I just found out that NHTSA (natn'l highway transportation admin, aka "the GOVERNMENT") is starting an investigation into the tC's sunroof.. They have received enough complaints of the sunroof shattering on its own at highway speeds. And this means nothing hitting it other than the pressure of 65 mph+ air. Here is the clip from NHTSA.GOV

Just thought I'd let everyone know about this and that the wind deflector is shattering when nothing has hit it except air. I also know that the owner's manual says to close the sunroof if you go over 45-50mph. So until a fix happens, everyone should probably keep it closed at highway speeds.. just to be safe..

here's the clip

NHTSA Action Number : PE05021 NHTSA Recall Campaign Number : N/A
Make : TOYOTA Model: SCION TC
Manufacturer : TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. Year : 2005
Component : VISIBILITY:SUN ROOF ASSEMBLY
Date Investigation Opened : April 28, 2005
Date Investigation Closed : Open
Summary:
THE TOYOTA SCION TC MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY INCLUDES A GLASS WIND DEFLECTOR AT THE FORWARD EDGE THAT PIVOTS UPWARD WHEN THE ROOF PANEL IS RETRACTED. CONSUMERS HAVE COMPLAINED THAT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE WIND DEFLECTOR MAY SHATTER WITHOUT WARNING. CATASTROPHIC BREAKAGE OF THE WIND DEFLECTOR MAY STARTLE THE DRIVER AND THE GLASS FRAGMENTS FALL ONTO THE DRIVER. A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN OPENED.

 

good to know that the government is looking out for us. Lets hope that they figure something out.

 

Maybe they can help us on the:

-long delayed SC
-cancelled AEM intake
-rattles from the hatch
-annoying cd player cover.

 

This is definately a conern of everyone who drives the car.

I put about 10k of highway miles with the sunroof open, closed, and me closing it while doing a little over 70 on the highway. Haven't had any problems here, but I'm curious to see what the verdict is.

 

driving on the highway with the sunroof open is one of the perks of this car. i'd hate to damage it, but im not sure if i will stop doin it. . . . would that be covered under warranty? guess not if it mentions it in the manual.

 

Yeah I don't think that it shattering on its own is part of what the government considers "normal operation".. no matter if Scion put it in the owners manual or not..

I'm curious to as to what they find and if they force Scion to have a recall.. But if they did.. I wonder what the fix would acutally be? Since it's already safety glass, isn't it?

 

sunroofs are supposed to be very hard to shatter. It takes a lot. One Thing I love most about this car is the whole roof is glass. Looks nice.

 

Hey I love the sunroof too, I think it took some guts to bring something this unique to market. It'll be interesting to see what comes of this NHTSA investigation..

 

THANX FOR THAT INFORMATIVE CLIP OF THE NHTSA. WE ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO LEARN ABOUT THESE HAZARDS. \

PERSONALLY, I HAVEN'T HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE CAR ITSELF. I HAVE GONE ON ROADTRIPS FROM CHICAGO TO NEWYORK AND BACK IN THE SUMMER GOING ABOUT 75-80 MPH WITH THE SUNROOF OPEN, AND IT HASN'T SHATTERED. THATS ABOUT 1000 MILES THERE AND 1000 MILES BACK WITH THE SUNROOF OPEN, FLYING OF THE FREEWAY AND NO SHATTERING GLASS. SHOULD I KNOCK ON WOOD? I'LL KEEP YOU POSTED ON ANY RESULTS.[/list]

 

I'm glad to know that the NHTSA is looking out for us...

On the other hand, if it says in the owner's manual to not drive at highway speeds with it open, then 1. why are people doing it? and 2. why is toyota responsible for it if people do it and it shatters?

 

i did a search and didnt find a tsb for fuel filling problems on the tC.. does neone have the same prblm? (my gf's tc and my xB do it)

 

Lol, no.

 

About 2 months ago I had my front glass panel (the wind deflector) shatter while at freeway speeds when it was closed. I was positive that I didn’t see anything hit it, but assumed something must have. I had that repaired as an insurance claim. Just 2 weeks ago my primary sunroof panel shattered while on the freeway while it was closed. Scared the crap out of me to hear that sound and have glass shards falling all over me, but I'm a pretty calm person and it didn’t upset my driving. Again I was sure nothing had hit it, and when I was finally able to pull over and investigate, it looked like the front panel had opened on its own, causing the breakage of the primary panel. If you look at the design of the sunroof, the front panel is actuated by 2 arms that rest underneath the primary panel when the roof is closed. So, I assumed it to be a malfunction of sunroof and made a warranty claim. At the time I didn’t know this, but the arms aren’t resting underneath the glass, they're being held down by the glass (to an extent), so when the primary glass shattered the front panel lifted up. This wasn’t discovered until after they had done the repairs. The moonroof has been a huge hassle for me because of this, and its still not completely resolved. There is glass where the 2 sunshades retract that needs to be cleaned out, and I recently discovered even more glass under the seats in the tract of the seat adjustments. And my roof now makes a loud thudding noise when it opens and closes. Fortunately, I'm sure the dealer wont have an issue repairing all of this, but its been a headache. That said, I still love my car. ^^

 

 

i never read anything about the manual saying not to have the sunroof open at speeds greater then 50mphs...that said I've had my sunroof open at 100mph, a lil loud but no problem. i guess i wont do that anymore

 

That's good to hear. The sunroof on my car has been fine so far. I usually close it for highway speeds, following the recommendations of the manual. There's obviously a reason they put that in there. One interesting thing I do notice is that if I leave the car in the sun too long, it seems to create stress on the roof from the hot air. The pressure is usually small but shattering glass is not completely impossible.

 

When I open my sunroof, it opens all the way back without any problem. When i close it, it closes 3/4 of the way and it stops. Then I have to let go of the button and press it again for it to close completely. Anybody have this problem? Any suggestions?

 

That's not a problem, that's the way its designed. You can check the manual for details.

 

I never drive on the e-way with my sunroof open !! because i was afraid of something lie "this" happenening.

 

it does that to make sure no one has a finger stuck in there the 3/4 closeing is a safty thing