Add used solar roof

That would be a whole lot of fancy sheetmetal work....

 

I guess you could find a wrecked Prius with one in a junk yard and add it.
Or order the parts from Toyota, if they are available...
Seems like a LOT of work though.
It would be a lot easier to get a standard solar panel and wire it in to the blower motor.
You just need a diode so you don't provide power back through the wiring of the blower motor..
Cheaper too!

 

And to elaborate on that just a bit............
The stock solar panel supplies ONLY air flow ventilation......it does not in any way charge either of the batteries.

There are after-market "kits" with a panel to put on the dash and a little fan to put into a slightly lowered window to accomplish the same thing, supposedly, for a lot, LOT less cost and hassle.

 

Doesn't the solar package us the blower motor? Or it is a different motor?
It sucks in fresh cooler outside air, and the pressure blows out the hotter air through the
vents in the trunk. Correct?

 

That is my understanding.
Are those details somehow important ?

 

All it does is keep the cooler outside air blowing through the car.
Which helps. The temp in the car will get 125+ degrees. The outside air is 90 degrees.
That's why you should turn off the recirculate and open the windows to help get that hotter air out faster.
Then close the front window and leave the rear ones open a few inches for a while.
Then as you feel it cooling you close the windows completely and turn on recirculate.
90 degree air cools faster and easier than 125 degree air.

 

I'm a big believer in window vent shades (I prefer WeatherTech in-channel), cracking the window a bit, and putting a foldable sun shade in the windshield. Low tech, low cost, and dramatically reduces the inside temperature on hot summer days.

The first thing I buy for any car I purchase are window vent shades.

 

Yes and yes.

The solar panel powers the blower motor in the HVAC unit when the car is off and the sun is shining.

And models with the solar package come with a brushless motor in the HVAC unit, so as to be durable under all of the additional run hours for the blower. Models without the package have a conventional blower motor with carbon brushes.

 

Nope.

The "solar vent" is a GREAT feature in warm climates. Swapping your gen 2 for a gen 3 is the easiest and cheapest way if you're looking for it to cool the car.

If you're interested in solar charging, there's WAY more to it than that.

 

I learned the hard way that leaving your windows cracked in Florida in the summer time is NOT a good thing to do.
Eventually you will do that and come back to a car FULL for bugs......and maybe other critters too.

 

Until it rains.. Then the inside gets wet.

 

"Until it rains.. Then the inside gets wet."

Actually, no, it doesn't get wet (unless you put the windows all the way down); that's the POINT of the visors: to keep the rain out when the windows are cracked an inch or so. Works great. I've had WellVisor visors on my 2010 for a couple of years. I also use the method described above for keeping the car cooler in direct sun: crack the (visored) windows and put a good-fitting window shade in the windscreen (purchased at the PC shop).

[here in Utah, very few bugs, so that's not an issue; never've seen a bug in my car...]

 

I stand corrected. I miss read your post!
I had those on my 1978 Corolla. I really liked them.

 

I think that a dealership once upon a time offered to ADD a moon roof to a new Toyota for me.
At a cost of something like $2,000.

Given what you have said, I kind of doubt that a "factory" one could be removed and re-installed without significant damage.

 

The whole rear of the thing is a big solar panel that you don't need (or, probably, want) if all you're after is a moonroof that opens.

The non-optioned Gen 3s have a 'pagoda'-shaped roof for aerodynamics; the optioned ones, not.

I think it would be a somewhat involved bodywork project.

 

Also check for threads of exploding glasses. You’ll then saving a few thousands for additional roof related repairs.