opl

I just placed an order for a 2009 A3 with an Open Sky Sunroof and I've been reading in various forums that the sunshade latch seems to be faulty.

I drive an A4 now with a sunroof and I've never once closed the sunshade and it's all glass for me all the time even at temperatures in the 90s. So, my question is are these latches breaking through constant over use? They do look flimsy but they also should not be breaking like that. But then again why get the sunroof option if you're gonna cover it with the sunshade? I also had a sunroof on my X5 and I don't recall ever using the shade either.

I assume the open sky glass has the same level of protection without the shade as a regular sunroof on other Audi models. I'm just wondering if the issue is if the A3 sunroof doesn't have the same tint as an A4 for example. In which, I can see an issue.

krazyboi

I think mine broke after a few thousand miles, but since the replacement, no issues. The replacement latch does feel more sturdy.

What I've been doing to prevent wear on the little hooks that hold the latch in place is when I close the shade, I depress the latch, close shade, release latch. That way, you prevent the latch from opening,closing at its free force. Also when opening, instead of open and release, letting the shade pull to the back quickly, hand guide it back there...

just my $.02

Gettysburg

It keeps it's rolled-up shape and doesn't lay flat against the headliner; which makes the already cheap looking screen that much more unsightly.

If I'm not in the car, I pull the shade closed.

dubsfan

(with very mild and careful usage) and both times i compared the new one to the broken one and there was absolutely no difference in design of the "new" latch.

jumpserve

I cannot stress enough at what a poor design these sunshade latches are. My 2006 A3 has 62,000 miles and has had the front latch repaired 3x under warranty. My rear shade was repaired 1x. I am severely dissapointed in this design. I had several posts on this subject a couple of years ago on this forum.

Not only am I dissatisfied with the latch I am not happy with the amount of light the flimsy shade lets through. I even went so far as to tint the opensky (front and rear) to cut down on the amount of light.

Now I am way out of warranty and the front latch has broken again!!! The problem is that the OS roof is like a Solarium. My car is Black/Black and it is summer in St. Louis (90-100 degrees) It is like sitting on the surface of the sun!

I am very gentle with it and I use my roof nearly every day. I wish I could fix the thing myself.

Yes, Expect it to break.

callmecue

Mine just broke at 55k. 100+ degrees in work parking lot. Shut the door and the screen started rolling back on its own. Reached up and was assaulted buy plastic clip.

opl

Thank you to everyone who responded. I am picking up my car in September and I guess I'll wait until next summer to see how hot the car really gets without the use of the sunshade.

kirankumar

I have a broken latch for the rear. I looked for a replacement latch online but couldn't find a place to buy.

Does anyone know where I can buy one? Wondering how much it costs and if I can fix it myself?

Thank you,
Kiran
2006 Audi A3

MikeSS

The trick to the rear shade is that because it's under a piece of immovable glass you have to drop the headliner to get to it for repair. The rear shade is available in either the entire unit (8P4 877 307 A) or just the support bow/latch (8P4 877 307 C). Both of these have a color suffix: 59T:black, 70W: silver, 795:beige.

You can get parts online from somewhere like ecstuning.com.

kirankumar

Thanks for the information.. looks like its a part costing around $100 but labor might be higher because of the complexity..