Has anyone put a sunroof in the HCH? My dealer wasn't sure if I could put one in becuase of some special material in the roof?

I think there are design reasons why it is not offered in the HCH but is offered on the EX. Not sure what they are, maybe some additional wiring? I'd make sure I found out the whole story before attempting it, to be safe.....

LAterz..........

When I was in Seattle on a business trip, I was excited to see that one of the cars in the parking lot was an Opal Silver Blue Metallic Civic Hybrid, just like mine. Upon making a comment about it to my co-worker, I realized they had put a sunroof in it. I just had to go up and look at it....yep, a civic hybrid with an aftermarket sunroof. So it CAN be done. I didn't know who owned it, so unfortunately I didn't get to talk to them.

I have an '03 Hybrid CVT, currently knocking on 36K miles. Bought it brand new, and one of the things I had to have was a moonroof. Of course, when I bought it in March of 2003, there really weren't any posts or anything regarding sunroof/moonroof installs on the HCH, though some people thought the drag would increase.

Can safely say that's not the case, at least not with a moonroof. I have it open quite often and I'm averaging anywhere between 45.7 - 48.1 mpg, normal tank mileage of 530 miles. Now, keep in mind the moonroof slides inside the roof of the car, so there isn't a "ramp effect" like with some cheaper sunroof installs.

Just make sure you get a good roof and have it done by a reputable company...because it's still a hole in your roof they're cutting in.

thanks so much for the info everyone!!! i think i'm going to hold of until next summer and research companies that can do the install!

Wabesto moonroof, that's the name...sorry, forgot that.

My dealer had them install it as part of the package. Free install, though the roof cost $1200. Top-shelf roof too, best you can get.

Falcon18323,
I'm curious as to whether you experience any "noise" problems when you have the moonroof open. There was a woman today on the radio that mentioned that whenever she had the moonroof open in her HCH, there was a very annoying sound from the wind buffeting against the car. In fact she said it was so bad that it kind of made her sick. (?) The only way she could make the vibrating sound go away was to also open the front windows whenever she had the moonroof open.

She also mentioned that the stock moonroof automatically closes whenever she turns the key off. Is that true? She was kind of annoyed by this feature. Especially when she was only going in a store for a short time.

Eric Powers

MHG Organizer - www.MadisonHybridGroup.com
Hybridfest - A Hybrid Electric Car Show and More! www.hybridfest.com
Third weekend in July
Madison, WI

Hi Eric:

___You are speaking of a Civic EX w/ its standard Honda sunroof and not an HCH w/ an aftermarket sunroof, right?

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

If none of my other windows are open, yes...the roof actually vibrates a bit above certain speeds because of the difference in air pressure inside the car vs. outside. I crack a back window and it's fine. Also, turning off recirc helps. When the roof vibrates, I can see how it's both noisy and even nausiating...the latter more likely coming from the constant pressure shifts.

Other than that, the wind noise isn't bad...better than a normal window.

I may look into a shield for the front to see if that helps any, but with the antenna there, I'm not sure I can really do that.

If you do get a shield, I would be interested to know whether it changes the airflow enough to make a difference. Keep us posted.

Eric Powers

MHG Organizer - www.MadisonHybridGroup.com
Hybridfest - A Hybrid Electric Car Show and More! www.hybridfest.com
Third weekend in July
Madison, WI