A6 Exploding Sunroof

[Djmoore]

Hi everyone, I'm new this and looking to find anyone who has experienced an exploding sunroof. We have a Q3 and an A6. Last week the Q3 sunroof exploding all over the my, mother in law, and three year old. audi have denied any responsibility whatsoever and quoted £4k to repair - they need to remove the centre console and the seats - there is glass everywhere. I am in the process of having an expert witness provide a report but despite asking the dealership to keep all the remaining glass they have removed it so little evidence other than photos I took straight after. Early indications are that it was defective glass. My insurer is Direct Line, and they would treat this is a windscreen claim and pass it through Autoglass - who will just replace the glass and not do anything else. So Audi say that if anything fails in the switchgear, roof mechanism or seat mechanisms it will likely to be caused by glass and not covered. The car is ten months old. Pleas Help !!!

[zollaf]

welcome to the forum. i have heard of, and read about, possiby on here, some cases of the same happening to an Eos. i think its down to an air bubble in the glass which expands with heat thus fracturing the glass, so yes, a manufacturing fault. i have no idea what the next step would be though.

[Djmoore]

Thanks zollaf, yes having done a bit of my own research that seems to be a likely cause. Audi are being very dismissive and categorically deny any possibility it is defective, although I'm not sure how they can be so certain. I am hoping to locate somebody who has experienced the same and won the battle so I can ask how, otherwise I'll be left in the gap between Direct Line, Autoglass, Audi UK and the dealer, with either a 4k bill or a 10 month old car without warranty for most of the interior! Thanks again for the post and if you come across anything else, I'm all ears!

[johnsimcox]

I would be asking the dealer what they would be doing differently to Autoglass to protect your warranty. If all they are doing is giving the car a thorough clean to get rid of all the glass ask them what is the cost for that separately to the cost of replacing the glass and then have a conversation with your insurance company about how they propose to proceed. Insurance is about returning you to where you were prior to the incident. If by them using Autoglass to do the work they are voiding the warranty on the rest of the car then they are not keeping to their side of the bargain. If the dealer doing the clean is sufficient to retain the warranty then the insurance company should pay for that. Also is it Audi saying this or the dealer? Many times the dealer makes bold claims saying that is the manufacturer when they have not actually asked them. Finally I would have thought that to deny a warranty claim they would need to prove that the fault was caused by the presence of the glass and for no other reason. Just because there was glass in the vicinity does not make it the cause of the fault.

[Djmoore]

thanks johnsmincox. I am concerned if I push Direct Line too far, they will accept the claim but as a regular claim not a "glass claim" and therefore I will lose the max no claims bonus etc etc. And if the expert witness report finds that on balance of probabilities it was defective glass then I don't see why I should do this. It is the dealer who are quoting Audi UK, I have no evidence that it is actually Audi UK who have been involved but then again I have no reason to doubt the dealer. They have claimed to be waiting for responses over the past few days. They also need to replace the sunroof cassette whereas Autoglass will just replace the glass within the existing cassette. Fortunately I currently have an A4 loan car so if it gets legal and drags on this may force the issue. Next step if they refute an expert witness report in my favour is to publish a website I think.

[zollaf]

i think i would be talking to audi uk myself .

[whitter45]

Does the car have Audi Finance

If so raise issue with Audi UK and then speak to the finance company who will stop payments and take over from you - you receive no issues with non payment against credit rating etc

Had to do this with BMW when our convertible kept leaking and after eventually having a face to face meeting with the Dealer principal who was not interested we raised with BMW finance and within 2 weeks a new car was ordered

[zollaf]

Attention Exploding Sunroof (http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/44337-Exploding-Sunroof?highlight=exploding+sunroof)

Important Exploding sun roof 2 (http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/95567-Exploding-sun-roof-2?highlight=exploding+sunroof)

these are 2 threads about the eos

[Djmoore]

THanks whitter45, hadn't thought of Audi Finance, and yes it does have finance on it - will look into that angle!

[Crasher]

If they have never had this before, you could try asking Audi why from the 3rd of November 2014 production the frame was re-designed and why since your car was built, why has the roof motor been revised twice in the space of 3 months? I am not saying this is the cause but it does seem odd.

[whitter45]

THanks whitter45, hadn't thought of Audi Finance, and yes it does have finance on it - will look into that angle!

It works as Audi Finance have the ultimate vested interest in the car - at the end of the day its their asset so believe me they get involved

They take all the hassle away of dealing with the dealer and manufacturer. Even if I had cash outright to buy a car I would also use the manufactuer finance, even if its a small percentage, to add protection against this

[AllotmentChap]

Same applies if you paid any of the balance/deposit using a credit card. And trust me, nobody messes with credit car company lawyers.

[Djmoore]

Thanks whitter45. I did contact Audi Finance and they have logged the case. They said it may take 8 weeks for a resolution. In the meantime, no doubt the loan car will depreciate, shame...! Thanks again.

[Djmoore]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have now received the expert witness report which is in my favour. I have published a website to try and find any other instances, and to exert a bit of pressure on Audi. The more hits the better...
Audi Exploding sunroof (www.audiexplodingsunroof.com)