Aftermarket sunroof for Mazda 5

[AzB]

I'm thinking about getting a Sport and was wondering if anyone has put in an aftermarket sunroof.

 

[VenomDesign]

Don't do that. Bottom line. When you buy a GT model, it came with many options like 17" wheels, rear spoiler, electric mirror (heated) of course the sunroof and much much more.

 

[lindsayt]

Perhaps the OP wants a manual gearbox, which in the US is only available on the sport model? In that case, an aftermarket sunroof is the only way to get one. If the OP is looking for an automatic, I would tend to agree that the touring or GT might be wiser...

 

[Funktional]

I live in a climate where A/C is almost never used so in the summer I enjoy the calm air of a sunroof rather than driving with the windows open. Too bad the Mazda5 didn't offer a sunroof option with the manual transmission. Since the manual transmission was more of a concern than having a sunroof, I opted for the Sport. Make no mistake though, had the touring model been offered with a manual trans I would have ponied up the extra cash without a second thought just to get the sunroof.

As for aftermarket, I would never opt for an aftermarket sunroof. There's a good chance that eventually you could get a leak with a factory sunroof, from my experience of working in the automotive world, there's an almost certain chance that you will eventually experience a leak with an aftermarket sunroof.

Good luck.

 

[VenomDesign]

Now i feel lucky living in Canada with my 5 speed manuel tranny Mazda 5 GT with sunroof. You make my day

 

[thaxman]

The 5's roof rake may have too much compound curve for a non-custom aftermarket sunroof. Those things tend to be pretty flat, with minimal glass curvature, so the roofline would look like it had a flat spot, like a bad apple. Besides, the new 5AT has better gearing than the 5MT anyway. Unless you only drive below 40 mph, you WANT that new auto trans. Go Touring or GT for sure with an 08 or later.

 

[professorhank]

Perhaps the OP wants a manual gearbox, which in the US is only available on the sport model? In that case, an aftermarket sunroof is the only way to get one. If the OP is looking for an automatic, I would tend to agree that the touring or GT might be wiser...

Or maybe the original poster wants a different type of sunroof altogether. One of the big complaints about the 5 sunroof is that it doesn't open wide enough. Maybe some aftermarket companies will do custom panoramic conversions. Or dual front/rear sunroofs. Or what about the folding ragtops like the old Bugs or the 318ti Cal edition. True, you probably wouldn't want just anyone to cut a huge hole in your roof but maybe they know what they're doing and they can properly warranty their work. Personally, I used to own a T-top (and loved it) so I wouldn't even mind a fully manual removeable sunroof.

As for leaks, AzB might be from Arizona. I'm in southern California and the rain we get rarely is heavy enough. I've never had any leaks on my 5 cars with sunroofs.

 

[thaxman]

There's a good chance that eventually you could get a leak with a factory sunroof, from my experience of working in the automotive world, there's an almost certain chance that you will eventually experience a leak with an aftermarket sunroof.

Good luck.

Never experienced an OEM sunroof leak, even with the real hard-driving rain of AZ monsoons. I think the OP may be looking at price, since getting a Sport and then putting in a roof is probably cheaper than getting a Touring, or at least the Sport's monthly will be lower & he can use his tax return to customize the car. My advice tho, is to look really closely at the difference btw the Sport & Touring - the tailgate visor, the improved LED taillights, the included body skirts, the moonroof, and the 5AT - these are some really good upgrades for the small amount of cash they charge to go to the Touring. If you plan to keep the car for a long time, I think the Touring is really worth it, but if you plan to sell or trade quickly, you won't get the extra money back, even with an aftermarket sunroof.

 

[king57721]

I don't suggest put on a aftermarket sunroof... most aftermarket sunroof doesn't come with the drain for water... and a good aftermarket sunroof will cost more than the different between the sport and touring/GT.

 

[Funktional]

The 5's roof rake may have too much compound curve for a non-custom aftermarket sunroof. Those things tend to be pretty flat, with minimal glass curvature, so the roofline would look like it had a flat spot, like a bad apple. Besides, the new 5AT has better gearing than the 5MT anyway. Unless you only drive below 40 mph, you WANT that new auto trans. Go Touring or GT for sure with an 08 or later.

I don't understand why any driving enthusiast would want the auto over the manual. I don't care how much traffic I have to sit in, I want the manual trans. When I initially test drove the 5 all they had on the lot was an auto trans model. What a snooze fest. At least the manual tranny still has a good amount of zoom zoom in it whereas the auto seems more like snooze snooze.

To each their own I guess but if you want an auto trans why not just buy a Sienna?

 

[Funktional]

Never experienced an OEM sunroof leak, even with the real hard-driving rain of AZ monsoons. I think the OP may be looking at price, since getting a Sport and then putting in a roof is probably cheaper than getting a Touring, or at least the Sport's monthly will be lower & he can use his tax return to customize the car. My advice tho, is to look really closely at the difference btw the Sport & Touring - the tailgate visor, the improved LED taillights, the included body skirts, the moonroof, and the 5AT - these are some really good upgrades for the small amount of cash they charge to go to the Touring. If you plan to keep the car for a long time, I think the Touring is really worth it, but if you plan to sell or trade quickly, you won't get the extra money back, even with an aftermarket sunroof.

They will leak, eventually the drain tubes clog with dirt, etc. and the rain channels overflow into the headliner. Just a matter of time unless you clear them out on a regular basis, which 99% of auto owners most likely don't do.

 

[professorhank]

They will leak, eventually the drain tubes clog with dirt, etc. and the rain channels overflow into the headliner. Just a matter of time unless you clear them out on a regular basis, which 99% of auto owners most likely don't do.

Drain tubes? Rain channels? Guess I've never examined the anatomy of a sunroof before. Definitely count me in with that 99%. But so far, 100% of the time, no leaks for me. And southern Cal is currently experiencing its heaviest rain in years. Maybe leaks develop over a few winters with several inches of snow on the roof every morning.

One of the common complaints over on the Owner's Quiz thread is the spoiler style sunroof opening is too small. Since AzB still hasn't replied to his original post, I'd like to ask if anyone has considered or installed an aftermarket sunroof that's NOT a spoiler style. Preferably something with a bigger opening. The point about the curvature of the roof is well taken but I'm sure there could be other sunroof options.

 

[Funktional]

Drain tubes? Rain channels? Guess I've never examined the anatomy of a sunroof before. Definitely count me in with that 99%. But so far, 100% of the time, no leaks for me. And southern Cal is currently experiencing its heaviest rain in years. Maybe leaks develop over a few winters with several inches of snow on the roof every morning.

One of the common complaints over on the Owner's Quiz thread is the spoiler style sunroof opening is too small. Since AzB still hasn't replied to his original post, I'd like to ask if anyone has considered or installed an aftermarket sunroof that's NOT a spoiler style. Preferably something with a bigger opening. The point about the curvature of the roof is well taken but I'm sure there could be other sunroof options.

If you look at the sunroof opening with the roof open, you'll notice a tray that sits above the headliner and below the sheetmetal of the roof. Along this tray on the outside perimeter, you'll notice strategically placed holes. When rain slips past the rubber seal between the sunroof panel and the sheetmetal of the roof itself it collects in this plastic tray. From there it flows into the small holes and down plastic tubes usually to the underside of the vehicle. If you live in a pristine driving environment (No dust, snow, ice, etc.) you probably wouldn't have a problem. Otherwise, without proper cleaning, they will clog over time and cause an overflow leak.

 

[lindsayt]

i don't understand why any driving enthusiast would want the auto over the manual. I don't care how much traffic i have to sit in, i want the manual trans. When i initially test drove the 5 all they had on the lot was an auto trans model. What a snooze fest. At least the manual tranny still has a good amount of zoom zoom in it whereas the auto seems more like snooze snooze.

To each their own i guess but if you want an auto trans why not just buy a sienna?

+1

 

[Dphillips]

+1

Im guessing neither of you 2 have experienced traffic like we do here in socal.
My car is a manual. And when I get stuck down in LA at the wrong time, boy oh boy does it suck. My left leg is clearly bigger than the right the next day.

And I too have looked into to installing a sunroof in our 5. Since we got a Sport.
I learned alot with a simple search.

I found out you can get one installed for as little as $300 but i dont think this is a mod that you want to skimp on the price.
I found out it depends what kind of roof you want as well.
Spoiler style, hide in the headliner style, just a glass panel that doesnt move, etc.
And of course the price varies with your choice of roof. I also found out that there are specfic shops that are licensed in sunroof installation and also have serious warranties to back there work. I talked to a buddy of mine who works at a dealership about this and he said they send cars on there lot to get sunroofs quite a bit before they sell them so they can bump the price.

A quality shop will install drain tubes and rain channles, redo your headliner and all that jazz. If it leaks, its covered under there warranty.

I got a quote from a shop here in LA for $1000 to install the basic spoiler type roof. Thats actually not too bad a price considering all the work that is entailed to make this work. That also came with a 5 year warranty.

We are considering.

 

[thaxman]

Whoa! Calm down Funktional, I am merely saying that the new 5AT is a pretty good piece, not that the 5MT is POS. I have the 5MT, and it is nice to have, but by the time you factor the short gearing in the 5MT vs. the responsiveness of the 5AT, I think that for many the tradeoff makes it a wash. Its not like we all live in up against a mountain range on our own personal 40-mile track-smooth road. There are day-to-day conditions that make the manual a bit of a drag. I happen to live in the only metro area in the entire US that has a pop of nearly/greater than 1M that does not have a functional freeway network crossing the metro area. Excepting road trips, I use the freeway maybe 2X/year, so my story is this: Drive 1/2 mile, stop @ light, drive 1/2 mile, stop, drive 1/2 mile, hey caught one green, drive 1/2 mile, stop, etc etc. Gets old pretty fast: that's ALOT of rowing! So as great as the 5MT is, the 5AT would be even nicer, even if it would be less fun coming down the mountain. See? Worthwhile tradeoff.

 

[Blackbelt4]

I just bought my 2010 M5 Sport, also for the reason of having the manual trannie, and just had American Sunroof Company (they have quite a few locations) install my sliding, into the roof, sunroof. They do most of the sunroof work for car dealers here in San Diego (as I asked around at plenty of dealers), and the sunroof is larger than the small, spoiler OEM style. I suffered for 8 yrs. with a tiny OEM sunroof on my last 2002 Mazda P5, so wanted something bigger. I do not think it gives the roof line a flat spot look, like another poster was concerned about. I spent $ 1200, but it will last me, and get used every day. 3 yr., 36k mile warranty thru the installing dealer, just like the same bumper to bumper warranty from the car dealer. Mine has both the tilt function, and the slide all the way back into the headliner function, with the ability to pause it wherever you want it.

 

[lindsayt]

Im guessing neither of you 2 have experienced traffic like we do here in socal.
My car is a manual. And when I get stuck down in LA at the wrong time, boy oh boy does it suck. My left leg is clearly bigger than the right the next day.

I live in the center of Minneapolis. It's not LA, but I *never* get on the freeway. We're a metro of 3.5 million so we're not small. We live on a city-block grid system with 40' lots - 28 houses to a block, IIRC, and stop signs every two blocks on most streets. Major arterials have stoplights every 4-8 blocks, and all our driving is on local streets. Honestly, it never even occurs to me when I'm driving to think about the fact that I'm moving a clutch pedal and a shifter all the time. I like the control. I'm also a runner so maybe people with weaker legs would get tired of shifting. To each their own, I suppose, but I never got the "manuals are bad in traffic" argument - I don't see it.

Personally, my wife and I are fanatical about manual transmission mainly because in our extreme winters, all the FWD automatics are sliding all over the road (RWD automatics can't get out of the driveways), while the roads belong to AWD cars (automatic or manual) and manual-transmission FWDs. A manual transmission is the difference between being stuck in a snowbank and driving down the road. Amazingly, most Minnesotans learned on automatics and don't realize this significant fact, though I think we do have more manuals than most places.

 

[professorhank]

I just bought my 2010 M5 Sport, also for the reason of having the manual trannie, and just had American Sunroof Company (they have quite a few locations) install my sliding, into the roof, sunroof. They do most of the sunroof work for car dealers here in San Diego (as I asked around at plenty of dealers), and the sunroof is larger than the small, spoiler OEM style. I suffered for 8 yrs. with a tiny OEM sunroof on my last 2002 Mazda P5, so wanted something bigger. I do not think it gives the roof line a flat spot look, like another poster was concerned about. I spent $ 1200, but it will last me, and get used every day. 3 yr., 36k mile warranty thru the installing dealer, just like the same bumper to bumper warranty from the car dealer. Mine has both the tilt function, and the slide all the way back into the headliner function, with the ability to pause it wherever you want it.

ASC has been around for awhile and seem to have a great reputation. Pics please. (pics)

I too owned an 02 Protege5 and found the OEM sunroof to be adequate. The fact that it slid into the roof added those few extra inches that the Mazda5 spoiler-style just can't give you. My preference is to have a sunroof opening big enough to fit my big behind through it in case I have to escape out the top. (spin)

 

[Dphillips]

I live in the center of Minneapolis. It's not LA, but I *never* get on the freeway. We're a metro of 3.5 million so we're not small. We live on a city-block grid system with 40' lots - 28 houses to a block, IIRC, and stop signs every two blocks on most streets. Major arterials have stoplights every 4-8 blocks, and all our driving is on local streets. Honestly, it never even occurs to me when I'm driving to think about the fact that I'm moving a clutch pedal and a shifter all the time. I like the control. I'm also a runner so maybe people with weaker legs would get tired of shifting. To each their own, I suppose, but I never got the "manuals are bad in traffic" argument - I don't see it.

Personally, my wife and I are fanatical about manual transmission mainly because in our extreme winters, all the FWD automatics are sliding all over the road (RWD automatics can't get out of the driveways), while the roads belong to AWD cars (automatic or manual) and manual-transmission FWDs. A manual transmission is the difference between being stuck in a snowbank and driving down the road. Amazingly, most Minnesotans learned on automatics and don't realize this significant fact, though I think we do have more manuals than most places.

I know where your coming from, literally. I used to live in Cottage Grove ( about 20 mins from you) And we would always go into downtown and whatnot. The traffic and road conditions there can be frustrating at times, but trust me, Los Angeles is in a different world all together.

Dont get me wrong, I do love manual over auto though.