Webasto Recall Continues as Dealers File Paperwork Regarding Affected Vehicles
March 27, 2012

by Katie O'Mara, komara@glass.com

A number of dealers are among those affected by the Webasto Product North America Inc. recall, reported in August 2010. Dealers who installed the sunroofs have submitted documents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding the number of vehicles each has worked on that are affected by the recall.

According to initial reports by the NHTSA, the recall could have affected 292,867 sunroofs sold as aftermarket equipment for a variety of passenger vehicles, citing a possible adhesive bonding issue between the glass and metal frame. The impacted sunroofs include certain Hollandia 700 and 600 Series and the Hollandia TVS 900 series.

Some of the affected aftermarket sunroofs were installed on new motor vehicles prior to delivery to the first owner by the installer, and just this month, nine dealers have reported the total number of vehicles affected at their companies. Among these dealers, 7,872 vehicles were reported as potentially affected. Each dealer was required to send the NHTSA a detailed list of the vehicles, including the make, model, model year and approximate number of units installed by each dealer, according to information from NHTSA.

According to Webasto, the adhesive bond between the glass and the metal frame “can debond, increasing the risk that the sunroof glass would separate from the vehicle.” Likewise, company officials say that this can occur gradually and that metal corrosion may appear around the sunroof frame, along with wind noise, vibration, visual bond separation and/or water leakage.

This story is an original story by AGRR™ magazine/glassBYTEs.com™. Subscribe to AGRR™ Magazine.
Subscribe to receive the free e-newsletter.