Roof Glass Replacement Tips or Advice?

[Gullwingdmc]

I had a rock hit my roof glass a few weeks ago resulting in a small crack. I went to a friend who works at Safelite to try and have it filled it, but unfortunately it spread, so now a replacement roof is being ordered (covered by insurance).

My friend is going to do the work thankfully. He said he’s done dozens of Teslas, but never a Mach-E, so I figured I’d reach out here to see if anyone had any advice or things to avoid.

The biggest questions I have are,
- Is the glass bolted or just glued in?
- Does the fin antenna piece come off as part of the replacement?
- Does any other exterior or interior trim need to be removed?

Any tips I could pass on would help! Thanks!

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[RickMachE]

I am not an expert, but my belief is that the entire headliner must be removed to do this. To remove the headliner, the windshield must be removed. That was done during the 2021 roof glass recall, which didn't involve removing it, just resealing it. Don't know how anyone could replace it without removing the headliner.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

I am not an expert, but my belief is that the entire headliner must be removed to do this. To remove the headliner, the windshield must be removed. That was done during the 2021 roof glass recall, which didn't involve removing it, just resealing it. Don't know how anyone could replace it without removing the headliner.

I was worried about that. He said they normally just fish a wire through and pull it around to cut the adhesive and then lift it off.
I the I the reason the headliner had to be removed for the 2021 recall was because they didn’t want to remove the roof glass and they just wanted to add more adhesive. I’m no expert either though.

 

[RickMachE]

I was worried about that. He said they normally just fish a wire through and pull it around to cut the adhesive and then lift it off.
I the I the reason the headliner had to be removed for the 2021 recall was because they didn’t want to remove the roof glass and they just wanted to add more adhesive. I’m no expert either though.

Possibly. But I think there is more than just an external bead of adhesive like the windshield. I base this off nothing more than belief.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I am not an expert, but my belief is that the entire headliner must be removed to do this. To remove the headliner, the windshield must be removed. That was done during the 2021 roof glass recall, which didn't involve removing it, just resealing it. Don't know how anyone could replace it without removing the headliner.

Headliner has to come down, but it can come out through the rear liftgate. Windshield can stay in. The roof molding rails on either side of the glass might need to come out too. The shark fin antenna is mounted to metal, so that will stay put.

@Gullwingdmc I would tell him to be really careful with the front camera cables, he'll have to remove those to drop the headliner and bending the coax cable too sharp will cause camera faults in the future.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

Headliner has to come down, but it can come out through the rear liftgate. Windshield can stay in. The roof molding rails on either side of the glass might need to come out too. The shark fin antenna is mounted to metal, so that will stay put.

@Gullwingdmc I would tell him to be really careful with the front camera cables, he'll have to remove those to drop the headliner and bending the coax cable too sharp will cause camera faults in the future.

Yeah I heard back from my friend this afternoon. He did some research and found out about the headliner, so he won’t be able to do it because Safelite doesn’t do that work.

I reached out to a dealer I trust nearby and got the name of the body shop that does their glass work and roof replacements. I called them and they seemed to know all about the headliner, so hopefully they know how to do all this. I will mention to be careful about the front camera though.

Thank you both @Mach-Lee @RickMachE

 

[Mach-Lee]

I reached out to a dealer I trust nearby and got the name of the body shop that does their glass work and roof replacements. I called them and they seemed to know all about the headliner, so hopefully they know how to do all this. I will mention to be careful about the front camera though.

What usually happens is the mechanics drop the headliner, then call the glass guy to do his work, then the mechanics put everything back together.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

What usually happens is the mechanics drop the headliner, then call the glass guy to do his work, then the mechanics put everything back together.

Nice. This place seems to have a glass company they work with so it sounds like they have a good system in place. Hopefully it all goes well.

 

[Kevin C]

Nice. This place seems to have a glass company they work with so it sounds like they have a good system in place. Hopefully it all goes well.

Hey OP, sorry for boosting an old thread. I was just wondering how this turned out? I just got a crack in my roof and it will need to be replaced.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

Hey OP, sorry for boosting an old thread. I was just wondering how this turned out? I just got a crack in my roof and it will need to be replaced.

Hey there! It was a mixed bag. The glass replacement itself went totally fine. However, to do the replacement they have to remove the rear seats and the entire headliner. In the process, they scratched up the plastic paneling in the interior of the hatch. Thankfully I had taken pictures of everything before so I was able to prove to the body shop that it wasn’t there before and they replaced it all. I would highly recommend taking pictures of the entire exterior and interior before brining it in.

 

[Womps]

Headliner has to come down, but it can come out through the rear liftgate. Windshield can stay in. The roof molding rails on either side of the glass might need to come out too. The shark fin antenna is mounted to metal, so that will stay put.

@Gullwingdmc I would tell him to be really careful with the front camera cables, he'll have to remove those to drop the headliner and bending the coax cable too sharp will cause camera faults in the future.

Mine was replaced last fall. Basically like Mach-Lee posted above. They scratched the moulding around the rear lift gate at some point during removal or installation. It was repaired and can’t tell where the damage was.

 

[Kevin C]

Thanks guys for letting me know your experience. I'll definitely take photos beforehand.

 

[AllenXS]

How long did it take? I need to have mine done too.

 

[Womps]

How long did it take? I need to have mine done too.

Dropped it off at 8:00 and picked it up at 4:00.

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