Exploding sunroof

[MrPoz]

I have just purchased an s500 lwb, it is a 2000 model on an X plate, the car is way out of warranty but has always been serviced by mercedes for all of its 79000 miles.

Anyway i'll get to the point... whilst travelling to my local Mercedes dealership to drop the car of for its 'b' service my sunroof glass exploded outwards at 60mph!

Has anyone had or heard of this problem before?

I think it could have been some sort of pressure build up in the cabin by the way the glass went up rather than down.

The dealership couldnt find any faults and quoted me for the job... £400 for the glass and £1000 for fitting as they say it is a very labour intensive job which the computer tells them to charge 9.6 hours for!

Thats a massive £1400 bill for an unexplained exploding sunroof, does anyone think Mercedes uk may contibute towards the cost as a good will gesture or am i waisting my time?

PLEASE HELP

 

[Rory]

Some insurance policies will pay this, the same as windscreen cover.

 

[MrPoz]

Some insurance policies will pay this, the same as windscreen cover.

As i have so many cars and im still young'ish (27) i have a traders policy to overcome the insurance difficulties, unfortunately they do not cover glass unless i make a full damage claim paying a massive excess and lose no claims bonus.

 

[jberks]

I think the point here is that you just purchased it. So, you have no idea what abuse it had before you got it. It is not normal for this to happen so I imagine it was probably as a result of some abuse or neglect by the previous owner. Possibly the owner knew something was up or had been strained, and chose to sell the car rather than fix it. You didn't know, so it was left until it failed.
To be fair, I don't think you can hold MB responsible.
As a trader I'm also surprised that you used an MB dealer for such work. 10 hours is indeed £1000, but as you should know, a decent indie is £450 for the exact same work and possibly less as they'll charge for what is done rather than what the book says (I imagine books err on the safe side for the garage).

 

[MrPoz]

Not a trader, registered as trader to enable trade insurance!

How could it be neglect when before and after it exploded it was showing no faults what so ever?

As i said before the car has always been serviced by MB and any previous problems either minor or major would have been found and fixed.

After a couple of conversations with independents they both recommended using a main dealer as they would give more guarantees with the work if it ever happened again after it is repaired.

 

[Rory]

Not a trader, registered as trader to enable trade insurance!

I'm intrigued to know how you do that. If you're not really a trader and the insurance company find out, then presumeably they won't be very happy?

How could it be neglect when before and after it exploded it was showing no faults what so ever?

As i said before the car has always been serviced by MB and any previous problems either minor or major would have been found and fixed.

After a couple of conversations with independents they both recommended using a main dealer as they would give more guarantees with the work if it ever happened again after it is repaired.

You do hear of sunroofs (and rear hatch windows) inexplicably exploding on various cars - it's not an unknown event. I doubt even an MB dealer would repair the glass under guarantee without a fight (I might be wrong though).

 

[bigasotonuk]

Hi,
Because a car has full MB history is no guarentee that all the faults/defects were fixed i have my cars serviced and any defect that does not immediately need repairing gets repaired by me in next few months.

 

[Legoman]

theres a possiblity a stone or something has hit it weakening the glass , when the pressure builds up it makes it fail , im guessing you had a window open?

 

[jberks]

Not a trader, registered as trader to enable trade insurance!

In that case, ignoring the legal implications (please do not collide with my car as I don't want to find out if your scheme would actually work!!) let us educate you. Main dealer - £100+vat per hour. Indie specialist £45 per hour.

How could it be neglect when before and after it exploded it was showing no faults what so ever?

Who knows. Someone mucking about putting pressure on the glass with their feet. Some idiot climbing through the roof and catching it with their belt. Jammed mechanism putting strain on the mounts. Jam fixed, mounts not etc etc. could be anything really.

As i said before the car has always been serviced by MB and any previous problems either minor or major would have been found and fixed.

To be fair, not something they are likely to spot if they're not looking for it.

After a couple of conversations with independents they both recommended using a main dealer as they would give more guarantees with the work if it ever happened again after it is repaired.

It shouldn't happen the first time. I'd be staggered if it happened twice. No, sounds like they didn't want the job to me. Anyway, if they have so little confidence in their own work, I wouldn't consider using in the future. Were these people proper MB indies or just generalists? I'd be very surprised if a proper MB specialist referred you to a dealer for this work. If they were, who were they?

 

[popuptoaster]

might be worth making sure the car is 100% straight, its not unknown for accident damaged cars to destroy sunroofs or bonded in screens at random as the stresses are not distributed around the shell correctly if its slightly bent, its quite rare though to be honest.

 

[Blobcat]

IIRC didn't Peugeot make some of the Mercedes sunroofs ? or did I just dream that??

 

[DC_insider]

might be worth making sure the car is 100% straight, its not unknown for accident damaged cars to destroy sunroofs or bonded in screens at random as the stresses are not distributed around the shell correctly if its slightly bent, its quite rare though to be honest.

I would echo popuptoaster's comment. When I first read the original post I wondered if the car might have been in an accident and the chassis is out of shape putting stress on the sunroof.

 

[brandwooddixon]

I'm intrigued that they are quoting 9.6 hours labour. What are they going to do, replace the entire sunroof mechanism - glass, cassette and all?

Read my thread on E210 sunroof woes and fixing. If the mechanism is any similar for your car then I would have expected a simple change of the glass to only take about an hour.

It definately sounds to me as if they are looking at removing the headlining and the sunroof cassette.

 

[MrPoz]

They have said it is a headlining out job hence the 9.6 hours labour

Had a phone call from MB on thursday and they told me no good will contribution will be offered.

Oh well, you win some... you lose some!

 

[brandwooddixon]

I know nothing of the sunroof for your car, but have a look at the W210 sunroof thread in the DIY section. If it looks similar, it may at least give youpointers about replacing the glass.

 

[MrPoz]

Car into main dealer this morning for the new sunroof

Pick it up tomorrow evening... Wallet £1400 lighter

 

[television]

Car into main dealer this morning for the new sunroof

Pick it up tomorrow evening... Wallet £1400 lighter

Sadly it is not one of those jobs where the car drives any better after having the work done

 

[MrPoz]

No but it will be a lot quieter!

Just had to replace the air mass meter so running like a dream anyway.

Car will be for sale soon if anyones interested i can list the spec and details.

 

[BlackC55]

Would you take £1400?

 

[Richard Moakes]

Car into main dealer this morning for the new sunroof

Pick it up tomorrow evening... Wallet £1400 lighter

You have my sympathy, thats an awful lot of money!