Heat from the Sunroof?

It's glass and sunlight passing through glass will heat surfaces and that heat won't pass through glass as easily. Simple as that. The heat generator is not UV (UV causes sunburn) but IR. So you need a block for IR light. Or just darken the sunroof alltogether.

 

One of the joys a a sunroof! Wait till it starts leaking!

 

I had a leftover swatch of bubble radiant barrier that I just tossed up on top of the sliding shutter. Helps a bit.

-Chap

 

My current Prius doesn't have a sunroof. But my last Toyota vehicle did. And it got hot as H. I had the tint shop put the darkest tint they had on the sunroof glass. It helped somewhat, and it reflected UV , but it was still very hot.

I can't figure out why some of these guys put that black plastic wrap stuff on the roof of their white car. Man, you talk about attracting heat!

 

A gold flashed tint will block the IR. They use it in the record challenging EVs. I find it hard to believe that the glass sunroof is any different than the metal roof however. Perhaps the lack of any insulation is the difference.

 

One of these days, I'm going to have to figure out how to run that solar-powered ventilation feature ... is yours not working, Jarrett?

 

Solar powered ventilation:
Just push in the button and leave it in. The system will run when it gets hot and the car has been off for about 5-10 min. Hot as in above about 15C. Leaving it on has no other effect, other than perhaps putting slightly more wear on the fan bearings, but the fan runs at a lower speed, not full speed. Oh, and I suppose the cabin filter will accumulate more dirt.

 

I read the original post as complaining not about the accumulation of heat while parked (which the solar vent can help with), but just the relentless radiant heat from the sunroof shutter beating down on the head and shoulders while driving (which a radiant barrier does help with a little).

-Chap

 

Sunroof Prius owner here. Got tired of the heat and the road noise from the uninsulated roof. Dropped the headliner and installed some sound proofing and a radiant barrier. Now I can't even hear raindrops on the roof when parked when previously it sounded like marbles pelting the roof. While I had the headliner out I removed the factory rear dome
Light and it's awkward bracket that was lowered to make room for the roof and installed new lights next to the roof grab handles. Gained 2 inches of headroom.
Curiously, the panel for the sliding cover under the sunroof is made from the actual roof panel cut out to install the sunroof. Color matched and I could see the cut marks and lines drawn to make the cut right.