McDQ7

I read this interesting piece in Consumer Reports today and thought I'd bring it to folks attention. There is a reference in the article about a few victims hearing "popping" sounds coming from their moonroof prior to it shattering and I remember members here citing "popping" sounds heard with regard to other, probably unrelated, moonroof issues. I subsequently saw a similar thread about this article over in the Q5 discussion after I did a search.

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...nger-overhead/

AndroidRobot

As I mentioned in the Q5 forum there haven't been any reports of Audis having this issue at all. Why do people panic when CR publishes anything these days... The past few cars I've owned have all featured a panoramic sunroof yet none have ever failed.

hayde_bre

The whole article seems like a push from laminated glass industry to get the sunroofs laminated.
I would worry about vehicle integrity more than shattering sunroof. Shattering issue has never happened to anyone I know or in any forums I participated since I bought my first Jeep back in 2003. Did you see the next report "Cars With Confusing or Dangerous Shifters"? That must be a serious issue, shifters confusing people!

There are far more serious issues with vehicles these days like blinding LED brake lamps or modern vehicles still not having turn signals visible from sides, or even corners (people still don't have how to properly merge, so these lights on sides or mirrors help others spot the merge-disabled drivers attempt to change lanes).. They'll have to prepare a book length report on shattering sunroofs or confusing shifters...

Spartan01

I remember this was happening to the newer body style Nissan maximas back in 04 or whatever it was. There were always multiple threads of cracking/shattering sunroofs

cke1973

I just want to say that this is real. I experienced this horrific incident in my own 2017 Q7 that I just got this year in May. I was driving on the highway with a coworker and was doing around 70MPH. All of a sudden, we heard a loud boom, then looked up and saw the shattered glass flew off the top of the car with my own eyes. My coworker and I didn't see any rocks or heard anything hit the front glass except that loud boom. I thought it was a gun shot or something. My wife and I refused to step into this Q7 again because we have 2 little ones 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 years old. We could not imagine not knowing when this will happen again and if my kids were in the car with the cover open (Especially the pano is one of the great features which my 3 year old loves; watching the sky, the air plane while the car is moving). And now that pano serves us no purpose. The car has been in the shop since end of September for investigation and repair. And I'm sure you can guess the investigation result, came back with nothing wrong with it. If you just google 2017 Q7 Panoramic Shattered, you'll find quite a few articles about the shattered panoramic/sunroof articles and some class action lawsuits against other car manufacturers. Though, nothing in particular on the 2017 Q7 with the shattered panoramic or the class action. I'm now dealing with the VW resolution and retention group, they gave me 2 options; replacement or repurchase offers. I love the newly designed Q7, but without knowing the root cause, I will not step into one again. I'm done with Q7. Not saying anything bad about Audi, and hopefully I'm the only one experienced this with the Q7 and that nothing will ever happen to other Q7 owners. I really hope Audi takes responsibility to do a good thorough investigation and not just trying to sweep this under the rug.

AngryQ5

damn sorry to hear for this incident. I too personally love this car and its pano roof having 1 kid and 1 more coming soon.
when this happened to you did the glass fall into the car? if you had the sunroof tinted would it have been better? or safer?

atleast AOA is allowing you option to replace i guess good luck!!

cke1973

Luckily, I had the felt screen / cover closed at the time for some reason, otherwise, glasses would have fell on on our faces. I usually have it open all the time as it is a really nice view with the huge pano roof which is why I said that it now serves us no purpose as I would have the screen closed at all times without knowing the root case and with the fix. Regarding your questions on sunroof tint, to be honest, I don't know. I can only give you what I think from my logic as it is a safety issue so don't take my words for it. From my logic point of view, I would think with the tint film, it probably would be good for people inside the car (I'm sure you would still have some pieces fall inside the car) but it's probably equally bad (with or without the tint) for the neighboring cars (worse for motorcycles) as the shattered glasses should be sticking to the tint film and when the vehicle is traveling at the normal freeway speed, it most likely would suck the whole panel out (including the film out of the car) off the top of the car instead of the shattered pieces of glasses (imagine the shot gun style which was what I saw with my own eyes). Both situations are not fun for any neighboring cars and motorcycles (luckily, no motorcycle was behind me and not many cars around either). This is a seriously seriously safety issue/concern and I get so eerie even just thinking about those what ifs from the flash back. I rode motorcycles in the past and I wouldn't want to be the one behind that car or anywhere near it nor would I want to be the car behind it. Just my simple brain with no proven theory and no real scientific evidence. I'm sure someone here with real Physics degrees would be able to provide you a better and precise response to your question. Again, I pray that I'm the first and the last for all Audi panos...

Force-1

A bit off topic, but about 10 years a go I had a Cadillac Escalade. On my way home from work, doing about 50 MPH on a 3-lane main arterial, far right lane. In the center lane, about 50' in front of me, a POS Dodge Neon. The sunroof of the Neon came off, flew through the air like a Frisbee, and hit the driver side rear quarter panel of my Escalade. Did about $800 damage.

There was a motorcycle to my left. Could have ended much worse.

EvergreenQ7

A big thank you to cke1973 for sharing his experience with his sunroof. Good to know that the Q7 is not perfect as the article in CR was brief and did not make much mention of Audi/VW, focus was on Kia/Hyundai. And based on your experience now we know the Q7 has tempered glass, not laminated which is unfortunate. Please keep us posted on how your case progresses.

cke1973

Yep, that’s exactly what i’m saying. It’s not just about my family’s safety or time or money spent from the incident but also others out there near the scene are prone to this dangerous situation. You don’t know what kind of chain reactions you would get from yourself and other drivers.