Has anyone had an issue with the glass roof on a newer E6? Mine just had a spontaneous crack appear in it towards the back. Wondering if there is a recall or a TSB concerning this. Since it is “glass” I am going to try to file a glass breakage claim with my insurance.
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Yes, it’s plastic, I should have said clear.
Terry
Dang… that came out nice!!
The reason I asked are your sure is because I have never done a E6 I was thinking that maybe a E6 used glass and not plastic cause it’s bigger and needed a stronger material (glass) to span the longer distance that a E6 has Vs a E4. Ok so now that we know it’s Plastic. So you’re saying it developed a crack?
From my Experience the plastic is pretty flexible. I couldn’t see it cracking under normal use but I do know that Plastic can become brittle overtime outdoors. Is it possible that something was dropped on it and caused the crack? Because even if the plastic became riddle and you had movement from normal driving, I couldn’t see that movement being enough to crack the plastic. My only thought is this if the roof was not properly glued down in the One area where the crack is, that could explain it. It could be that the plastic roof was not glued down enough in that aera and it allowed the roof to move or flex in that aera? Just a thought.
Removing the old roof and putting a new one on is Not that bad of a job
When I bought the E6 new last summer the plastic top had waves in it around the sides causing water to pool. Service center said this was not normal and replaced the top under warranty about a year ago. Gem is garage kept and I am almost positive nothing fell on it to cause the damage. It looks like the sealant in this area has an anomaly so I think your assessment may be correct.
This looks like what caused the crack in your roof.
Where the roof sits or Lays into is perfectly smooth. You lay down a thick bead of urethane glue, and the roof lays on top of the glue. So the only thing your plastic roof is touching in urethane glue
Here are 2 pics of me removing the factory Glue that held the stock roof on. You can see they lay down a pretty big round beed of black urethane glue. I would say the size of the glue for reference is roughly the size, of a pencil or more glue trail
I would have the roof removed and that piece of aluminum that I circled in red in my photo removed (ground out and made smooth. The track the window lays in is flat and smooth
Grant, great job, fantastic upgrade to a GEM. Have you found a source for the front and rear top trim rubber seals that cover the seams? they always tend to peel up and look ugly with age. I don’t see them on your top replacement.
I have a 2022 E6 with clear roof. It does have waves in in where water could collect. Even the steel stock roof has waves. But I have never seen any cracks. Do you have any “heavy cats” that might be crawling the roof at night? I suspect that the splits may be do to weight applied on the roof. Waev would replace if still under warranty.
The Stock White roof is Plastic. The rubber trim you’re talking about is what comes on the classic cars. The 2016 cars don’t have a Rubber trim piece like the classics do. If the roof is installed correctly it should be water tight with Only the urethane glue and the factory roof. No other Rubber or gaskets are required to have a water tight install. It’s very mush like an Automotive window install. It’s just glued in and that’s it.
I like the heavy cat theory.
My 2c it’s clear that the roof was glued down over the top of a production Defect. That aluminum piece I circled in red. Is NOT supposed to be there. The roof was glued down and rocking back and forth over the top of that raised up piece of aluminum piece and it just cut or cracked the plastic roof. When you have the dealer replace the roof. Make sure they remove (grind smooth) that piece of sticking up aluminum or you will be right back in the same spot you’re in now. Let us know how things turn out.
I fully agree on that. Good eye for catching it.
I can’t believe the last roof was actually installed over it and expected it won’t be a problem. but also wonder if there is one over on the other side? If so, it might be some kind of stop where two parts of a roof were to line up and be registered there with a piece of weatherstrip stuck on over the top? Kinda like a threshold between a solid section and the cleat? .
I’m still going with the heavy cats theory
Yellalab; question does this piece of aluminum that’s sticking up/ crack in your roof line up with the 2nd rows seat belt connection. I can’t quite tell from your photo what section of the roof tract your crack is in but what What caught my attention is the beed of weld in the track. I don’t remember ever seeing any weld in any of the Roof Track in my E4’s. So it got me thinking what’s different between my E4’s and your E6.
The only thing I could come up with is your 2nd row Seat Belt mount at the top of the roof.
Waiting to hear from the dealer on how they are going to proceed. I will take a few more pictures today from the inside.
Yes I’m curious to see how and where the 2nd Row top set belt lines up with the crack in your roof. And just to be clear where would you say the crack is ( middle of the roof)?
Crack is between 2nd row seatbelt bracket and 3rd row grab handle. It looks like there was some grinding done where the crack is. There is evidence of grinding above the rear door pillar too.
Thanks for the pics. Strange how that piece of aluminum that’s sticking up and cause the crack doesn’t correlate with anything? It’s like a random casting flaw. Perhaps their was a Mistake in production say a (casting flaw) the parts were powder coated & then during assembly production they Noticed the flaw & tried fixing it by grinding down the defect, but they didn’t grind it flush & then glued in the roof & over the top of the casting flaw and that’s what caused your crack. That would explain the sanding marks on the inside track that you pointed out. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal to fix. I ordered 3 clear roofs from Gem Car of Miami and it only took like 2 months (the roofs were on back order) they came from WaEV (new owners of Gem) in California they were packed safe and sound on a pallet. So if you need a roof. I would recommend getting an order for a Roof going asap. Waiting for a roof is going to be the worst part of the job.
Hey what Ended up happening with this repair