Cracked Panoramic Roof

Well, I have follow up, finally. I was quite surprised with the ordering, delivery procedure (it took totally almost two months) and warranty expertise checking. So, now dealer has asked me to use the car insurance to cover all expenses though saying that my personal liability and any bonus loss will be compensated.

The most interesting finding now is that dealer claims "stone chip caused such issue". And it is not the case for the warranty. So, as a result I'm still arguing dealer on what/how this case should be resolved, since stating that "stone chip caused such issue" for me sounds like a bullshit.

Dealer will undoubtedly try to use your insurance as LR will likely have told them its not a warranty issue (part didnt fail but was damaged), thus the repair bill will fall to the dealer who wont want to cough up that much if they can get away with it...

I can't emphasise enough that if you are fitting the roof rails yourself, you should use a folded towel as a mat to place tools you may be using on the roof and also to prevent the free end of the roof bar striking the roof at one end while you are busy aligning the other.

If the dealer is installing them, you just have to hope they are taking the same precautions.

(09-05-2012 11:45pm)PhilSkill Wrote:  Dealer will undoubtedly try to use your insurance as LR will likely have told them its not a warranty issue (part didnt fail but was damaged), thus the repair bill will fall to the dealer who wont want to cough up that much if they can get away with it...

For sure dealer is trying to minimize the costs, but what I don't buy at all is the "expertise checking" and results out of it - "stone chip". The roof which is almost frame element has been cracked because of STONE CHIP. Does it sound reasonable?

The roof is designed to withstand car weight (in case of car incident etc), and now warranty expert is saying that the ROOF was damaged because of STONE CHIP. This means that the Evoque design HAS THE FLAW.

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(10-05-2012 04:32am)mark_n Wrote:  I can't emphasise enough that if you are fitting the roof rails yourself, you should use a folded towel as a mat to place tools you may be using on the roof and also to prevent the free end of the roof bar striking the roof at one end while you are busy aligning the other.

If the dealer is installing them, you just have to hope they are taking the same precautions.

I'll doublecheck it when picking it up from the dealer. Though, as I mentioned just before, I'm really concerned now with Evoque DESIGN QUALITY.

If it was a stone chip then there would be evidence of the impact point and as far as I can see there isnt any. Also the origin of the crack us from under the trim.
Stick to your guns, dont let them get away with fobbing you off. Ask to speak to the dealer principal, and get him to show you where the stone impact was.

(10-05-2012 06:09am)Verdyr Wrote:  For sure dealer is trying to minimize the costs, but what I don't buy at all is the "expertise checking" and results out of it - "stone chip". The roof which is almost frame element has been cracked because of STONE CHIP. Does it sound reasonable?

The roof is designed to withstand car weight (in case of car incident etc), and now warranty expert is saying that the ROOF was damaged because of STONE CHIP. This means that the Evoque design HAS THE FLAW.

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I'll doublecheck it when picking it up from the dealer. Though, as I mentioned just before, I'm really concerned now with Evoque DESIGN QUALITY.

The Evoque does not have a design flaw, I'd go with what Mark said earlier and some "mechanic" has tried to prise the trim up with a screwdriver and used the glass as leverage, metal against the edge of glass is fatal, a small nic in glass will create a stress point which will eventually crack (that's how you cut glass). Yes get the dealer to show where the stone impact damage supposedly was.

Yes, vital yo use plastic pry tools to lever up the existing trim pieces. They spread the fulcrum load. A screwdriver will do all the damage it takes.

I too took delivery of a Range Rover Evoque w/ a PANO Roof in October 2011, and noticed a 6 inch crack after only having done 1450 miles around April 2012. I have not taken the car off-road. The car has only been driven on the street in Central London. Furthermore, the car has NEVER been parked under a tree or building site etc... Needless to say I am EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED with the quality of the Roof, and even more so w/ Land Rover's response to the situation. To make matters worse, they have quoted £2700 to fix it, involving 7 hours of labour.

Having spent £44,000 on a NEW car less than 6 months ago, I am horrified that this has not been dealt w/ under warantee. And clearly from my research online, these CRACKED PANORAMIC ROOFS are happening to several new owners of the Evoque.

Surely this is a problem with manufacture / design & quality of the roof as there are numerous complaints on the internet of similar situations... !!!

I urge anyone wanting this car to STAY AWAY from the extra expense of adding a panoramic roof !

I would have expected a reputable company like LAND ROVER / RANGE ROVER to deal with this accordingly in a more professional manner and to fix it without further charge.

Has anybody succeded in getting this repaired from Range Rover free of charge ? If so, please provide the contact name & details of whom I should contact to sort this out.

I am also thinking of reporting this to 'watch-dog' & 'top-gear'. Anyone interested in sharing their 'cracked roof' concerns ?

(06-06-2012 07:09pm)elghanayan Wrote:  I too took delivery of a Range Rover Evoque w/ a PANO Roof in October 2011, and noticed a 6 inch crack after only having done 1450 miles around April 2012. I have not taken the car off-road. The car has only been driven on the street in Central London. Furthermore, the car has NEVER been parked under a tree or building site etc... Needless to say I am EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED with the quality of the Roof, and even more so w/ Land Rover's response to the situation. To make matters worse, they have quoted £2700 to fix it, involving 7 hours of labour.

Having spent £44,000 on a NEW car less than 6 months ago, I am horrified that this has not been dealt w/ under warantee. And clearly from my research online, these CRACKED PANORAMIC ROOFS are happening to several new owners of the Evoque.

Surely this is a problem with manufacture / design & quality of the roof as there are numerous complaints on the internet of similar situations... !!!

I urge anyone wanting this car to STAY AWAY from the extra expense of adding a panoramic roof !

I would have expected a reputable company like LAND ROVER / RANGE ROVER to deal with this accordingly in a more professional manner and to fix it without further charge.

Has anybody succeded in getting this repaired from Range Rover free of charge ? If so, please provide the contact name & details of whom I should contact to sort this out.

I am also thinking of reporting this to 'watch-dog' & 'top-gear'. Anyone interested in sharing their 'cracked roof' concerns ?

You have roof rails?

Very sorry to hear about this. If you can't get any sense out of Land Rover, then for sure you should be writing to magazines and TV programmes. LR are on such a roll with the Evoque that any bad publicity will be very unwelcome.

Is there any sign of external impact from a stone? As Kimv says, do you have roof rails?

If not, you should certainly get the dealer to agree there's no sign of external damage to strengthen your case. We know there was talk of cracked roofs early on, said to be a bad batch of glass or needing a redesign.