Glass Panoramic Roof

[Sivmeister]

Hi All (I am new to the forum, so forgive me if this issue has come up before and there's an open forum on it),

 

By way of background, my daughter was standing in the back of the car (2014 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso) when she jumped (I don't know why!!) and hit her head on the glass panoramic roof. She cried (a lot!). We later discovered (after the school run) that she had caused the roof to crack - a central impact point with splinter cracks.

 

- Has anyone experienced a similar event (or is it just my silly daughter!)?

- If so, how did you resolve it? Repair/Replace the roof? At what cost?

- Should the roof in fact be susceptible to damage in such circumstances? Besides the fact that my daughter should not have jumped up, the likelihood of this occurring is not entirely unpredictable. Therefore I have to ask the question, is there an issue with the design/roof?

 

Any insight and guidance would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you 

 

Chris

Edited March 6, 2017 by Sivmeister

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

 

I would contact your insurer to get it repaired. It may be covered as a glass breakage so the excess may not be as much as if you make a claim for damage. If you do not wish to use your insurance then ask at a Citroen dealer for the cost to repair.

[Rookie2]

If you would like to read a Korean study into car glass and it's problems then you will find this very interesting

 

https://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/24/files/24ESV-000152.PDF

 

As for what type/specification of glass should be used ?, I believe it is a bit of a grey area, I am assuming that manufacturers do not expect occupants who are seated and belted to come into contact with sunroofs (though as you say, anything is possible) by the same token I have also seen laminated windscreens which even after shattering still hold together in one piece and come out of the frame shattered but still in one piece.

[coastline taxis]

they are a complete nightmare to change as they form part of the saftey cell.  take it to the dealers and let them do it.  Seen cars wrote of by insurance companys through this

[Sivmeister]

Thanks all, very helpful insight.

 

We've been quoted £1,100 (plus Vat) to change which, if I'm honest, is lower than I thought it would be. Still crazy money and I'm still frustrated that this could have been caused by my 6 year old daughter's head.

 

As for insurance, this is most unlikely to respond. Most insurers specifically exclude Panoramic Glass Roofs from the "glass" section of the policy. However I've been looking closer at this and while it may be excluded from the beneficial terms of the glass section (no excess (if approved persons repair/replace) and protected no claims), I think it's arguable that I'm covered by the general damage section of the policy. There is no specific exclusion (or cross policy limitation) and I would just have to suffer the excess in the usual way. I'm going to make that claim.

 

If that fails I think there's something to be said for the failure to draw the panoramic glass roof exclusion to my attention when I bought the policy. The insurers were aware of the exact specification of the car (including its 'roof'). Had they brought it to my attention I would not have purchased the insurance. It's a material item to cover and thus a materially relevant exclusion.

Edited March 7, 2017 by Sivmeister