Car Care

Car Owners Are Asked To Check Their Sunroofs

Posted: 2/18/2011

Consumers whose car has a sunroof are being asked to see if the sunroof may be subject to a recall and a free repair offer. (Hollandia 700/600 model pictured.)

(NAPSI) - Though millions of Americans have a sunroof in their car, many are not aware of a related product recall that could affect them. Regardless of the make or model of your car or truck, your sunroof may be among more than a quarter million that are being recalled by Webasto, the sunroof manufacturer, for potential glass debonding. Though only a small percentage of vehicles with sunroofs are affected by this voluntary recall—less than 1 percent—it poses a potential safety hazard, so it is important for all owners to do a simple check of their sunroof to see if they need the repair, which will be done at no cost to them.

What Consumers Should Do

There is an easy way to determine if your sunroof is one of two product lines affected by this recall. The most recognizable components of the sunroofs affected are the switches and presence of a Webasto logo on the sunshade handle.

• Hollandia 700/600 model: Consumers should look at the sunshade handle; if it says “Webasto” and the serial number is within the range of 6000000 to 6396298 it is covered under the safety recall.

• Hollandia TVS 900 model: This model has two tilt-up glass panels with a black plastic bar crossing the glass side to side. If “Webasto” is embossed on the bar, it is also covered under this safety recall.

All details on how to identify the sunroofs, including photos and a video, are available on the recall website www.sunroofcheck.com. Step-by-step instructions on how to arrange for a repair with Webasto’s authorized installers are also provided. It’s important to know that car dealerships are not administering this recall.

“We recognize that asking all vehicle owners to check their sunroof may be an inconvenience, but we believe this preventive action is in the best interest of the public,” said Mark Hickey, vice president, Business Development, Webasto Product North America. “Though we are reaching out to vehicle owners in other ways, we want to take every step we can to identify all vehicles that could have an affected sunroof.”

About the Recall

Webasto filed its Defect Information Report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stating that, although rare, conditions existing with the adhesive bond between the glass and metal frame in certain Hollandia 700, 600 and TVS 900 series non-factory installed sunroofs can increase the risk that the sunroof glass panel may completely debond from its frame. Webasto reported to NHTSA that the company was unaware of any injuries on the day of filing.

The recall only involves non-factory installed (aftermarket) sunroof glass panels and does not include the vast majority of Webasto sunroofs that are installed by auto manufacturers during vehicle assembly at the factory. However, the only way to determine if your sunroof is non-factory installed, even if you bought your vehicle new from a car dealer, is to do the inspection as described above.

This recall affects 283,996 sunroofs in the United States. Working with NHTSA, Webasto is moving swiftly to contact affected vehicle owners. In addition to the dedicated website, customers can also contact the Webasto Customer Service Center at (888) 749-8632 for more information or to schedule a repair.

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