Crazy about sunroofs but don’t know quite what to look for?

ONE of the common problems that sunroofs can lead to is leakage. Sun roofs are fun, outdoorsy and easy to maintain but they ARE a moving part accessory. And so they require regular maintenance to ensure that there is no leakage. There are three primary reasons why sunroofs can lead to leakage. Firstly, in dust-heavy environments like India, small pebbles can get stuck in the sunroof while you are driving your car. The result is that the embedded pebble will not allow the sunroof to close properly and the tilt may be small enough for you to ignore. While that’s alright in dry weather, during monsoons this can lead to leakage in your car. It is fairly simple to plug this problem. All you need to do is to clean the sunroof regularly. Just like you clean the inside of your car, the mats, the seat covers, the dashboard etc, remember to also clean the sunroof. That way you will make sure there are no embedded pebbles or other obstructions that will lead to leakage later on. The second reason for leakage is manual error. If you don’t switch off or close the sunroof properly, there could be leakage when there’s a heavy shower. This can happen even in auto close sunroofs and the only way out is to make sure you switch off the sunroof properly when you get out of the car. Lastly sometimes people override the auto close function of the sunroof for some specific reason. For instance, you may be driving in the hills and you want the sunroof open even when the car is stationary or parked. Alternatively people also leave the sunroof partially open for better ventillation. This too could lead to leakage. The best way to avoid all of this is to make sure you switch off the sunroof when you park the car and ensure periodical maintenance of the sunroof. Every eight months or once a year, you can take the sunroof to your OE vendor and get the greasing redone. The other very common reason for leakage is sourcing sunroofs from the unorganised sector. This can turn out to be a dicey option because unorganised players use substandard sunroofs and also the shearing machines used to remove the metal and instal the sunroof are also not of high quality and precision. All of this can lead to faulty installation and later leakage. Moral of the story: if you get your sunroof installed by an organised player & take good care, there should no problems.