2015

Did the glass on your roof look anything like this?

And yes, I agree with you that the quality on the sedans is pretty horrific. Not to mention that they come with a solid rear axle......

frugality · May 5, 2015

I am CDN Josh said:
Not to mention that they come with a solid rear axle......

They come with a trailing-arm rear suspension, not a solid rear axle.

And they're not that bad. The Mk4's had them, even the GTIs. You'd hardly notice the difference.

dmarsingill · May 5, 2015

frugality said:
They come with a trailing-arm rear suspension, not a solid rear axle.

And they're not that bad. The Mk4's had them, even the GTIs. You'd hardly notice the difference.

tomato/tomato......if it's not independent....then it's a form of a solid axle.

Donald

seth1065 · May 5, 2015

Bummer about your roof, I had to replace a motor on my pano roof and feel your pain, it was about $1200, I love the roof but really wonder if it is worth the effort to deal with it, good luck

Ol'Rattler · May 6, 2015

dmarsingill said:
tomato/tomato......if it's not independent....then it's a form of a solid axle.

Donald

Probably a better description of the trailing link suspensions would be twisted beam or semi independent. There is some independent travel of the two rear wheels, just not as much as a full independent suspension.

Me thinks that a solid axle would be what you find in 50's and 60's rear drive American cars and pickups. One wheel compresses and the other wheel's caster changes.

Anyway, I think the whole idea of a Pano sunroof is just ridiculous. One of the things I miss from my A4 was not have a completely worthless hole in the roof of my car.

rob c · May 6, 2015

I am CDN Josh said:
Did the glass on your roof look anything like this?

And yes, I agree with you that the quality on the sedans is pretty horrific. Not to mention that they come with a solid rear axle......

Yup that's just what it looks like.

rob c · May 6, 2015

Thanks for the tip. A wiser person than me (my better 1/2) made that suggestion after it was replaced the first time at 90 k miles. Guess I thought it was a one-time event.

I am CDN Josh · May 6, 2015

Just went through this repair myself. Called VWoA and pleaded my case, they picked up 85% of the bill. I'd see how far you can get with them, plead your case & tell them you are frustrated. Most importantly, don't make threats.

aNUT · May 6, 2015

The real frustrating part about it from a repair standpoint is that of the many, many parts the roof is composed up, only the cables, motors, shade, glass, and rear cap are available. We fixed one where the cables popped up out of the track and got mangled. Fortunately there wasn't any collateral damage aside from the cables. It's not too bad, but it is a long process since all the interior pieces above the belt line of the car have to come out...and the sunroof cassette is all glued together with windshield adhesive.

ezshift5 · May 6, 2015

iamatt said:
Sorry to hear that. I actually paid 500+ to have a vehicle WITHOUT a sunroof shipped to me just because of things like this. Call em up see what they say =]

......congruent thinking department: I had a JSW TDI ordered w/o the (as other posters have said) "hole in the roof"..................

(but I'm unsure about $500+ surcharge..................6M, No NAV or Sunroof, was just about MSRP sans destination.........................)

ez (now with an emergency LED flashlite stuck in the rear 12V outlet)

rob c · May 6, 2015

aNUT said:
The real frustrating part about it from a repair standpoint is that of the many, many parts the roof is composed up, only the cables, motors, shade, glass, and rear cap are available. We fixed one where the cables popped up out of the track and got mangled. Fortunately there wasn't any collateral damage aside from the cables. It's not too bad, but it is a long process since all the interior pieces above the belt line of the car have to come out...and the sunroof cassette is all glued together with windshield adhesive.

So the dealer was able to get it closed. I pulled the fuse.
$210. Whole lot better than $1500 for a new frame. Hi praise to Valenti VW in Watertown CT. And maybe best of all, I did not have to drive the SE sedan for another day - back in the JSW

gulfcoastguy · May 6, 2015

They had to drive my plain 6 speed manual TDI JSW 321 miles to my local dealer. There was a nice red one only 40 miles away but I refused to pay an extra $1,000.00 in order to have a hole in my roof.

ZippyNH · May 6, 2015

rob c said:
So the dealer was able to get it closed. I pulled the fuse.
$210. Whole lot better than $1500 for a new frame. Hi praise to Valenti VW in Watertown CT. And maybe best of all, I did not have to drive the SE sedan for another day - back in the JSW

Sounds like a good plan.
Spending $1500 to fix an "option" on a aging car would be a questionable choice if it was the first time for many....And with this being the 3rd failure....think you made a good choice IMO.

S2000_guy · May 6, 2015

I don't have a 36" wide monitor. This thread became unreadable when the monster-sized photo was posted.

Ol'Rattler · May 6, 2015

iamatt said:
Sorry to hear that. I actually paid 500+ to have a vehicle WITHOUT a sunroof shipped to me just because of things like this. Call em up see what they say =]

A $500 surcharge seems like a bargain.

It just sucks that they put something so problematic, expensive to repair and worthless on a car.

Ol'Rattler · May 6, 2015

S2000_guy said:
I don't have a 36" wide monitor. This thread became unreadable when the monster-sized photo was posted.

Bothers me as well. Really make reading a thread a chore. This thread was readable with a little work.

My pet peeve though is long threads with no paragraph breaks, capitalization and no punctuation except a period at the end...........

I am CDN Josh · May 7, 2015

S2000_guy said:
I don't have a 36" wide monitor. This thread became unreadable when the monster-sized photo was posted.

Time to upgrade your 1997 17" Sony Trinitron then.

iamatt · May 7, 2015

Ol'Rattler said:
A $500 surcharge seems like a bargain. It just sucks that they put something so problematic, expensive to repair and worthless on a car.

I think it was 500 to get it trailered anyway, If I want the wind in my hair I'll just roll the JK. I admit the power windows are a nice feature... I could take them or leave them though

Those pana roofs are going to be a nightmare later on down the road for sure.

fastball · May 8, 2015

I've got an '11 Sportwagen - and have been plagued by sunroof issues.
It started a couple of years ago with the front panel really squealing when retracting. The dealership said the panel was binding in the tracks and replaced the tracks. Since then, the front part of the sunroof has been rattling constantly. The dealership's had it in at least 4 times since - and done everything possible to fix it and accommodate us. He refused to close the work order with VW until we were satisfied....and we were not satisfied with a continued rattle. Finally, he got the OK from VW to replace the WHOLE DAMN THING. I'm pleased to report the sunroof is quiet....however, in the re-installation of the A-pillar trim, they've done something to make that rattle twice as bad as the sunroof ever did.
Honestly, I'm scared even to tell the service manager about the other rattle...I mean, the guy's stood on his head to help us for the past few years.

frugality · May 8, 2015

When VW authorized the replacement of your sunroof, your dealer made $$$ too. They get paid by VW for a standard labor rate for replacing the roof. So you shouldn't feel bad about going back to them.

A-pillars are usually attached at the factory by hooking in the bottom at the instrument panel end, and clipping in 1-2 metal clips that engage into the pillar sheet metal. If you want to investigate it yourself, there should be a how-to on VWVortex for removing the pillar trim, but it should be a simple pop-out near the top. It just helps to know where to pull so you don't destroy something. But even if you do, a replacement A-pillar trim shouldn't be too expensive.

The rattling part could be a wire harness that runs up the A-pillar to your visor and map lamps, or it could be the tether for the side curtain airbags. The side curtain airbag blows out of the headliner near the roof-mounted grab handles. The explosive cartridge is right there. But to direct/control the bag as it inflates, there's a steel-strand cable that will often attach by bolt to the A-pillar right about in the middle of it. This could be rattling against the backside of the pillar trim.

n8tgc · May 18, 2015

Careful if you ask dealer service dept. to "take a look" at your pano-roof. Mine was "chattering", so during the trip to the dealer for 30k service, I asked them to take a look at it.

Service tech proceeded to use an aerosol spray (smells like WD-40) while roof was open. Result? A perfect stripe of oil down the center of both front seats, front headrests, rear seats, rear headrests and retractable cargo cover. Not to mention overspray on roof and dripping down exterior of doors. Oh, as a bonus I was even given oily overspray on the headliner and B pillars. Nice of them, huh?

Now battling the dealer to obtain a loaner so that they can detail the interior and thoroughly wash the exterior.

With my free services now over. I may rethink where I take it for the $600+ 40k service. Not sure I trust these guys. Wife's Tiguan now going to another dealer for it's 20k service...

labellep · Jul 31, 2016

What was the number you called?

I am CDN Josh said:
Just went through this repair myself. Called VWoA and pleaded my case, they picked up 85% of the bill. I'd see how far you can get with them, plead your case & tell them you are frustrated. Most importantly, don't make threats.

What was the number you called?

halfast3 · Aug 4, 2016

Ol'Rattler said:
Probably a better description of the trailing link suspensions would be twisted beam or semi independent. There is some independent travel of the two rear wheels, just not as much as a full independent suspension.
Me thinks that a solid axle would be what you find in 50's and 60's rear drive American cars and pickups. One wheel compresses and the other wheel's caster changes...

I can cite an example of a water-cooled VW with a solid rear axle...
Can you?
It was the Rabbit Pickup ...which handled about the same as a 50s American pickup truck.

obie84 · Aug 6, 2016

But boy did they ever last a long time...

halfast3 said:
I can cite an example of a water-cooled VW with a solid rear axle...
Can you?
It was the Rabbit Pickup ...which handled about the same as a 50s American pickup truck.

Those p/u trucks are about the front-wheel-drive Volkswagens from the 1970s that I still encounter on the road from time to time. Pretty tough.

halfast3 · Aug 6, 2016

obie84 said:
Those p/u trucks are about the front-wheel-drive Volkswagens from the 1970s that I still encounter on the road from time to time. Pretty tough.

We repowered an '81 with a turbo diesel engine and put over 250k miles on it, then sold it to a customer. Last I heard, it was pushing 400k... but it still was pretty scary when pushed, especially in a bumpy corner

.

misternoggin · May 22, 2017

I am CDN Josh said:
Did the glass on your roof look anything like this?

And yes, I agree with you that the quality on the sedans is pretty horrific. Not to mention that they come with a solid rear axle......

Mine looks a lot like this right now. The dealership said it's jammed and they can't get it to close. Their quote is $3400 to replace pretty much everything there. Or we can cover it with a sheet of plastic. I was hoping to keep this thing for another year or so before doing the buyback, but probably can't do that in its current state. Has anyone had luck fixing this themselves? I don't care if it ever opens again, I just want it closed.

The sunroof is absolutely the worst part of this car. Within two weeks of purchase, it jammed open like this and they had to replace the frame. Then it exploded and they replaced the glass (but not the frame). I suspect in that second repair they missed some broken glass that has finally managed to destroy the mechanicals but almost certainly can't prove anything.

Ol'Rattler · Jun 2, 2017

n8tgc said:
Careful if you ask dealer service dept. to "take a look" at your pano-roof. Mine was "chattering", so during the trip to the dealer for 30k service, I asked them to take a look at it.

Service tech proceeded to use an aerosol spray (smells like WD-40) while roof was open. Result? A perfect stripe of oil down the center of both front seats, front headrests, rear seats, rear headrests and retractable cargo cover. Not to mention overspray on roof and dripping down exterior of doors. Oh, as a bonus I was even given oily overspray on the headliner and B pillars. Nice of them, huh?

Now battling the dealer to obtain a loaner so that they can detail the interior and thoroughly wash the exterior.

With my free services now over. I may rethink where I take it for the $600+ 40k service. Not sure I trust these guys. Wife's Tiguan now going to another dealer for it's 20k service...

Wow! Employee of the month! Some people should not ever work on cars.

more panoramic sunroof issues, AND my vw rental thoughts.

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