Crack in plastic sunroof surround

[messy_smith]

Update: Had the plastic part of the roof fixed this week by VW. Happy with the work, and I was fourth in line, another Arteon and 2 Golf R in for the same thing. Yet they say its not a common fault?.

Keep an eye on yours for hairline cracks forming.

[nermal]

Do you know if that's a complicated (or expensive) part?

I'm kinda toying around with the idea of making one out of carbon fiber... wondering if it's feasible to make a mould from an original

[messy_smith]

Sorry, not sure of the cost of the part. it looks to be about 1cm thick. if you can match the curve at the front you could replicate. the original cannot be taken off without destroying it. glued in place and the repair diagram i have shows they need to cut into it to remove.

[nermal]

Sorry, not sure of the cost of the part. it looks to be about 1cm thick. if you can match the curve at the front you could replicate. the original cannot be taken off without destroying it. glued in place and the repair diagram i have shows they need to cut into it to remove.

Interesting... so you'd probably need to buy a new one to create a female mould from. Could get the contour while in place, but wouldn't get the depth/edges right. If it's glued in place, then the back may not have clips/details to worry about.

[Vedi]

Sounds like a carbon fibre style wrap might be the best option? The gloss black does blend with the sunroof quite nicely.

[nermal]

Sorry, not sure of the cost of the part. it looks to be about 1cm thick. if you can match the curve at the front you could replicate. the original cannot be taken off without destroying it. glued in place and the repair diagram i have shows they need to cut into it to remove.

Do you happen to know what the part number is?

There are a few body highlights that may look good in real carbon fiber. Thinking things like brake intakes, window pillars, mirror caps, sunroof surround, add in a rear diffuser (subtle spoiler maybe)...

[nermal]

Decided to quit being lazy and just google it - looks like the part# is: 3G8877059 - 2019 Volkswagen Arteon SEL R-Line Hatchback Front panel. FRONTPANEL. Sunroof Molding - 3G8877059 | Wisconsin

If easy to make a carbon version, it could provide a strong/durable replacement - that could also be (optionally) painted. I'll try to see what the underside looks like and also if possible to source a cheap one from somewhere (pity they break when removed). Rubbers may also complicate things.

Cracking seems to be a common problem when searching online. I'm not too happy with the amount of flex mine has, especially at the ends.. tho TBH, it'll probably be if/when it cracks before I'm motivated enough to do something..

[OziBeerMan]

Took my Arteon to the dealer yesterday for a few things plus to look at my sunroof surround. I have identical cracks either side. This is a large dealership located in the Southern Highlands of NSW. They did everything to fob me off. Denied it was a known issue and even tried to suggest it was an impact strike. Yes, a simultaneous strike in exactly the same position at exactly the same time either side of the sunroof. They’ve now asked for copies of all service related receipts (can’t go off VW database because they said VW won’t accept their report on the cracks without scanned copies of service receipts) to add to their report on the cracks. Mine is a 2017, out of warranty and the cracks appeared earlier this year. I contacted VW Australia regarding it ( 3 emails and a phone call before anyone spoke to me ) and they said it needs to be inspected by a dealer and for them to submit a report. Here’s hoping.

[Vedi]

Hoping they do the right thing and come to the table to repair it. I moved on from buying Subaru because twice Subaru Australia refused to fix known faults that other countries did recalls on.

[nermal]

I think someone here mentioned that there's some sort of implied (anti-lemon) warranty under consumer law... if a part is expected to perform for a given amount of time, but regularly fails. eg. gearbox commonly fails after 4 years due to engineering fault.

Not sure if that's accurate, or would even cover a sunroof design/manufacturing flaw...