Sunroofs?

[Blueinterceptor]

anybody have issues with them?
Leaks etc?

I’ve never really been a fan. I have no personal experience either good or bad but I’ve heard about clogged channels etc.

I think cutting a hole in the roof is not good.

Convince me otherwise

 

[chicagofan00]

I've had a sunroof in my vehicles for the last 19 years and so far (knocks on wood) I've had no issues with any of them.

 

[Tahoe14]

I am in the same boat as chicagofan00.

 

[4OFFSHR]

We had a major issue with the Pano roof in a 2008 GMC Acadia, never any issues with the sunroof, but the pano roofs in the GMC and the Saturn models during that time period were a major issue, we had our new Acadia then for about two and half years when after some good rainfall we started having issues that we could not figure out why they were happening...weird stuff, started battling with GM and then one day during a rainfall we started driving down the street and my kids said, Dad water is coming down from the overhead lights, I hit the brakes and all of a sudden a rush of water poured onto my feet from under the dash...car was soaked due to a faulty weather lining on the Pano roofs, was a known issue by techs with GM, but little was talked about. Make a long story short, we Lemon Lawed the car back to GM on the advice from a Svc. Manager at GM, even gave me the Law office to contact, went through the process and got back $3k more than what I initially put down on the car after Lawyer expenses were paid. Was the only way we were going to get any satisfaction, GM just hopes you go away, or trade or sell the problem to someone else.
As for the sunroofs, never had any issues, however I have heard some issues with the roof mount antenna in front of the sunroofs? If you are having issues, it could be from there?
Also, on my previous vehicle a 2011 Suburban, I had some paint lifting with some rust issues starting under the roof rack mount, but I had also switched from the standard racks to Escalade ESV racks, so that could have been my own fault.

 

[Blueinterceptor]

I don’t have and never had a sunroof on a truck. I’m usually too tall to get them but I fit in the current Tahoe/burb with them. I’m looking at picking up a 19 burb with the enhanced premier pkg. part of the pkg is a must have sunroof. Everything else I can change but not the roof.

 

[ChrisYukon]

Every newer car I've bought over the past 20+ years has had a "moonroof." I've never had a problem, and have never known anyone else who had a problem, either.

 

[WillCO]

No mechanical issues, though the sunroof design on the Tahoe/Yukon is pretty unusable when open. The cloth diffuser makes a ton of hissing wind noise; the only thing worse is the buffeting noise you get when you push the thing down with your hand.

You really can't have the sunroof open at any considerable speed unless you have a high tolerance for road noise.

I've never seen a cloth diffuser on a sunroof on any other vehicle. It doesn't work well, and it seems like designs that do work well are no huge secret. Head scratcher.

 

[petethepug]

Pano roofs are great for leased vehicles where the warranty matches the lease term, otherwise they’re not ready for prime time.

I’ve always had a sunroof as the car drives PCH daily. The version in the Chevy/GM truck platform is stout compared to other manufacturers roof holes. I’m not sure if GM subs out the sunroof assemblies or if they’re homemade.


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[chicagofan00]

No mechanical issues, though the sunroof design on the Tahoe/Yukon is pretty unusable when open. The cloth diffuser makes a ton of hissing wind noise; the only thing worse is the buffeting noise you get when you push the thing down with your hand.

You really can't have the sunroof open at any considerable speed unless you have a high tolerance for road noise.

I've never seen a cloth diffuser on a sunroof on any other vehicle. It doesn't work well, and it seems like designs that do work well are no huge secret. Head scratcher.

I agree here with regards to the diffuser that is used on the Tahoes. I rarely ever have it open as it just creates too much noise and I can barely hear what my kid is trying to say from the back seat when it's open....may or may not be a good thing depending upon the day! Ha!

 

[adventurenali92]

No mechanical issues, though the sunroof design on the Tahoe/Yukon is pretty unusable when open. The cloth diffuser makes a ton of hissing wind noise; the only thing worse is the buffeting noise you get when you push the thing down with your hand.

You really can't have the sunroof open at any considerable speed unless you have a high tolerance for road noise.

I've never seen a cloth diffuser on a sunroof on any other vehicle. It doesn't work well, and it seems like designs that do work well are no huge secret. Head scratcher.

My mom has had sunroofs on all her cars for the last 10 or so years and I love having it. I wasn’t specifically looking for one with a sunroof when I bought my 2006 Denali but it has one and I love it! I can roll down the SoCal freeways with mine open and it’s not loud at all. I can talk on the phone with it open and be heard on the other end. But mine also has a plastic air deflector that flips up not a cloth one. That probably makes a big difference. I will say that I’m disappointed in that the plastic track pieces have broken and lodged into the track and my sunroof won’t open. It tilts up but doesn’t slide back. I’ve seen this happen to a lot of GMT800 platform trucks and I guess it’s pretty common in this gen. Not sure about the newer generation trucks. I’ve also never seen that happen to any of the sunroofs my moms vehicles have had over the years either. But oh well. There’s a kit that has metal track pieces to replace the broken ones. I plan on grabbing one soon and diving into the project. Not gonna be easy but will be worth it because I really miss being able to open my sunroof! I vote sunroof is a good option! Lol

 

[ajs800]

Every newer car I've bought over the past 20+ years has had a "moonroof." I've never had a problem, and have never known anyone else who had a problem, either.

...this has been my experience.

 

[JTRATX]

I've had them in vehicles on and off for 20+ years, never had one leak, but you do need to pour water in the channel of the sunroof track in each corner from time to time and make sure it still drains properly. Can be an issue if you park your vehicle outside where various debris can build up, or if you don't wash your car very often.

 

[CMoore711]

All of my vehicles for the past 15 years have had power sunroofs with zero issues. I usually opt for the higher trim levels of vehicles I purchase (used) and with that having a sunroof is almost unavaoidable. I find that I really don’t use them that often.

Honestly; I don’t use them enough to “have” to have them, but I’m not buying vehicles brand new or optioning a new vehicle so that I can chose if there’s a sunroof or not. They’re def not a deal breaker for me whether it’s there or not.

 

[orchidcrazy]

I am not a fan of a sunroof/moonroof but most cars have them. I searched for a year to in find a tahoe/yukon with all the stuff I was insistent upon, but without a sunroof. I had to give up my 20" wheels for 18's but the 18's ride nice, and I gave up my tow package, but I tow little and drive lots. I love my SLT with 2nd row bench and NO SUNROOF!!!!!!

I have 3 teens very close in age, well the oldest just turned 21 but..... my oldest has ripped a headliner from a car from driving around with the sunroof open all the time, costly repair, of course a broken belt took out the engine before we ever had to address. My cars that he drove he'd leave the sunroof open and I had water get in my Jeep I had previously. When we bought him a car, a used Jetta, we searched until we found one without a sunroof. I have a teen daughter with a Jeep Liberty with a sunroof - took it through a car wash with the sunroof open - my youngest and I can still laugh till we cry over that one. Ugh! They don't see much use, I think they are stupid, to be honest, I think depending on your location, they are just one more thing that can fail.

 

[fozzi58]

The last roof that leaked on me was my 79 Trans Ams. Wife has a 2011 Enclave. We bought it used. No issues and she has the big glass roof in the 2nd row along with the sun roof.

I had a Sunroof installed in my 2008 Avalanche. Blue Sky Auto in north jersey did the work. It was a Suncoast sunroof or something - the big name brand the dealerships use when you buy a "dealer installed sunroof". The fit an finish was impeccable and the button to control it looked better and "more factory" than my neighbor's 2013 Avalanche with an actual factory sunroof. Never leaked, always worked.

 

[David Kriss]

I have a 2001 Yukon XL. My wife uses the sun roof a lot. I had to have the slide mechanism replaced a couple years ago because part of it came apart. At least once a year, I have to use a piece of cable to clean out the drains. When they clog, you will get water leaking out of the ceiling light fixture. It usually leaks out when we make a turn and one of us winds up with water in our lap.

Just a word of warning, don't use compressed air to clean the drains. The drain hoses are made from several pieces of tubing connected with friction fit connectors. Compressed air could separate a connector and drain the water into your ceiling or window pillar.

 

[PoPoPPV]

I had a ton of issues with my H3 sunroof and the dreaded drain tubes. Nothing so far with the Z71. I'm not gonna lie, I'd prefer it didn't have a sunroof.

 

[WillCO]

I have 3 teens very close in age, well the oldest just turned 21 but..... my oldest has ripped a headliner from a car from driving around with the sunroof open all the time, costly repair, of course a broken belt took out the engine before we ever had to address. My cars that he drove he'd leave the sunroof open and I had water get in my Jeep I had previously. When we bought him a car, a used Jetta, we searched until we found one without a sunroof. I have a teen daughter with a Jeep Liberty with a sunroof - took it through a car wash with the sunroof open - my youngest and I can still laugh till we cry over that one. Ugh! They don't see much use, I think they are stupid, to be honest, I think depending on your location, they are just one more thing that can fail.

To be fair, in these stories it wasn't the sunroof that failed. But I think that was part of your point.

If the sunroof were an a-la-carte option I probably wouldn't order it either though.

 

[mountie]

My 2005 Yukon Xl sun roof is fine...... It's the dumb separation, around the edges of the cloth, on the sliding door. All these years and GM still can't make it right.

 

[Ben_]

Our 2005 Buick Rainier (same platform as a Tahoe) had the moonroof stick in the open vent position due to the plastic mechanism breaking and jamming the sliding mechanism. I bought a repair kit off a popular Internet auction site and the parts looked identical to those that came from the factory. I found some videos on YouTube about how to install the roof repair kit and was able to restore the roof to normal operation. The repair required the removal of the headliner and the moonroof assembly, which was not so much difficult, as it was time consuming. I deviated from the videos some, as I just dropped the headliner instead of trying to remove it. I used ratchet straps over the roof and through the windows to create a sling to hold the headliner. Then, removed the moonroof assembly, installed the kit, and put it back in. The kit cost me about $120 or so, but if I had it installed at a dealership, or sunroof shop, the labor cost would have been off the chart. During my research on this problem, I found info on forums indicating estimates over $1,100 for the repair. I found a lot of debris in the track during the repair, which I attribute to the roof being left open in the vent position to help keep the vehicle interior cool on hot days. We are more careful about that now, especially when it's windy/dusty.