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Sunroof Safety

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Will always have a vehicle with a sun/moonroof. Never had one leak and with a moonroof, I have a shade that can be controlled to close the opening on my Volvo XC60. Last year when I as looking at cars, I actually discounted vehicles like the new Land Rovers b/c they don't have sun/moonroofs anymore and just have a glass panoramic roof.
 
I've taken more tumbles on a bike than ever having a car accident that would have rolled the car. I think I and many others will be just fine.
 
JulesMaximus said:
I have a friend who is 6'7". He doesn't fit in most cars. We go to the Los Angeles Auto Show every year and try to find out what cars he fits in.

I can't imagine rolling a car. Not something I ever want to experience but at the same time I couldn't possibly care less about sunroof safety... if that's even a thing.

Hell, the entire roof of my car is glass and my car is pillarless too.

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I had a 6'8" friend with the same problem.
 
Hah great, my wife's Forester has a sunroof the size of Texas.

Granted, I've never, ever head of this happening IRL. I've heard of them leaking (particularly the aftermarket ones), but never cracking. I wonder how Tesla deals with it...
 
Many have that thin barrier you can slide to block light from the sunroof. (not sure if it's called a sunroof shade or what) Anyhow, I'm willing to bet that if your sunroof exploded and that was shut, it'd probably keep most of the glass from even hitting you....

As for roll overs, you're right. That is a safety concern. I may get rid of my sunroof if it's unsafe in those conditions...I kind of want to trade my car in for a new convertible anyhow....this might be a good reason.
 
Scarpozzi said:
Many have that thin barrier you can slide to block light from the sunroof. (not sure if it's called a sunroof shade or what) Anyhow, I'm willing to bet that if your sunroof exploded and that was shut, it'd probably keep most of the glass from even hitting you....

As for roll overs, you're right. That is a safety concern. I may get rid of my sunroof if it's unsafe in those conditions...I kind of want to trade my car in for a new convertible anyhow....this might be a good reason.
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I've always been scared of what happens when your airbag goes off & you're wearing glasses 🙁
 
Scarpozzi said:
Many have that thin barrier you can slide to block light from the sunroof. (not sure if it's called a sunroof shade or what) Anyhow, I'm willing to bet that if your sunroof exploded and that was shut, it'd probably keep most of the glass from even hitting you....

As for roll overs, you're right. That is a safety concern. I may get rid of my sunroof if it's unsafe in those conditions...I kind of want to trade my car in for a new convertible anyhow....this might be a good reason.
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LOL WUT?

You're going to get rid of a car with a sunroof because of roll over safety concerns and get a convertible? You do realize that a convertible is far less safe in a roll over crash than a car with a roof right?

Just out of curiosity, what convertible are you thinking of getting?

Personally, I love convertibles and have owned one in the past. I wouldn't want to roll one over but that wouldn't stop me from owning one again.
 
"Why would I EVER not wear a seat belt? Fastening my seat belt is literally the first thing I do when getting in a car after I shut the door. Only a moron would drive a car and not wear a seat belt. Not only is it illegal, as it should be, it is idiotic."

Seat belt wear is NOT mandatory in New Hampshire - neither is helmet wear mandated for motorcycles. We also have no state sales or income tax. Eventually, when we become a totally BLUE state, we'll have all these things, but for now it's "Live Free or Die".
 
fritzfield said:
"Why would I EVER not wear a seat belt? Fastening my seat belt is literally the first thing I do when getting in a car after I shut the door. Only a moron would drive a car and not wear a seat belt. Not only is it illegal, as it should be, it is idiotic."

Seat belt wear is NOT mandatory in New Hampshire - neither is helmet wear mandated for motorcycles. We also have no state sales or income tax. Eventually, when we become a totally BLUE state, we'll have all these things, but for now it's "Live Free or Die".
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Blue... Red... doesn't matter. "Click It Or Ticket" because if you don't, it costs insurance companies money.
 
fritzfield said:
"Why would I EVER not wear a seat belt? Fastening my seat belt is literally the first thing I do when getting in a car after I shut the door. Only a moron would drive a car and not wear a seat belt. Not only is it illegal, as it should be, it is idiotic."

Seat belt wear is NOT mandatory in New Hampshire - neither is helmet wear mandated for motorcycles. We also have no state sales or income tax. Eventually, when we become a totally BLUE state, we'll have all these things, but for now it's "Live Free or Die".
Click to expand...

Ever been in an accident? I don't have a problem with seat belt laws or helmet laws... and I ride a motorcycle. Laws like this help people overcome their own stupidity.

What are your property taxes like? Every state has to get money from somewhere bro.
 
mindless1 said:
The thin metal replaced by a sunroof is not structural, is probably the least of your worries if in an accident that bad.

People like to say they want more safety but do they really? You can weld a roll cage into any vehicle, whether full frame or unibody, or wear a helmet, either of which would make far more difference than sunroof vs not.
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It IS structural. Absolutely.
Especially with the cars that have the big Vista or Panoramic (whatever the maker calls it) glasses.

That's why those cars have extra framing inside what's left of the roof to stiffen it: Because losing all that sheet metal absolutely affects the structural integrity.

Even a normal sunroof loses some integrity, which is why most of them also have extra bracing in the roof....that's also why you should never, ever have a sunroof installed in a vehicle that doesn't have one. It's never "right" again. Always a butcher job if you look up in the headliner and how the route the drain tubes, too.

If you want to see how that works, find a car (particularly a bigger one) with an aftermarket sunroof. Go push on the roof...it'll flex easily. Then try it with the same model with a factory sunroof. It won't.
 
Pacfanweb said:
It IS structural. Absolutely.
Especially with the cars that have the big Vista or Panoramic (whatever the maker calls it) glasses.

That's why those cars have extra framing inside what's left of the roof to stiffen it: Because losing all that sheet metal absolutely affects the structural integrity.

Even a normal sunroof loses some integrity, which is why most of them also have extra bracing in the roof....that's also why you should never, ever have a sunroof installed in a vehicle that doesn't have one. It's never "right" again. Always a butcher job if you look up in the headliner and how the route the drain tubes, too.

If you want to see how that works, find a car (particularly a bigger one) with an aftermarket sunroof. Go push on the roof...it'll flex easily. Then try it with the same model with a factory sunroof. It won't.
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And this is why they aren't an issue in rollover crashes. The roof is engineered to be strong despite having a huge piece or pieces of glass in them. Really, most car roofs have some bracing in them, engineers just reroute the bracing to create a roof that is still strong despite having glass in it (which is also heavier). I really wouldn't worry about safety with most modern cars (at least the ones that aren't shattering and showering their occupants with glass).
 
They aren't as strong as a regular roof. And in a roll over something can stick through the glass it's just usually not going to stick through a metal roof.
That said, I'm not really arguing that there is a significant difference in safety, but there is a difference.
 
Pacfanweb said:
They aren't as strong as a regular roof. And in a roll over something can stick through the glass it's just usually not going to stick through a metal roof.
That said, I'm not really arguing that there is a significant difference in safety, but there is a difference.
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I didn’t say it was as strong. Just that it is strong enough to meet whatever arbitrary safety level the manufacturer has deemed necessary. Whatever that is, it is still safer than a convertible... and I’m also not worried about it. 😉
 
JulesMaximus said:
Ever been in an accident? I don't have a problem with seat belt laws or helmet laws... and I ride a motorcycle. Laws like this help people overcome their own stupidity.


What are your property taxes like? Every state has to get money from somewhere bro.
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Less than NJ...which also has state income and sales taxes. 🙁
 
fritzfield said:
"Why would I EVER not wear a seat belt? Fastening my seat belt is literally the first thing I do when getting in a car after I shut the door. Only a moron would drive a car and not wear a seat belt. Not only is it illegal, as it should be, it is idiotic."

Seat belt wear is NOT mandatory in New Hampshire - neither is helmet wear mandated for motorcycles. We also have no state sales or income tax. Eventually, when we become a totally BLUE state, we'll have all these things, but for now it's "Live Free or Die".
Click to expand...

I spend 31 years as a firefighter/first responder. We never unbuckled a dead person in a crash, but have had the unpleasant task of removing dead people that were not buckled from vehicles, sometimes from under the vehicle, or laying nearby after they were ejected.
 
Kaido said:
I've always been scared of what happens when your airbag goes off & you're wearing glasses 🙁
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I had a rock about the size of a tennis ball hit my windshield (thrown by a kid off an embankment) and had I not had on sunglasses, I probably would have ended up with glass in my eyes. I had a number of small cuts on my face from the flying glass.
 
I can't remember, but I think it was a Jeopardy answer that smoking a tobacco pipe can kill you when an air bag goes off. Edit: Now I remember, it was "Cash Cab."
 
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MtnMan said:
I had a rock about the size of a tennis ball hit my windshield (thrown by a kid off an embankment) and had I not had on sunglasses, I probably would have ended up with glass in my eyes. I had a number of small cuts on my face from the flying glass.
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Were they wrap-around or aviators? My glasses sit on my nose (non-sunglasses).
 
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