Sunroof vs Moonroof

[93CutlassSupreme]

what's the difference between a sunroof and a moonroof? i want to know which one i have. mine opens upwards at one end, but also slides into the roof between the roof and headliner.

[White93z34]

from what i understand... a sunroof is the pop up kind that only opens up about an inch. and a moonroof slides into the celing.

[Guest TurboSedan]

just different words for the same thing i think. some are power sliders and others are just popups. the power sunroof in my GTS does the same thing yours does, but i noticed that my mom's '99 GAGT and sl3196's '00 GTP slide out above the roof with the rear part of the glass tilted upward (looks kinda cool that way).

[phantomshado]

Moonroof, retracts into the roof, between the headliner and the sheet metal. Some slide back with the glass over the sheet metal, but if it can go into the roof of the car, its a moonroof.

 

Sunroof, pop up, slide back, whatever, its everything a moonroof is, minus the ability to slide into the roof.

[93CutlassSupreme]

alright cool i have a moonroof. thanks guys

[phantomshado]

Moonroof, retracts into the roof, between the headliner and the sheet metal. Some slide back with the glass over the sheet metal, but if it can go into the roof of the car, its a moonroof.

 

Sunroof, pop up, slide back, whatever, its everything a moonroof is, minus the ability to slide into the roof.

[WhiteOut]

Actually from what I've seen in manuals GM terms their power roofs Astro Roofs. Go figure.

[supreme_style21]

Actually from what I've seen in manuals GM uses a terms their power roofs Astro Roofs. Go figure.

 

I thought that was a brand? Did they all get the ASC roofs? Or was Webasto ever used by GM?

[mfewtrail]

"Sunroof is the generic term used to describe an operable panel in a vehicle roof which can let in light and/or air. "Moonroof" is a term created by Ford in the 70s, yet is now used generically to describe glass panel inbuilt electric sunroofs.

Hmmm, so all moonroofs are sunroofs, yet not all sunroofs are moonroofs? We found further clarification -- "sunroof" is the term originally used to describe a metal panel that would only allow light or air in when opened. A "moonroof," on the other hand, is a glass panel that can allow light in even when it is closed (provided, of course, you slide back that nifty fabric-covered panel to expose the glass).

 

True sunroofs, those made just of metal, appear to have gone the way of 8-tracks in automobiles, and these days, most "sunroofs" are really "moonroofs" -- panels of tempered glass, usually tinted, that tilt up to allow a flow of air, or slide back into the roof entirely, giving the car occupants a brief but tantalizing glimpse of life in a convertible."

[DiscoStudd]

Actually from what I've seen in manuals GM uses a terms their power roofs Astro Roofs. Go figure.

 

That's exactly what my owner's manual calls it. Mine is the type that drops down and retracts into the headliner. When it's closed, you can pop up the back side like a sunroof.

[Heza]

Actually from what I've seen in manuals GM uses a terms their power roofs Astro Roofs. Go figure.

 

I thought that was a brand? Did they all get the ASC roofs? Or was Webasto ever used by GM?

 

GM got ASC roofs up until '95. In '96 the contract went to Westago. Hence, the guy who owned my car before me...ordered a fully loaded GTP minus the sunroof...and had an ASC roof installed at 33 miles on the clock.

 

[WhiteOut]

The switch over in companies explains why the newer ventilated roofs suck. I think just about every new one I've seen has had problems of one sort or another. The only problems I've heard about with the older models was leakage as weatherstriping aged.

[GnatGoSplat]

GM got ASC roofs up until '95. In '96 the contract went to Westago. Hence, the guy who owned my car before me...ordered a fully loaded GTP minus the sunroof...and had an ASC roof installed at 33 miles on the clock.

 

If GM sunroofs are ASC, they must be a custom design because no ASC aftermarket sunroof that I've found, past or present, has the same dimensions as a factory GM sunroof.

 

The definition of moonroof vs. sunroof from what I've seen is moonroof = glass, sunroof = metal.

[sl3196]

Aren't they both glass? What do you mean by glass & metal?

[GnatGoSplat]

Many cars have metal sunroofs you can't see through.

I think almost all imports from the 80's and 90's are that way.

Only since the late 90's have I even started seeing power sliding glass roofs in imports. Before, they were all metal body colored panels.

[sl3196]

Ahhh I see.

[Heza]

GM got ASC roofs up until '95. In '96 the contract went to Westago. Hence, the guy who owned my car before me...ordered a fully loaded GTP minus the sunroof...and had an ASC roof installed at 33 miles on the clock.

 

If GM sunroofs are ASC, they must be a custom design because no ASC aftermarket sunroof that I've found, past or present, has the same dimensions as a factory GM sunroof.

 

The definition of moonroof vs. sunroof from what I've seen is moonroof = glass, sunroof = metal.

 

there's nothing saying that GM doesn't have its factory parts made by ASC. that's my theory. otherwise, why do some of the older GPs with sunroofs/moonroofs have ASC stickers on doors or in trunks? not just talking TGPs either.

[93CutlassSupreme]

i haven't found a ASC sticker or anything anywhere on my car

[GnatGoSplat]

there's nothing saying that GM doesn't have its factory parts made by ASC. that's my theory. otherwise, why do some of the older GPs with sunroofs/moonroofs have ASC stickers on doors or in trunks? not just talking TGPs either.

 

Those are all aftermarket installed. Many older GP's I found in the JY and many TGP's have dealer add-on ASC sunroofs.

 

There's no ASC sticker on the doors, roof, or trunk of my TGP and none on any of the JY cars that have factory sunroofs.