Glass roof opinions

I think the glass roof is a waste of money. We never open the shades and I think the car roof would be better insulated with out it. Didn't really have a choice when we bought our car since availability was so poor.

KH

 

Heavy and fragile.

Then, there's the greenhouse effect.

Also, more likely to leak.

 

Less headroom, more prone to leak, less structural integrity, what's not to like.

 

Leaking isn't really a problem with fixed glass roofs. And it's tempered glass, so danger during an accident isn't a huge factor. And the structural load is carried by the bracing, which isn't affected by the glass, so I bet cars with the glass roof are ever so slightly stronger than those without. And headroom isn't affected because the internal bracing is the same in both cars and that's what sets the roof height. There is one section(between the two openings) that is lower in a glass roof car, but that section is behind the heads of the front passengers and makes no difference in actual use.

That being said, it's not worth getting unless you really love sunlight through the roof. Because of the highly raked windshield, the front edge of the interior opening is far enough back that it's not really in your line of sight when looking forward. And then the big opening is really divided into two smaller openings because of a structural brace in the middle. That means each of the two openings are really too small to be of real impact. In fact, I'd say the rear seat occupants get the better end of the deal as their half is more above and ahead of them compared to the front opening being more above and behind for the front occupants(if that makes any sense).

But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter for over half of buyers. If you are looking for lowest price and best mpg, you're going to get an LE/SE which only comes with the steel roof. And if you're looking for max options like vented seats, 360 cameras, and power hatch, then you're getting a LTD/XSE+ which only come with the glass roof(or solar option). The only people who need to decide between glass and no glass are those wanting a middle trim car(XLE/XSE/Nightshade).


tldr: There aren't really any downsides to the glass roof except the extra weight and the added cost on an XLE/XSE/Nightshade. But there's also no real benefit unless you really love seeing any amount of sunlight through the roof. Maybe a tiny bit more benefit for those that regularly have passengers in the rear seats that would appreciate a more open cabin(psychologically, not physically - actual headroom is still the same).

 

I find that in my current car it gets warmer in the cabin when it's sunny, even with the shades drawn ("panorama"). Could be good in winter, bad in summer.

How's the solar roof working out?

 

I've a glass roof because all the XLEs that were immediately available when I was shopping had them. But, being on the wet side of the Pacific NW, where we're starved of sunlight and freckles count as a tan, I'm thankful for the extra light. Whether it's worth the extra $$$ is really up to the individual.

 

I live in Texas and I have the glass roof. I just bought 2 windshield sun screen, cut them to size and place them on top between glass and cover. During the colder season I take them off.

 

This is the only reference I found in the manual to the moon roof. What is the optional one touch frosted glass, I wonder?

 

Anyone who thinks that a glass roof strengthens the roof structure know nothing about brittle vs. ductile fracture.

Glass is strong under compression and very fragile under tension or bending.

When the ductile metal frame flexes, the brittle glass when subject to bending or flexing will fracture.

 

Roof structures of the different types:

Steel


Glass


Solar

 

You sure that is from a Prius manual?

Some Toyota's come with electric smart glass but I don't think any Prius model offer it as an option. I have looked into adding it and maybe at some point I will get around to it. Supposed to do a good job at blocking the heat in summer. The new Nissan Leaf comes with it on their moonroof. Takes up less space than a sunshade.

Here is a link to a film you can add to home windows and probably automotive windows too but it would take a little creativity.

For what it is worth the technical name for the film type is polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC).

 

It's from the Prius manual, but it's absolutely not an option on the Prius. As far as I can tell, the only car that came with it was the last generation top-trim Venza. Not even Lexus uses it. (It's possible the Century also has it, but we can ignore that.) It makes me think it was a copy/paste error from the Venza manual. Either that or Toyota includes it for every single vehicle that has a pano glass roof, even if none of them use the one-touch frosted. I haven't checked to confirm or refute that.


For those that don't know, the one-touch frosted glass(Star Gaze) is an electrochromic glass that is usually opaque, but becomes transparent when a specific electrical current is applied to it. The basic tech has been around for about 45 years, but it's historically been power hungry, fragile, and expensive. Putting it in a mainstream car(as opposed to something like a Bentley, RR, Maybach or Century) is pretty new. I'm guessing Toyota found it still wasn't quite ready, because it was only offered on the Venza and was never expanded into Lexus like you'd expect. (BTW, the glass is $6k MSRP to replace on the Venza, plus another grand or two for the modules that control it.)


The Car Care Nut explains and demonstrates the Star Gaze glass roof in his review of the Venza from a couple years back.

 

It is an option on the 2025 Lexus RZ 450e Luxury AWD. With that being said is an interesting point about how it is missing from most of the latest Lexus models.

It also appears to still be available on the Harrier model currently being sold in Japan.



Harrier has both a shade and dimmable glass.

 

Arrgh. They got me with a name change. I searched for "Lexus Star Gaze" and got no results. But Toyota apparently needs to use different names when they put the exact same thing on a Lexus. On a Lexus it's called Dynamic Sky instead of Star Gaze.

So I take it back about maybe Toyota not using it anymore. Now that I'm using the correct name, it seems like it's being added to some of the top trims of the newest Lexus models.

So far, I've found it as an option on the RX & GX. We'll see if they've added it to the new ES once that comes out this fall or winter. I'm a little surprised the TX didn't get one since that's brand new, but maybe that's because it's not that much different than a rebadged Grand Highlander. They're discontinuing the LS in North America, so we're not going to see the next version of that when it comes out in a couple/few years. And the LX was just redone in 2021, so that one won't see a big update for several more years.

 

Awhile back I was looking into it as an alternative to tinting the sunroof. Watched some videos on youtube of people working the the film. My impression that working with it is not that difficult. Obviously installing into a car is more complicated then working with the film outside a car. At some point I am planning on looking a little deeper into it. What would it require? How might I install it?

The encouraging details I remember is that it doesn't require much power to keep it clear and if it looses power it returns to an opaque state. I found some companies offering professional installation on office and home windows. Remember watching a youtube do-it-yourself type video for a home installation that looked pretty clean and relatively simple.

It would also be nice to have a little more head room in the Prius where sometimes moving the seat up and forward it collides with the roof.