b4i4getit

Here are the facts regarding the new SMC roof replacement fiasco. This information was gathered from my dealer and GM customer service.

1. If you get the foam treatment on your roof as indicated in the recall and it holds during warranty you will not get a new SMC roof. If it fails after warranty it is your problem and expense to get it fixed.

2. If the old style roof fails or a newly foamed roof fails during your vehicle warranty period you will get a new SMC roof.

3. You do not get an entirely new roof. Your dealer is shipped the SMC panel and some different adhesive. The panel must be painted and attached by the dealer. Only the factory is getting new roofs for use on new vehicles.

4. GM is counting on replacing less than 5% of the roofs. It has wrongly been reported that they are going to give all 2005-2006 coupe owners a new SMC roof. They reserve the right to change parts and processes during production without regard to existing owners. Even though it can be argued that the engineering design for the roof was flawed they cannot be forced to compensate current owners. They have announced a fix and if it holds during your warranty period they satisfied NHTSA.

If you are keeping your vehicle passed its warranty it is in your best interests to help it fail. Push at the headliner in hot weather and it will accelerate the delamination. Otherwise you will always be worrying whether you roof will let you down when you least expect it. Even if your roof is fine now there is no guarantee down the road. It all depends on the environment your roof is exposed to. There will probably never be a failure in Alaska but every old style roof will fail in Florida. They are counting on this being a regional repair or replace strategy. If they were fair they would give all owners a lifetime guarantee on the roof against delamination. This would give us the assurance we need and respect we deserve.

scottypman

That's F'ed up b/c I just got my new roof fixed today. So if this one fails too than they are just gonna keep gluing it on every time....WTF

b4i4getit

If they foamed it and it fails you will get a new SMC roof. If it does not fail you will not get a new roof. But if may not fail for years. That is what they are counting on.

C6400hp

If they are not replacing all the roofs that is exactly what they should do. This is unbelievable. Company makes faulty product, poorly engineers a temporary fix and expects consumers to be satisfied? How about GM standind behind their product for once? Where is that class action suit? I'm in!

NVR LAT

This is VERY bad (and sad) news. I have never had a problem with my roof, but I still took it in for the recall. They did the "foam fix", but I really was under the assumtion that I would eventually get a new roof. The car is garage kept most of the time, so it might take a few years for the delamination to happen. This is bad news!

Is this definitely the final confirmed word?

crazyeddie

My first and last GM product in the last 35 years. Got an oil change today at my dealer and they had two C6's sitting there with the colored roof panel completely off. The service writer said they should probably move them to the back, as it may effect new C6 sales. Such poor quality, why do some people tolerate it? I can see myself selling this thing real soon, my Z51 front tires are almost bald and the rears look great. Some diehard GM loyalist forgot to tell me that I should have had a front end alignment at the dealer before taking the car. Such poor quality and it looks like my glued top is going to hold through the Summer, GM has 18 months to go before their top problem becomes my top problem. What a company--e

C6400hp

Yea, they are counting on it not failing until you are out of warranty. Then after your warranty period when your roof comes flying off and kills the motorcyclist behind you, what to do? I guess everyone driving Corvettes better make sure they have liability insurance umbrella coverage of a million dollars or more.

cthusker

Going to be just wonderful for resale value... Well sir.. what roof do you have there? Oh of course I have the improved roof... yea right! Is there anyway to tell which roof is which? I wouldn't buy a used 05-06 C6 unless I got a trans top with it......

C6400hp

I can agree with you on the poor quality with the top issue but, an alignment. Come ON! Every car that is new will need an alignment if the dealers do not do it when it rolls in off the truck. This top issue and GM's lack of appropriate response is really making me consider selling my car before the warranty expires and never buying another GM car again. This is their flagship vehicle? What a joke.

VET4LES

If GM ever issues a safety recall it is my understanding it never expires. My other car was recalled when it was out of warranty for a faulty throttle body and was replaced with no charge. It would be interesting to know what the NHTA rule is.

b4i4getit

In the original Customer Satisfaction letter they indicated that the roof must be inspected by March 2007. This clearly lets them off the hook since they have given us a deadline to comply with the inspection and fix if required.

REDCSIX

Is it just heat that is causing these roofs to come off or is humidity a factor?

BaBa Boey

How can you tell which roof is which? I am getting a 2007 coupe (not transparent roof) tomorrow. How can I tell if I get a SMC roof? BTW what does SMC mean?

DANNOV

Sounds like a great reason to buy the GM extended warranty.

66dreams

No I think it's the dumb engineering factor.

Actually GM says it's mainly heat but humidity makes it worse.

rckt

Every 2005 & 2006 top will delaminate if the right conditions exist. Let it bake and she will delaminate!

Chevtech

WHAT, where is all this mis-information coming from! Here is how the roof recall works:
If after inspection the roof is NOT separated, then it is glued and returned to you, DONE as far as the factory is concerned.That is it!
IF you have less then 75% separation, the roof is going to be replaced. If one is in stock then its painted and installed. THEY DO NOT SEND JUST THE OUTER SKIN!!! If they have to order a roof then your roof is to be foamed, and returned until the new roof is in. The latches are transfered over, and a new headliner is installed on the new roof assembly. If the new roof is NOT SMC then it too is to be foamed before installation if it was not from the factory.
If you have More then 75% separation then the roof can't have a temp. fix done and needs to be replaced. Same as above without the temp. foam repair. You are to get a rental car if needed.
There is no way to make sure you get a SMC roof but if your roof is getting ordered after 8/1 then its a very good likelyhood.

That is all according to the recall. Now if roofs fail after being glued, or replaced for a recall, don't you think the Gov. will require another recall!! Chevrolet is NOT going to be able to just walk away from this issue.
There have been way more then 5% failure rates, that was when the recall first came out, it has grown much higher.

On the new SMC roof you can tell that its SMC by looking at the headliner area, if its WHITE in the middle, its SMC. The poly roofs are BLACK in this area.

Fastcat38

I live in Florida, but my car is not in the summer sun for long periods. It would seem that it is not just the heat which would accelerate the separation of the panel, but those of us that haven't had a blow off will probably have the glue breakdown even if the car sits in the garage. It will probably deteriorate to the point of flying off during month 37 of ownership. Can we send registered letters to Ric Wagoner, GM CEO and let him know that he is going to loose a lot of loyal GM people because of slop design on a great car. He seems to be fighting to get every GM fan he can get!

Oilpatch

This kind of attitude about conducting business is the reason I would never buy a GM product except a Vette.

FunDriver

I think SMC means Sheet Molded Composite but I'm not sure. I also understand that the new roof is supposedly heavier than the current one. Otherwise, I'm not sure how you tell the difference.

I just got my replacement roof yesterday. It came complete except for the latches, etc. and had to be painted that way by a local auto body shop. It also needs a replacement headliner. I think that I'll always be worrying about its coming off again...though we might get enough hot weather this summer to test it out.

If the above is true, that's a pretty poor reaction from GM and doesn't really give the consumer much protection.