I’m looking for heat reduction when sunroof shade is open. Wanted to go with Ceramic tint like Crystalline. Maybe 70-90%. What do you think a reasonable price would be. Other windows are already tinted. Any feedback would be great.

 

I've done that regularly with normal sunroofs and I see no reason why it shouldn't work with a panoramic roof.

 

Be careful, I've seen some folks mentioning that their pano roof shattered, possibly due to aftermarket tinting.

 

That's possible if the tint installer damages the glass during the installation of the film. Typically high force impacts, poor edge quality and stress cause tempered glass to shatter. Acura is still learning how to build a structure rigid enough to accommodate a panoramic sunroof. They will figure it out at some point.....hopefully.

 

Maybe Acura is, but Honda has had pano roofs (ironically, in Canada) on the current gen CR-V since the 2017 MY.

 

And we can actually enjoy using them in the summer months.

 

HEH! Good one! Our summer months are May-Sept here in AZ! 100% AC use and no open roofs!

I bought a new Mustang conv. after I retired. While I enjoyed driving it, I hadn't considered how hot the sun is on one's head, and 110 F (~43 C) wind blowing on one's face is a bit much as well.

 

It's all about compromises. I also own a 2012 Mustang GT and it's sequestered in the garage 6 months out of 12 because of our winter conditions.

 

Hawaii is the only place I would get a convertible in. Maybe parts of Cali, too.

 

Once rented a 'stang convertible in FL. It was around Christmas and New Years and the temperature never broke 70F. Some mornings were in the 30s and 40s. Never got to use it.

Last day, on the trip back to the airport, I said fuck it, I'm putting the top down. It was about 55F and were wearing our ski jackets on I95. Yeah, we got some looks.

 

I wouldn't. It would be nice, but, if you did happen to have a defective pano sunroof that did explode and it was tinted, they would 1000% blame it on the tint/tint process rather than possibly covering it under warranty as defective. Yes, bullshit, but I doubt Acura would stand by a part that's been modified by a third party.

 

I tinted my whole vehicle within a week of getting it. High quality ceramic tint. 20% on the panoramic roof, 30% on the front doors, 70% on the back doors and rear of the vehicle, and 5% tint strip across the windshield. The panoramic roof was $200.

It was expensive, and worth every penny. My front windows are darker than legally allowed, and I told my tint guy that if I didn't pass, then I would be making a morning appt every year to take it off, and an afternoon appt to put it back on after inspection.

 

FWIW, I thought all sunroofs are already slightly tinted...

That being said, I don't quite get the point of tinting it as the whole point of it is to let in light from above. If you want to TINT it that much, just pull over your sunroof cover...?

 

This

 

Yes, sunroofs are almost all tinted already, but the factory tint does not reflect out heat, so your vehicle can get very hot. The same goes for factory tinted windows in a car. I wanted the sunroof tinted with ceramic tint to keep out the heat. Plus, on a bright sunny day, it's too bright to open the sunroof completely, so I like to tilt it open to circulate fresh air, but sometimes it's too bright. The tint I put on makes it much more "usable" to me. As for the rest of the car, I tinted all the vehicle windows for extra privacy, and to keep the car cooler. I don't like being on display when I drive, so I prefer tinted windows. It makes the vehicle more comfortable "for me" to be in. Your mileage may vary.

 

I tinted ALL my windows including the sunroof the week after I purchased. It's been 3 months now and not a single issue so far. Fingers crossed! I tinted with the 2nd to lightest ceramic tint they had for the sunroof to provide additional UV protection when it's opened.

 

This guy gets it. It's exactly why I tinted all my windows.

 

I tinted the front side windows with 20% film (to match the factory-tinted rear windows), the windshield with 80% Llumar "Air" film, and the moonroof with 15% film and could not be happier. You still get enough light in without the heat, and now I just leave the sunshade open 24/7 instead of closing it off. I was worried the 15% would be way too dark, but it's perfect and cuts basically all the heat from the sun. See pics below.

 

Looks nice, Josh 32121!

Another picture that would be helpful is one showing the moonroof partly open to compare no class with tinted glass.

 

What’s factory tint on the sunroof? 50%

 

I think it's the same or darker than the rear windows that are factory tinted, so I guess 20% or lower VLT. I know Honda and Acura sometimes used to use ordinary side glass tint levels for moonroof glass (e.g., my mom's 1998 Civic). It was too bright basically any time of day or night from sun or streetlamps, but they are much darker from the factory now. That's why I was worried it would be too dark with additional 15% VLT film applied, but it's totally fine. The big gain from the film is also heat rejection, which the factory-tinted glass doesn't do very well. I can tell a difference if I stick my arm behind the rear factory-tinted window compared to the front side film-tinted windows.

Also, I forgot to mention...the tint shop in north ATL burbs I've been going to for many years charged $50/each for the front side windows, $160 for the windshield, and $80 for the moonroof. He was shooting from the hip when he quoted the moonroof, so I suspect it might be $100 or $150 if he did it again given the amount of surface area. I thought those prices were very reasonable overall.

 

Josh32121 - great info. Question for others: For those of you who have tinted your 3G pano, how dark have you gone?

I live in south FLA and am very concerned about the heat load coming through that pano. This is especially true with the weak AC in these RDX's.

Does anyone know the if they beefed up the AC in these 3G RDXs to account for this large extra heat load?

I currently have a 2015 RDX with a small sunroof, and the AC is poor, even with me keeping the sunshade closed. My wife loves her RDX and we'll be trading it for the 2021 in a few more months. The sunshade on the 2021 is super thin, and will hardly stop any heat transmission. I have another car with a sunroof which I heavily tinted. Using a temp gun today (92 and strong sun), the inside surface of that sunroof was 122. Closing the shade (thick one), the temp of the shade was 90.

I went to the RDX dealer today and sat in a 2021 that was in the lot. The pano was unbearable. Even with the "shade" closed, there was a lot of heat coming through. I didn't have the temp gun, but I would estimate the temp of that shade was about 110.

Now rny rant: If I had the option to delete the pano, I would. Heat, extra weight, lower mileage with extra weight and AC load, slight increase to rollover with the weight at the very top of the vehicle, frightening to think of rolling over with a pano, wind, road and rain noise, ugh. Car makers have gone too far with this.

 

1,000% agree with you. Asinine. So many negatives for the novelty of "Oooo, look how big it is." Bullshit.

Back on topic, I was going to say that I would never tint this thing because Acura would definitely blame the tint if/when it explodes (there's already a thread on this happening on more than one occasion), but it seems as though Acura is already telling people it's not their fault for putting this stupid, juvenile nonsense on the car as standard and won't stand behind it anyways. So, if it explodes, you're SOL regardless, so might as well put limo tint on it to maximize heat rejection. If they got one thing right on the TLX, it was not having this inane shit on them.

 

Today at Acura, I asked the sales rep if others buyers here have installed tinting, He told me their dealership has relationship with a tint shop nearby that installs tint on the pano and 2 front side windows for $200 for buyers. So if they are taking brand new vehicles, and I assume having this tinting installed before delivery, that would not give them the means of denying a cracked pano. Besides, if these panos are getting to 120+ degrees on a day like today, when it's 92 outside on a sunny day in south FLA., in September, I'm sure they are designed to take much more heat.

I won't be trading up to the 2021 until January, but I plan to have the tint shop put of a scrap of 5, 10 and 15 tint up on the pano and decide how dark to go. For anyone else that has tinted their pano, tell us how dark you are going. Thanks

 

In response to those who think tint installation would receive the blame for any shattered sunroof warranty claim, I find that really hard to believe.

 

I have a strong distrust of dealerships ... maybe it's coming from experiences with domestic auto brands. They 100% will pass the blame. Also, I wouldn't trust anything the dealer says. "Oh, yea, it'll be covered under warranty, don't worry about it." But, when something goes wrong, it'll be "oh man, you won't believe it, corporate won't back it even though they said they would ... direct all your anger towards corporate even though we knew all along they weren't going to and that we could just pass the blame and still make a profit." Any aftermarket part will cause an issue. "Wahhh, Magnusson-Moss Act" ... yea, go ahead, they already have lawyers on retainer and you'll spend more money in litigation that the cost of the repair. Even if you're right, it'll be hard to sell the judge in court on, "well. yea, I messed with the part, but I swear it's not the cause!" Yea ... ok.

 

Oh and to clarify, I'm not saying tinting will cause an issue. I know for a fact it won't, in fact, it might even help prevent the thing from inexplicably exploding ... but if it does, you can be sure the dealer/corporate will try to blame it on the tint, even if it was installed thru the dealer. Dealer points at corporate, corporate points it right back at the dealer ... you're screaming at both while getting nothing done and wondering why you didn't listen to that handsome ass guy on the internet.

 

Having a bad year? You are not alone.

 

I hear you, I don't trust the auto car industry in general. But I really don't think the fear of "voiding the sunroof warranty" should dissuade someone from adding tint. The odds of a legal debacle are about as low as the odds of Acura saying that PPF voided your rust-through warranty. In other words, you can have peace of mind putting what amounts to nothing more than fancy stickers on your car.

 

LoL, glad I have company.

To be fair, Acura is already denying any claims with exploding panoramic sunroofs, so its not like it will be an issue. If your sunroof does shatter, as some on here have already reported, tinted or not, Acura isn't going to warranty it.

I wish I was a body guy. I'd rip out the whole damn sunroof, fiberglass/weld a metal piece in its place, sand and paint over it. Along with removing the motor, I'm sure it would be quite a bit of weight savings, especially at the literal highest point of the vehicle ... it would likely substantially improve handling. I'd leave the cloth cover in place and remove that motor as well. A boy can dream.

 

It would be interesting if one could test two identical cars, except for the hole in the roof to see how their performances varied...handling, 0-60, stopping etc.

 

I doubt 0-60 times would vary much. But, removing that weight so high up would likely be noticeable in the handling department.

 

yea your removing weight, but your adding it back with the fiberglass or whatever you fill it with as well, it would be not even noticeable unless you did like carbon fiber

 

I bought my new 2021 RDX Tech (white) on Saturday and had the windows tinted today. Llumar IRX 15 on the pano, and IRX 30 on the two front side windows. I almost went with the illegal 15 on the windows, but thought better of it. The 30 is legal here in Florida, and it's just a shade light than the back factory windows (which the tinting shop measured at 15), and they look excellent.

I also had the dealership apply Permaplate today. They gave me a 2021 RDX loaner, and as an experiment, I parked it in my driveway for 3 hours in the middle of a hot and sunny day here in south Florida. I left the pano shade open as well. I got the call at 2PM that my car was ready, so I hopped in the loaner, and WOW was it hot. It took 15 minutes before it started feeling comfortable.

At the dealership, my car was sitting outside, and it was not nearly as hot when I got it, and cooled off quickly. I ran some errands around town, leaving the shade open each time I parked, and the tinting makes a huge difference. That IRX blocks UV, which really radiates heat. Having the front windows done the IRX also made a big difference. It's also nice to be able to look up and not burn my eyes out.

Very happy with the outcome, highly recommend this. I'm sure it will save a lot of AC load on the vehicle.

As an aside, this pano is very quiet, no wind noise, no rattles or noise of any type. This new car has zero defects

 

The worst sunburn I've ever had was from driving around Maui all day with the top down on a Mustang.

 

What is it with Acura/Honda and the weak AC? Every single one I have ever owned and been in has not had the best AC, especially in comparison to some other brands.

I am with you both, I think this trend is so pointless and I would rather not have this. On a related note the moonroof motor in my TSX is starting to go and I have already had to hand crank it once so not taking anymore chances and did not use my moonroof once in months and haven't really missed it. And been in a few newer cars recently without one and the extra headroom is nice so while I enjoy moonroofs not sure I particularly must have one anymore.

 

We definitely noticed the weak AC in our 2013 and 2015 RDXs, but the 2021 does not have this issue. We keep it in Comfort mode, and that "feature" of the AC cutting out at times of deceleration in the 2nd gen definitely does not happen in the 2021. However, in Sport or Sport + mode the AC will cut out, be design, to give more giddie-up to the vehicle. Comfort mode suites us just fine and I have no used for Sport or Sport +, so we are GOOD with the 2021 AC.

And despite my earlier post of ranting about the pano, with 15% IRX tinting, it's beautiful. I am now a fan.

 

Honda is known for their weak A/Cs, loud road noise and rattle-y interiors. Acura is the equivalent of "polishing a turd" as they very apparently have the same issues.

 

I started reading this post without looking to see who wrote it, them I said I bet I know...YEP!

It is sad that you dislike your RDX. MANY others don't have the same opinion. BUT that is what makes America great, right? (NO political inference)

 

Only speaking the truth. MANY others do have the same opinion.

As for tinting, those looking to do it should look into ceramic tint. It's more expensive, but its heat rejection is far better. It's great for the windshield, and would be good for people who want to use their panoramic sunroof without making it too much darker.