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MikeT

451 transparent roof

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smart Car of America has a long thread about crazing in the 451 smart coupé roof. Does any 451 owner in Canada have this problem?I have the same material and problem in the sunroof of my B 200 which lives outside all year. I think it's UV damage so I will be making a cover for it when the car is parked at home. The B 200 roof is being replaced under warranty in 10 days.Here is a photo pair cribbed from SCoA of the 451 roof crazing.

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Man , that's nasty! I'm glad I got the optional solid black roof on my Passion coupe. I don't think I could handle having a car look like that! smart should ought to go back to the glass roof !

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Man , that's nasty! I'm glad I got the optional solid black roof on my Passion coupe. I don't think I could handle having a car look like that! smart should ought to go back to the glass roof !

Don't suppose tehy are interchangeable, huh?

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Doubt it; the chances that the profile/shape are similar are virtually nil. The plastic roof would be afixed to the frame in a different way, too. :(Makes me sad - plastics are incredible and overall it makes more sense to have a plastic transparent roof. It's Bayer Makralon...-Iain

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They did replace a bunch of those Makralon roofs, and the problem didn't take long to come out in '08. I have the cabrio (of which I've had zero problems), but I felt sorry for all those '08 Passion coupe owners having to send their brand new jewel in to the shop for roof replacement.Timo

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Makes me sad - plastics are incredible and overall it makes more sense to have a plastic transparent roof. It's Bayer Makralon...

Makrolon has been what Peugeot 404 light lenses have been made out of since 1960. My 44 year old ones are OK!

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They did replace a bunch of those Makralon roofs, and the problem didn't take long to come out in '08. I have the cabrio (of which I've had zero problems), but I felt sorry for all those '08 Passion coupe owners having to send their brand new jewel in to the shop for roof replacement.Timo

Our 08 Passion coupe has spend the past two years outside in southern Ontario (-30C to +40C), and the roof is as clear as the day we drove it home from the dealer.

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I wonder....I was at a BMW national rally and there was a demonstration about the proper use of chemicals as cleaners. The most profound demonstration was with a clear motorcycle windshield. They sprayed on a couple of different chemicals (degreaser, carb cleaner or something like that). The windshield was then dropped on the floor and it kind of bounced around without any adverse effects. Then they sprayed it with brake cleaner and dropped it on the floor again. The result was that now it needed to be swept up as it had shattered into many pieces.I wonder...the photos look like the damage was the most intense at the front edge of the roof. Could this be an adverse reaction to certain types or concentrations of washer fluid? (similar to the adverse reaction of all the emblems on the back of Dodge minivans peeling from the washer fluid)

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That's a good thought, but I wonder that any MFR who would use plastics that would react so badly to commercially available w/s fluid. I don't think my B 200 with the crazing sunroof louvers has ever had any w/s fluid on them - the stuff stays on the glass.

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Try parking next to a pulp mill or some other place that puts out crud - they used to have a water rinse at the one in Thunder Bay for cars leaving the parking area. Hmmm - You live about 17 km from Crofton, right Mike?Plastics craze for quite a few reasons - usually UV or chemical exposure though or a combination there of - we still get away with a lot of funky polution over here that isn't permitted in Europe - so perhaps the engineers had no way of anticipating the gunk we would be throwing at the cars.Cheers,Cameron

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Yeah but the paint is fine and we never smell Crofton. About one day a year there is a tiny whiff from Harmac. Nothing like Trail, where the paint on my 405 was eaten off by acid rain.

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Mike, Mike, Mike.You just burst some kind of huge bubble for me. I was starting to believe that the place you live was the place that Eden was modeled after. Now I here that there are problems in paradise too...what a let down...Gord :P

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You bet. That was a sad place to be. We lived out of the kill zone, in Rossland.The dry fallout on a clear day would build up and if it rained while I was in the office, the acid would etch into the paint within minutes.For Ontarians, think of Sudbury in the mountains ;) That is Trail.

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Mine just started to craze in the corners. Off to warranty I go. 39300 km on the odo., I gotta hurry!

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The top edges of my rear quarter windows are starting to craze noticeably. Does that count?B :sun:

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Mine started to craze only a few months after purchase. I bought a new 2009 Passion in january 2010, and it started crazing in april. I'm still delaying the warranty repair until it gets worse. I don't want them messing with my roof yet, as it could entail more damage (potential water infiltration if improperly installed). My Smart has 16000km.

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Wow, that was quick!I am still thinking of ways to prevent my B 200 sunroof from crazing again (the car is parked outside - only 3 cars fit in the garage :().

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Actually the worst part is the fact that the car was a showroom car. So for a few months it was inside. Thus in a matter of a few months after driving it, the crazing began rapidly. It isn't as bad as the pic shows in the first post, but it is getting worse. At first, I thought it was fibers of my chamois, but late this summer I discovered they got worse and they were no chamois fibers. Some strands are about 1 inch long and all start from the front of the sunroof and go back in a straight line. Kinda weird. Still dumbstruck as to why it is doing that.

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Wow, that was quick!I am still thinking of ways to prevent my B 200 sunroof from crazing again (the car is parked outside - only 3 cars fit in the garage :(

Maybe ask http://www.capoptop.com/ if they have one that will fit the B? I love my CaliPopTop!Bil :sun:

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My 2008 Passion Coupe with 15,000 miles on the odometer is just starting to craze in one corner. Car has spent its life in Los Angeles, Palm Springs and Atlanta. Soon to be Chicago. Thought maybe the extreme heat of Palm Springs, CA was the culprit (115 degrees sometimes) but seems to be worsening here in the south. If it gets too noticeable I'll have it replaced under extended warranty along with the drooping sunshade.

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Well it could be the heat, but I doubt it. I live in Canada so we have cold winters and mild summer temperatures (max 30 celcius).I think it is a problem with the material... Perhaps it was not properly set in the mould...

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live in Canada so we have cold winters and mild summer temperatures (max 30 celcius).

Ahem... :teacher:I live in Canada and we have warm summer temperatures (typically max 42 Celsius or 107 Fahrenheit).

Bil :sun: Kelowna BC. still part of Canada, though often neglected by the East.

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