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Exploding Panoramic Sunroof?

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Old Jun 13, 2023 | 12:32 PM
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Exploding Panoramic Sunroof?

Hey guys, this is a post I wasn't expecting to make, but I'm curious how many others have had this experience.

Around 7 AM in the morning, on a mostly open 4 lane highway, my sunroof literally just popped and shattered, with glass falling inside of the car. It was a surprisingly loud 'pop' sound. I was accelerating from 45 to about 55 when it happened. I wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing, but I've since seen that Mercedes has been named in a few class actions over the issue.

MBUSA customer support assigned a rep to my case about a month ago, she's been 100% nonresponsive since that time. Dealer is saying they're unable to help, that Mercedes suggested an 'outside force' caused the failure. Car is a 2020, still under extended warranty.

Anyone else had one of these things pop on you?
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Old Jun 13, 2023 | 02:18 PM
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the exploding sunroof happens to other brands as well, no matter if they are German, domestic, Japanese brands.

The manuf. obviously will blame on external factors such as flying debris which may coincidently land on top of your sunroof.

I would suggest just claim thru your insurance as getting proof of manuf. defects is extremely hard to prove.

Last edited by bobblehead; Jun 13, 2023 at 02:23 PM.
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Old Jun 13, 2023 | 02:23 PM
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For sure I can do that, but it's also an unacceptable outcome from my perspective. For sure will be the last MB I own, based on this experience, which is a bit of a bummer, I'd considered getting an AMG GT-R to replace my Huracan. If something hit the sunroof, I'd get it, but that isn't what happened.
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Old Jun 13, 2023 | 02:31 PM
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there is really no professional and scientific explanation behind this breakage, but most may suggest it has to do with the imperfection manuf. of the glass and adding on the car's non stopping road movements (turning, uneven roads, stopping, etc.) will compound the issue into this explosion at some point of time.
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Old Jun 13, 2023 | 02:37 PM
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Pretty much would need a forensic analysis to see if there was stress in the glass that caused it to pop, which is most likely the cause. The stress could be from manufacturing, but it could also be from the glass being exposed to significant temperature swings. This does happen in other brands as well as said above. I've never had one pop and I even use a suction cup bicycle mount attached to the pano roof with my C63 and I did the same with my prior Audi.




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Old Jun 15, 2023 | 02:30 PM
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Same thing happened to my 2018 E63S Wagon. I live in NYC and was driving back from Long Island on a sunny winter day. Roof exploded from inside out. Thank goodness the shade was closed to keep glass from falling everywhere.

Dealer also would not cover - I claimed under insurance. Had to replace the sunshade as well, which was the big expense as they needed to drop the headliner. Still have some glass fragments under the headliner which rattle and drive me crazy, but dealer will charge again to pull it out.

Was a pain and it took 6 weeks to fix, but has been fine since. I think MB should fess up the the problem, but when I was going through it they claimed it had to be a foreign body.

Photos of the aftermath.


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Old Jun 15, 2023 | 02:39 PM
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My insurance agent has seen it as well.

It's absolutely reprehensible the way they've handled it in my case and the pattern I'm seeing in reading the legal filings from other customers is identical, they have the same excuse. I'm evaluating the most efficient way forward, meeting with an attorney shortly and will see how things progress.
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Old Jun 15, 2023 | 02:50 PM
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was wondering if you guys (with exploded roof) had tint installed on the pano roof ?

I had mine tinted to 20% ... if it does explode, perhaps the tint film may hold all the debris in one 'laminated' sheet.
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Old Jun 15, 2023 | 02:51 PM
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Mine is untinted, but it was pretty dark from the factory.
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Old Jun 15, 2023 | 02:58 PM
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Same here - mine was Untinted. Was a cold day, but full sun and all windows were closed. Not sure if that made any difference.
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Old Jun 15, 2023 | 02:59 PM
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personally, I never liked sunroof or panoroof to begin with, I almost never used this at all and to keep the sun's heat as much as possible, I always tinted mine to as dark as possible.
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Old Jun 19, 2023 | 08:30 AM
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Originally Posted by bobblehead
personally, I never liked sunroof or panoroof to begin with, I almost never used this at all and to keep the sun's heat as much as possible, I always tinted mine to as dark as possible.
It affects the weight of the vehicle and just another place for light to come in, wish it wasn't standard here, you know in a place that basically have 3 winters (fall, winter, spring) in a year.
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Old Jun 20, 2023 | 08:22 AM
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My first car with Pano roof was the w212 E63. Car sounded like a gunshot went off nearby when I would go over steep driveways.
Got repaired after a couple of attempts but left me feeling like this isn't a long lasting solution. Kept that car will over 85k miles without an issue in the pano roof department though.

When I went with the w213, I opted for a regular sunroof no pano. Then I got reintroduced to the sliding back of the cover under acceleration (forgot about that from previous AMGs lol).
Also without the Pano roof, I thought I was in a hailstorm the first time I drove in rain with my 2021. It was so loud I panicked and drove for cover.
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Old Jun 20, 2023 | 08:33 AM
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Originally Posted by kponti
My first car with Pano roof was the w212 E63. Car sounded like a gunshot went off nearby when I would go over steep driveways.
Got repaired after a couple of attempts but left me feeling like this isn't a long lasting solution. Kept that car will over 85k miles without an issue in the pano roof department though.

When I went with the w213, I opted for a regular sunroof no pano. Then I got reintroduced to the sliding back of the cover under acceleration (forgot about that from previous AMGs lol).
Also without the Pano roof, I thought I was in a hailstorm the first time I drove in rain with my 2021. It was so loud I panicked and drove for cover.
Did you end up getting no sunroof no pano as well?
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Old Jun 20, 2023 | 11:12 AM
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I have had this happen to my home windows before, cold on the inside and hot on the outside, normal for double Payne windows
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Old Jun 20, 2023 | 11:48 AM
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Originally Posted by SEXYBEAST
I have had this happen to my home windows before, cold on the inside and hot on the outside, normal for double Payne windows
Does that mean if the sunroof was made of the same acoustic glass passenger windows included in the optional acoustic sound package, it would affect the possibility of it exploding?
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Old Jun 20, 2023 | 12:27 PM
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Originally Posted by W205C43PFL
Does that mean if the sunroof was made of the same acoustic glass passenger windows included in the optional acoustic sound package, it would affect the possibility of it exploding?
It would decrease the chances because of the laminate.
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Old Jun 20, 2023 | 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by wildta
It would decrease the chances because of the laminate.
I see that is what I thought thanks for confirming.
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Old Jun 21, 2023 | 08:29 AM
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Originally Posted by W205C43PFL
Did you end up getting no sunroof no pano as well?
Yes I did just a month ago ( after 2 year ownership of the facelifted sunroof'ed w213). I got a M8 BMW with carbon roof and much happier with the lack of glass over my head lol.
Silent inside in rain with the BMW while my MB sounded like I had a tin metal roof in the rain. Btw my MB also had the acoustic package while the BMW does not (not an option)
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Old Jun 21, 2023 | 09:19 PM
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Originally Posted by kponti
Yes I did just a month ago ( after 2 year ownership of the facelifted sunroof'ed w213). I got a M8 BMW with carbon roof and much happier with the lack of glass over my head lol.
Silent inside in rain with the BMW while my MB sounded like I had a tin metal roof in the rain. Btw my MB also had the acoustic package while the BMW does not (not an option)
Great idea, lighter for the car and less heat entering the cabin hopefully : )
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Old Jun 21, 2023 | 10:24 PM
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Originally Posted by W205C43PFL
Great idea, lighter for the car and less heat entering the cabin hopefully : )
Less top-end weight too so should be better handling.
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Old Jun 23, 2023 | 09:49 PM
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Originally Posted by wildta
Less top-end weight too so should be better handling.
Yup exactly!
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