Searched 4 pages of sunroof problems and was astonished at seeming to be the only one to have experienced this problem.


Was driving along one sunny day when a metal object fell out of the sky and tumbled through the open sunroof into my lap. Had I been the typical alarmist person it could have caused an accident.


Turned out to be—what I’m naming—the sunroof frame bar. (Instead of the usual 4-sided frame, my V70 sunroof glass has/had only 1 frame bar.) Once I had the time to inspect what happened, it turned out the frame bar was attached by glue! Plainly, this part is engineered as a trap, intended to detach at some point, drop into the driver’s lap, and cause an accident. Brilliant move for the company with a reputation for safety.


The sunroof functions as before, with the minor exception that it doesn’t close quite as snugly. Unless someone has a better idea, the only fix I can see is to drill a set of holes through the frame bar and sunroof frame in order to suture them together with actual human screws.


My question is: why should I have to do this? It would have taken the Volvo assembly line all of 20 seconds to execute this extra step, and I don’t think sparing 4 more bolts would have tipped the car’s profit margin into the red.

 

Picture?

 

Having a closer look, it’s apparent the glass element is framed without any metal space to accept drill holes. Looks like I’ll have to get it welded.

Added a photograph in response to Damien. Though it doesn’t look to me like it’s going to be too informative.

 

I moved my sunroof cover back and the bar fell off - everything works normally so should I have this repaired? My main concern is leakage if it rains but I’m almost positive the sunroof shuts normally, unless the bar acts as a supplemental sealant. The bar is glued on so I’m not sure what to do/if not doing anything will cause leaks.

 

I congratulate you on being able to locate a 6-year old post. I can give you some peace of mind by attesting to no leaking. That damned fallen bar is still sitting in my garage, and its lack has never admitted water in the fiercest rain.

Observed in a schematic that Volvo engineered a sump to catch any rain that gets in, and shunt it out through a drain running down the column between the front and rear doors.

Downside to the bar not being reinstalled has involved:

* A gradual build-up of resistance in the operation of the plastic panel, often jamming.

* A vibration at certain frequencies. Solved this by inserting a foam block inside the sunroof (which has ended its usefulness).