realyfishy
New member
I was told by the tint place I used, that the moonroof could shatter if tinted! They advised against it. I live in south Fla. & need it. Anybody have any input or neg. experiance Thanks, Randy
Tint moonroof danger
- Thread starter realyfishy
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I had a 98 civic cpe and tinted my sunroof with 10% mirror tint and the sunroof still in the same condition as day one. As for my runner, i didn't tint the sunroof because of all the problems being reported by owners. If my sunroof ever malfunction(knock on wood), I don't want the stealship to blame me for putting after market parts on it. Since the runner have the tilt feature, I usually have the sunroof tilted up/and have the covering 1/4 open when I parked under the hot sun.
RonMAIDEN
Super Moderator
It's mostly direct heat and my friend who works at a collision shop has seen a few cracked sunroof windows due to aftermarket tint and your warranty won't cover it.
I remember him telling me something else about that subject so I'll talk to him in the morning and post here with his advice.
I remember him telling me something else about that subject so I'll talk to him in the morning and post here with his advice.
Is your friend 100% sure it isn't because of somebody either a) dropping something on it, or b) a rock flipping up from a truck tire and coming straight down on it while on the highway? He has no way of knowing EXACTLY what cause it to crack. I would seriously doubt that window tint would cause it to crack.
Ricky
Ricky
RonMAIDEN said:
realyfishy
New member
I think I'll give it a try, (i'ts hotter than @#$%^&* here) I like the light. I'll let you know if I get a glass shower.
alpine0000
New member
Boaz said:
ill tell you the difference - its not a difference in 'tinting', its a difference in glass.
sunroof = REAL glass, like a beer bottle
side windows and windshield = safety glass that, when broken, crumbles into little tiny round pieces of glass
i do not tint windows, so i do not know any technical reasons behind what would make the sunroof crack, nor have a heard that before.
however, i just wanted to tell you there IS a difference in sunroof glass and the rest of the windows in a car
There is a difference in glass. Sunroof glass is typically softer.alpine0000 said:ill tell you the difference - its not a difference in 'tinting', its a difference in glass.
sunroof = REAL glass, like a beer bottle
side windows and windshield = safety glass that, when broken, crumbles into little tiny round pieces of glass
i do not tint windows, so i do not know any technical reasons behind what would make the sunroof crack, nor have a heard that before.
however, i just wanted to tell you there IS a difference in sunroof glass and the rest of the windows in a car
If you go too dark on the sunroof, the sunroof can crack. It's typically a heat fracture. Tint does absorb heat, and the darker the film, the less light gets in, the more heat it absorbs/rejects. If you put to dark of a film on there, then you can get a heat fracture.
Most sunroof's are factory tinted, and you can go a shade darker. There is still the risk of the heat fracture though, placing any film on it.
<------tinter for 10 years.
the moonroof will NOT shatter from heat retention, i.e. tinted moon roof.
The only way that window film will cause glass to shatter usually pertains to a dual plane glass..... i.e. a film with a high heat rejection is on the inside of the glass, heat attempts to travel through, makes it through the first pane and blocked by the second (tinted) pane.......gets trapped between the two panes, has no where to go.......result is expansion and shattering of glass.
Sooo, unless your roof is dual pane, which is becomng more common on high end vehciles but I think our Runners are safe.......you are safe to tint the roof.
the moonroof will NOT shatter from heat retention, i.e. tinted moon roof.
The only way that window film will cause glass to shatter usually pertains to a dual plane glass..... i.e. a film with a high heat rejection is on the inside of the glass, heat attempts to travel through, makes it through the first pane and blocked by the second (tinted) pane.......gets trapped between the two panes, has no where to go.......result is expansion and shattering of glass.
Sooo, unless your roof is dual pane, which is becomng more common on high end vehciles but I think our Runners are safe.......you are safe to tint the roof.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that its typically a problem with double pane windows. It happens on double pane house windows too.TowRunner said:<------tinter for 10 years.
the moonroof will NOT shatter from heat retention, i.e. tinted moon roof.
The only way that window film will cause glass to shatter usually pertains to a dual plane glass..... i.e. a film with a high heat rejection is on the inside of the glass, heat attempts to travel through, makes it through the first pane and blocked by the second (tinted) pane.......gets trapped between the two panes, has no where to go.......result is expansion and shattering of glass.
Sooo, unless your roof is dual pane, which is becomng more common on high end vehciles but I think our Runners are safe.......you are safe to tint the roof.
alpine0000
New member
TowRunner said:<------tinter for 10 years.
the moonroof will NOT shatter from heat retention, i.e. tinted moon roof.
The only way that window film will cause glass to shatter usually pertains to a dual plane glass..... i.e. a film with a high heat rejection is on the inside of the glass, heat attempts to travel through, makes it through the first pane and blocked by the second (tinted) pane.......gets trapped between the two panes, has no where to go.......result is expansion and shattering of glass.
Sooo, unless your roof is dual pane, which is becomng more common on high end vehciles but I think our Runners are safe.......you are safe to tint the roof.
finally input from a tinter, and actual sound advice. i love when people make sense of a thread!
good post
I'm not saying TowRunner is wrong, as I do agree with him. It typically is a problem with dual pane glass. But there is still the risk that it can fracture even if it is single pane. Basically, you should be ok, but don't be surprised if someday you do see a crack in it. The reason I say it doesn't have to be dual pane, is because there could be some imperfection in it that you can't see, but with the heat rejection/absorption, it can worsen.alpine0000 said:
It's still possible. I don't have a sunroof in my 4R, so I don't know if its a dual pane, but even if it isn't there is still that risk. You could be fine and have no problems with it, though..
I've seen a few cars with tinted sunroofs that have cracked due to a heat fracture.. As TowRunner said, it's been higher end cars with dual pane glass. I've been told by some customers though that come in and get their sunroof tinted again because they had to get new glass for it due to a claimed heat fracture. They said it wasn't dual pane. So I dunno, I wouldn't think there would be a problem with it if it weren't double pane, but I think there is still that possibility. And I mean, if you go a shade darker than the factory tint, then you're better off, than if you were to say put limo on it, or a film with similar heat rejection as limo but isn't as dark. It just happens to be when you have film with a higher heat rejection. Typically, anyways..
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alpha said:
A film with the same heat rejection as limo, is what creates the issue.........not how dark the film is.
There are some films that are transmit only 18-20% LIGHT, i.e. a 20% film, but could have a heat rejection of 72%..........meaning it is not as physically dark as limo but has the same heat rejection.
I'm just trying to shed some facts about the subject...
However, being in the business for 10+ years I can honestly say that I have never heard of this issue in automotive....flat glass i.e. residential, commercial, etc. Yes, but not automotive.
