[xtremcarl]

Curious if anyone else has had this happen. I was just driving down the highway the other day and heard a loud pop. It sounded like a tire blew out but the car was handling fine. Quickly realized that the sunroof had broken. My first thought was something hit it but I hadn't gone under any overpasses or signs for awhile and there were no cars close to me. Then my thought was the temperature but it was 37 and no big temperature swings that day. I got off the highway about half a mile down the road looked and the sunroof blew upwards. After searching a bit it appears this can happen and bmw has had some issues with it in other models. Of course the warranty on my car expired a few months ago. Called insurance to file a claim.

[USA-RET]

There have been a few instances where this has happened. Aside from the extra high center weight, and leak potential, another reason I chose to do the moon/sun roof delete.

Sorry to hear you are incurring the extra expense. Not what you'd expect.

[M235ForNow]

Originally Posted by xtremcarl

Curious if anyone else has had this happen. I was just driving down the highway the other day and heard a loud pop. It sounded like a tire blew out but the car was handling fine. Quickly realized that the sunroof had broken. My first thought was something hit it but I hadn't gone under any overpasses or signs for awhile and there were no cars close to me. Then my thought was the temperature but it was 37 and no big temperature swings that day. I got off the highway about half a mile down the road looked and the sunroof blew upwards. After searching a bit it appears this can happen and bmw has had some issues with it in other models. Of course the warranty on my car expired a few months ago. Called insurance to file a claim.

Google it. It's "a thing" apparently.

[B58togo]

Sucks man. My biggest regret with this car is not doing the delete.

[hwntime]

It happens to glass shower doors too. If the glass is compromised in any way (crack, chip, etc), you're at risk of it shattering. Google shattering shower door and you'll see. It happened to a friend of my a few years back while she was taking a shower. She ended up with a bunch of glass cuts all over her arm. I didn't believe it so I googled and found out it's a common occurrence.

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by hwntime

It happens to glass shower doors too. If the glass is compromised in any way (crack, chip, etc), you're at risk of it shattering. Google shattering shower door and you'll see. It happened to a friend of my a few years back while she was taking a shower. She ended up with a bunch of glass cuts all over her arm. I didn't believe it so I googled and found out it's a common occurrence.

Definitely a common occurrence with any toughened glass, the only real solution is for manufacturers to only use laminated glass.

[Fasteddy1]

This happened to me in 2016 to my m235. BMW paid for the whole thing including painting the roof, trunk and hood and gave me a car to drive for a month.

I traded that car in on an m240 without a sunroof

[morphomeman]

Sunroofs explode, that's what they do. So do tires, and the skinnier the tire, the more likely it is do explode. Does that suggest I should switch to solid tires?
Like many others, I greatly enjoy the natural light that comes in through the glass roof, especially in winter, when I can keep the shade open pretty much all the time. Occasionally, I get a loaner with no sunroof and I wonder why it is so dark inside the car. For me, the light balances out the minuscule risk of having the glass explode.
I have heard that some very tall, very long-bodied people benefit from the extra headroom that they get from deleting the sunroof. Personally, I do not suffer from extreme height.
I know of no real evidence, though, that the extra weight that the sunroof adds makes for a noticeable difference in handling. One might have the same driver lap a circuit repeatedly in two cars, identical except for the sunroof, under the same general conditions, and look for a statistically significant difference in lap time. I know of no such study, though I must admit that I have not searched hard.

[stevenvillatoro]

Love my sunroof; it's the perfect amount of 'convertible' for me. The vent feature allows a perfect flow-through breeze, in combo with a cracked-open driver's window. When parked in the sun, the vent lets hot air escape and keeps the interior cooler. It also reduces the need for AC use. The light and fresh air make for a more fun connection with the surroundings. I must have a sunroof.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by morphomeman

Sunroofs explode, that's what they do. So do tires, and the skinnier the tire, the more likely it is do explode. Does that suggest I should switch to solid tires?
Like many others, I greatly enjoy the natural light that comes in through the glass roof, especially in winter, when I can keep the shade open pretty much all the time. Occasionally, I get a loaner with no sunroof and I wonder why it is so dark inside the car. For me, the light balances out the minuscule risk of having the glass explode.
I have heard that some very tall, very long-bodied people benefit from the extra headroom that they get from deleting the sunroof. Personally, I do not suffer from extreme height.
I know of no real evidence, though, that the extra weight that the sunroof adds makes for a noticeable difference in handling. One might have the same driver lap a circuit repeatedly in two cars, identical except for the sunroof, under the same general conditions, and look for a statistically significant difference in lap time. I know of no such study, though I must admit that I have not searched hard.

I'm 6' 1" and really appreciate the over 2" of extra headroom. I also love how much more solid the topend of the car is. I've read numerous threads of F series cars having annoying creaks and rattles in the sunroof area. I did order my car without the sunroof and with a 6MT because I wanted max performance out of the car. The sunroof removes 50lbs and the 6MT is 55lbs lighter than the automatic. I also know that being a 6MT without a sunroof will cater to a select crowd willing to pay for these options when it comes to sell.

I've had sunroofs in 8 of the 9 cars I've owned since 1989. I don't miss it at all, but I totally understand why many do like them. My wife wouldn't have a car without it.

Lastly, sunroofs exploding is not limited to BMWs. Every make of car I've owned in the past has reports of exploding sunroofs. It happens.

[B58togo]

Originally Posted by morphomeman

Sunroofs explode, that's what they do. So do tires, and the skinnier the tire, the more likely it is do explode. Does that suggest I should switch to solid tires?
Like many others, I greatly enjoy the natural light that comes in through the glass roof, especially in winter, when I can keep the shade open pretty much all the time. Occasionally, I get a loaner with no sunroof and I wonder why it is so dark inside the car. For me, the light balances out the minuscule risk of having the glass explode.
I have heard that some very tall, very long-bodied people benefit from the extra headroom that they get from deleting the sunroof. Personally, I do not suffer from extreme height.
I know of no real evidence, though, that the extra weight that the sunroof adds makes for a noticeable difference in handling. One might have the same driver lap a circuit repeatedly in two cars, identical except for the sunroof, under the same general conditions, and look for a statistically significant difference in lap time. I know of no such study, though I must admit that I have not searched hard.

Your first sentence makes it sound like a sunroof's primary function is "to explode", lol. I totally get it that some people love them and that's great. Certainly worth the minute risk of it exploding. I just have never been a big fan, and stupidly figured it may hurt resale to not get it. To not have to ever worry about it leaking or breaking would be fine with me. Plus, I think it looks cleaner without it, and the weight savings is an added bonus. Oh well; live and learn.

[mcompact]

If I do upgrade to an M240i or M2C it will definitely not have a hole in the roof. At least I won't have to fight with Munich like I did when I ordered my Club Sport.

[xtremcarl]

Quick update. I tried to get bmw to cover the repair. The dealership refused to call bmw north America until I called and filed a claim with them. The service manager was a huge pain and in my opinion the result of the outcome. The service manager insisted the damage was caused by a rock hitting it and that "sunroofs just don't explode" and when he talked to the local bmw engineer he has never heard of this issue. When I asked him to explain how the glass broke up he said the car is pressurized and it's like an airline getting a hole put in it and the glass was sucked out with the pressure change. Haha. I forgot to ask where my oxygen mask comes down from and if I should put mine on or help small children first. Went ahead with the insurance claim and let the gm of the dealership know my less than seller experience. She at least offered to cover some of the insurance deductible. Had a 340 as a loaner for a couple of days and even the short drive to the body shop reminded me how much I like the 2.

[Maynard]

I DK how they can get away with not using laminated glass, given how intrusive so many other safety mods have become - you can't say that a sunroof wouldn't be expected to take a few stone hits, and as many have noted, this isn't a freak rarity. Perhaps they could use all the money they saved with those horrid plastic sunshades.

[morphomeman]

It is not unusual for glass to shatter when hit by a rock propelled from a vehicle. Some years ago, I drove by a guy with a weed whacker in my Taurus wagon (hey it was better than a minivan for hauling kids to soccer and music practice!). There was an explosion and the rear passenger window blew out in smithereens. The weed whacker had propelled a small rock into the window and shattered it. I found the rock in the car and it was tiny. That's what full glass coverage is for.

[USA-RET]

When we lived north, I we had cars w/ sunroofs. Nice to get the warming during the winter and the venting during the spring days. That being said, we had issues w/ one car that had a leak that could not be found. Not a big issue unless it rained hard

Living south now, sun roof is a solar collector. Would rather not have it as our Florida sun is brutal. Shade would left in place for every outing, which rather defeats the ownership aspect. I run AC 100% of the time down here.

To each their own. We all can justify our purchases. Convincing the other camp that our choice is better is where the "rub" comes in.

[XutvJet]

Automakers will not replace broken sunroof glass unless there was an obvious defect. It's an insurance thing. I'm shocked BMW actually offered to cover some of the insurance deductible; however, most insurance aren't allowed to collect deductibles on glass work.

All sorts of things can cause sunroof glass to break.

- A rock/debris/hail. All it takes a pointed piece of debris to hit the glass in the right spot and cause it to break
- Extreme cold
- Extreme heat followed by quick cooling like a summer rain
- Torquing/bending of the sunroof glass frame which puts load on the glass

[zentanker]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I'm 6' 1" and really appreciate the over 2" of extra headroom. I also love how much more solid the topend of the car is. I've read numerous threads of F series cars having annoying creaks and rattles in the sunroof area. I did order my car without the sunroof and with a 6MT because I wanted max performance out of the car. The sunroof removes 50lbs and the 6MT is 55lbs lighter than the automatic. I also know that being a 6MT without a sunroof will cater to a select crowd willing to pay for these options when it comes to sell.

I've had sunroofs in 8 of the 9 cars I've owned since 1989. I don't miss it at all, but I totally understand why many do like them. My wife wouldn't have a car without it.

Lastly, sunroofs exploding is not limited to BMWs. Every make of car I've owned in the past has reports of exploding sunroofs. It happens.

Getting the 6MT for "max performance"? How do you define performance?

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by zentanker

Getting the 6MT for "max performance"? How do you define performance?

Transmission that won’t go into limp mode ? 😊

[zentanker]

I had a moonroof in my E46 and had to deal with a broken shade. Not worth it. Sure there were some rare days when it was just the right temperature to make driving a back road with it open really nice, but 95 days out of 100 it made no sense for me: I wear sunglasses to keep the sun OUT of my eyes, and I run the A/C to keep from being a sweaty mess before I reach my destination, so it makes no sense most of the time to want to open up a giant hole in the roof!

Plus, it was nice to save that extra weight- especially extra weight at the worst possible place on the car at the farthest point above the center of gravity.

The one thing I did like about the sunroof was being able to vent it whenever I was parked outdoors but the same thing can be accomplished with the windows so I don't lose any sleep over it. Besides my one problem with the broken shade, obviously lots of people have leaks, rattles and breaks. for those with them you almost need to cross your fingers and say a little prayer every time you open and close it

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by zentanker

How do you define performance?

My idea of performance involves going around corners on a track, so the first thing I look at is weight. That's where the MT and the sunroof delete come into play.

[zentanker]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

Transmission that won’t go into limp mode ? 😊

First I've heard of that