Just curious, has anyone with the panoramic roof had extra tinting done to it? My dealer will be tinting the front side windows but even with the solid shade was thinking of something darker to help keep the heat out.

 

This might be of interest to you:
There appears to be a small risk of cracking the sunroof glass if you go too dark with the tint, but 35% should reduce the amount of heat while not going too dark and risking your glass cracking.

 

Yes, I have. With 40% Llumar Formula One. No breaking or cracking, but I didn't go darker after reading on Reddit of some Rav4 Prime owners with shattered roofs. 40 % or 50 % may be safe.

 

That’s a very good question. I don’t really see the point of a panoramic roof, but I had to get one because of the sunroof. Since I don’t have kids who would want to look at the sky from the back seat, I’ve gone back to having the top glass tinted myself, starting with my third RX.
The view remains, but the heat and glare are drastically reduced.

Foliatec: BLACKNIGHT REFLEX Superdark 30" x 120"
https://www.foliatec.com/en/BLACKNIG..._hmjottvFEA5TY

 

The tinting guy in the video I posted is of the opinion that 35% is the sweet spot to cut heat and not risk breakage, but I can't imaging that going to 40% would make it much worse.

 

My dealer agreed to also tint my moonroof as part of his forced extras deal, at no extra charge. Great job, works well in Texas.

 

You need more than just tint. You need CERAMIC tint to repel heat. We have just the regular sun roof. We had ceramic applied to ALL glass, including windshield.
It makes a significant difference in our Texas heat.
Paid $600 for top tier ceramic material and install.

I strongly recommend finding a good tint shop in your area. Don’t trust the dealer with this. Get a pro.

Some shops will refuse to do a Lexus windshield due to their fear of getting water down between the glass and dashboard and shorting out the ECM or other electronics. Mine just pointed out the potential hazard and required a waiver be signed. He assured me they had done many late model Lexuses and take an abundance of precautions. They did a great job.

 

I did XPEL XR Prime 70 on the roof. If you look at the specs, there's not a ton more heat rejection on a 35 than the 70. To be honest I don't notice a difference because I got it done within weeks of getting the car. And counterintuitively, one of the reasons why I did it was as a method to hold the glass together in case it did shatter.

 

I did 35% ceramic on my Tundra Pano roof & it made a world of difference. I was never a sunroof person because of the heat it let in. Now I keep the shade open on pano roof & feel no heat from the sun, its amazing now. And very enjoyable. I highly recommend.
Gotta do ceramic as opposed to regular tint, thats what keeps the heat at bay.

 

Whoa, this is the first time I read about sunroof cracking. I installed Llumar Formula One Stratos 15% 2 years ago. Can someone give us more info on this subject please.

 

This is the AI answer:

Cracking on a panoramic sunroof from ceramic tint is uncommon but possible, primarily due to heat absorption, especially with very dark or metallic tints on existing, structurally weak glass. To reduce risk, use a high-quality ceramic tint with a higher VLT (visible light transmission) rating (like 35% or higher) and ensure professional installation to avoid imperfections. While tinting itself doesn't inherently cause breakage, it can exacerbate pre-existing vulnerabilities in the glass.
Causes and risks

• Heat absorption: Tint absorbs heat, which can stress the glass, particularly if the film is very dark. This is why ceramic films, which absorb less heat than dark metallic films, are a safer option.
• Structural weaknesses: Tinting can cause glass with existing, hidden imperfections to crack under thermal stress.
• Improper installation: Bubbles or stress points from poor installation can also make the glass more susceptible to cracking.

 

Personally, I tend to trust NI (the Organic version of I) since I know how the "Artificial" sausage is made - so I don't trust it for anything mission critical.

While the above AI is a reasonable answer I think in this case - the "cause" of sunroof shattering by those who reported it in various Reddit and other forums, could NOT be directly ascribed to the tinting itself. In other words, the cause was either primarily due to a rock hitting the sunroof or a pre-existing (from factory or pre-tinting) hairline that was likely made worse by the heat trapped by the tinting. Another way of saying it is that tinting can at the most accelerate the shattering of already-damaged glass, but not initiate the shattering by itself. The physics of how the tint ceramic works - which is by absorbing and trapping the heat to the the extent it can in its layers (unless its 3M Crystalline tint, which reflects more of the the heat away rather than absorbing all of it) supports this understanding. 3M Crystalline would also keep the car cooler when parked or static in a traffic jam. I would probably have gotten 3M Crystalline on the sunroof if I understood this before my tinting. So my policy for tinting in a new car I might tint again is - get 3M Crystalline for all of the windows and sunroof, and get Llumar Air 80 or Formula One Stratos 70% for the windshield. Air 80 for windshield has minimum reduction of visibility or distortion - so unless I can find Crystalline installer with similar visual performance in terms of visual distortion (with polarized sunglasses, etc) as Air 80, I wouldn't get it on the windshield. And the installer's skill is as or more important in tinting as the material quality - so its very important to verify that as well.

So I wouldn't worry too much about your Llumar Formula One Stratos at 15 % - I have the same make of tint at 40 % for a year.

 

I had a premium ceramic tint placed on all the glass in the car. Blocks 98% infrared radiation, blocks 99% UV rays, no dye and zero metal. I also had PPF placed on the top of the roof glass to hold up against rock chips. Had to put something to hold up against the sun on the gulf coast.

 

Agree with the ceramic tint, worked great on my truck.

 

I’ve got an appointment for next week to install XPEL XR Plus 70 Ceramic on the Pano. I’d NEVER consider having the dealer do it. Will also have XPEL Fusion ppf / ceramic coating on the paint next week.