Expensive Sunroof Repair

[mitchs42]

That's some scary shit, don't hesitate to call ford customer care directly and ask immediately for escalation. That's some terrible customer care. Were both pieces of glass on yours shattered? Or just the piece that moves? I would argue that if something fell on it, it would be pretty damn hard for either the surrounding roof or the other piece of glass not to have been damaged at the same time. Additionally, the ****** plastic frames would have likely broken if something impacted it that hard, were they still intact? Were you opening/closing it when it shattered or was it stationary?

Did you already pay for a repair out of pocket? If so, Ford likely won't reimburse you, but demand the longest Ford premium care warranty be added to your vehicle if you don't already have it or ask for a 2 year maintenance plan for free, something to offset the cost. It's taken me 8 months from start to finish to finally get ford to agree to replace my turbos due to rattling wastegates. We'll see if it helps. I have literally written letters to Ford and the Board of Directors complaining about how ****** their customer service is and how disappointed I am as a first time Forder. Haven't heard back on either letter but I'm guessing that might be why they have finally decided to do the service.

The rear part is what shattered and we were not opening it or anything just driving home. My insurance will cover it with a $250 deductible but its more the principle of how ford customer care is treating me is what makes me so mad. I want to get rid of the vehicle now because we are afraid to take it on a long road trip now. I feel like ford knows that it can happen they just will not admit to it. We bought the extended warranty plan but are going to ask for it back now that it will not cover this issue. I love my fords but their customer care sucks. They should be no question on fixing it as new as it is. We even had pictures of it just shattered before it started falling apart thinking that would show nothing feel thru it. We will see what my dealer will do tomorrow as far as trading and getting a new one. I will keep all posted
thanks Mitch

 

[Calidad]

I do think many of the glass roof vehicles have two common failures expansion vs hard edge ie frame causing breakage poorly lined up in the frame during install. And being hit by debri.

I would likely file a insurance claim in this case much like if my car suffered road debri damage I’d file a claim and get a body shop to fix etc.

Personally given I haul boats and such on the roof I hate the giant glass roof trend. Drop a strap buckle during a boat loading and bingo busted roof etc. I would have been perfectly happy with a Platinum that had no sunroof or small opening over front seats.

 

[NyackRob79]

Guys, a plastic part broke in the sunroof of my 2018 Max Limited. The difficulty in getting to it resulted in a $3,800 repair (it wouldn’t close).

I will never buy another sunroof on my vehicles.

Sorry, I call total bull. You’re probably out of warranty and the dealer is taking you to the cleaners. There aren’t nearly enough moving parts to warrant this type of expense in labor.
Even at the astounding $130/hr labor rate in NYC area, this would translate to 29 labor hours.

No way does it take that long to get to any part of the sunroof mechanism.

That’s what it costs to rebuild a transmission.

You’re either just trolling or are seriously getting taken advantage of by your dealer, in which case, get a second opinion.

 

[NyackRob79]

To those of you with exploding sunroofs - sounds like manufacturing defect with tempered glass. Either that or a tree branch / another impact caused micro fractures to form in the glass panel prior, and hitting a bump on the highway subjected it to that final push it needed to shatter.

That’s a manufacturing defect and is fully covered under the terms outlined in Ford’s warranty. If they deny coverage get a glass expert to write a statement and escalate to your state. Warranty claims are governed under state jurisdiction.

If the glass shattered due to previous impact / tree branch, that’s an insurance claim.

 

[5280tunage]

That's even a little more interesting to me, that the stationary part is what exploded on you @mitchs42. Here's a thought, Al is a lot more flexible that steel, is there a chance that the roof itself is flexing enough in certain conditions, and that there isn't ample material in the design for the body to flex without putting too much stress on the glass? That rules out some of the previous statements around maintaining the sunroof, as there should be zero maintenance for a stationary piece. In my experience with tempered glass, once the structure is compromised, it will very quickly spider. What this sound more like, is called spontaneous fracture, which is more often caused by impurities in the glass. Of course that assumes that nothing external caused the fracture, but that sounds like the case here.

 

[mitchs42]

Fo

The rear part is what shattered and we were not opng it or anything just driving home. My insurance will cover it with a $250 deductible but its more the principle of how ford customer care is treating me is what makes me so mad. I want to get rid of the vehicle now because we are afraid to take it on a long road trip now. I feel like ford knows that it can happen they just will not admit to it. We bought the extended warranty plan but are going to ask for it back now that it will not cover this issue. I love my fords but their customer care sucks. They should be no question on fixing it as new as it is. We even had pictures of it just shattered before it started falling apart thinking that would show nothing feel thru it. We will see what my dealer will do tomorrow as far as trading and getting a new one. I will keep all posted
thanks Mitch

Ford Called out of the blue and said they would pay for the repairs I feel better about them now