Retractable Sunshade Review

[MyEarHurts]

I saw someone post a link of it the other day and decided to buy a pair from Amazon, they are expensive $200 and I think they are overpriced for what they are. I think they are worth $100-$120 at most. Install was very easy, the sun shades just slip in the headliner and are held in by double sided tape. You put two double sided tape brackets in the middle to hold the shade when extended. The bracket double sided tape already failed (it's 3m tape too) and will have to remove the tape and reinstall. It does sag a bit and am thinking about putting magnets like some of those sun shades that come with them on there and removing the magnets when not in use.

Overall I find it useful and better than those folding ones which I had as well.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

It is sad that Tesla doesn't include a sunshade of some type.
If you look at the new Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited, it has a great sunshade that opens
and closes from each end and meets in the middle - great design.
I was (and still am) considering buying an Ioniq 5 due to its many additional features,
including head up display, ventilated seats, 360 camera and more. As with most
cars these days, they are hard to find, and if you can find one, many are priced
well over msrp.

 

[MyEarHurts]

Yeah I thought about leaving Tesla as well due to the harsh ride, boominess/pressure in the cabin, the inadequate AC. I thought about the E-tron but the range is less and poor audi reliability. Will see what Lexus brings this year with their RZ all electric SUV.

 

[xls_]

the inadequate AC

I'm not an owner yet - is this really true? I've read casual mention of this 2-3 times on this site.
Whether an AC is strong enough is definitely subjective and term "adequate" leaves a bit of wiggle room. But do most people feel the AC is not up to the task in sunnier climates?

My current car (~13 year old Subaru) cannot cool down the interior enough on hot days. A strong AC is one of reasons why I want another car.

 

[MyEarHurts]

I'm not an owner yet - is this really true? I've read casual mention of this 2-3 times on this site.
Whether an AC is strong enough is definitely subjective and term "adequate" leaves a bit of wiggle room. But do most people feel the AC is not up to the task in sunnier climates?

My current car (~13 year old Subaru) cannot cool down the interior enough on hot days. A strong AC is one of reasons why I want another car.

Be prepared to be disappointed, I have it at level 8-10 (max 10) and it's not good. Most is due to the new EPA requirement to use a less efficient freon called R1234y compared to the previous R134a. The glass sunroof sends in TONS of heat, I have it ceramic tinted to 20 percent and it's still hot, I was in the car and and felt it heat up within 10 minutes sitting outside of the sun. The good thing is that the app allows you to remote start the AC prior to getting in to help it but still not that great, especially when you're sweating and you sit into the tight gripping seats with no ventilated seats.

 

[bobby g]

I live in SoCal and visit my mother in Palm Springs regularly. I have tint and the snap on sunshades for my M3. I don't happen to like a big temperature change when I get out of my car (may not have windows explode because of it) so I set the ac to 80-85 when going out when it's 100+. I would like ventilated seats but then if like a lot of things that I don't have. That said, I may look at other EVs as well

 

[TomServo]

Well the good news is when you get ready to sell your Tesla you’ll get all your money back. But on the other hand now that you have identified your Tesla as a POS that could drive it desirability down. When I was a Corvette owner the first thing I did when looking to buy a pre owned vette was to search for its VIN and the owner on the various online forums. Be surprised what you can find.

 

[MyEarHurts]

Well the good news is when you get ready to sell your Tesla you’ll get all your money back. But on the other hand now that you have identified your Tesla as a POS that could drive it desirability down. When I was a Corvette owner the first thing I did when looking to buy a pre owned vette was to search for its VIN and the owner on the various online forums. Be surprised what you can find.

Wtf are you talking about identifying my Tesla as a POS? I don't need to sell it privately and most of the time trade it in or sell it to CarMax, what's the relevance of this post to a sunshade?

 

[artnalex]

…now that you have identified your Tesla as a POS

So, someone is critical of the A/C, and suddenly their car is a POS? Uh…no.

 

[DanDi58]

I'm not an owner yet - is this really true? I've read casual mention of this 2-3 times on this site.
Whether an AC is strong enough is definitely subjective and term "adequate" leaves a bit of wiggle room. But do most people feel the AC is not up to the task in sunnier climates?

My current car (~13 year old Subaru) cannot cool down the interior enough on hot days. A strong AC is one of reasons why I want another car.

Not from my perspective! NJ summers are hot and humid, and I had no issues either with the lack of a sunscreen of some sort or with the AC cooling the interior quickly and effectively. And my car sat out in my driveway until November. It's also great when at the beach, I would start the climate control before I left my spot and by the time I got to the car, it was nice and cool.

Some folks have tinted the glass roof, but to me, that takes away one of the neatest features of the MY.

 

[Vicj]

I'm in MD, hot summers with very high humidity. No sunshade. I thought the AC was fine last summer.

 

[Dennisis]

First, tint your vehicle including the top and windshield - first thing I do when I buy a new car. Then buy the foldable sunshade with the magnets for the roof and use a Cover craft or similar grade shade for the windshield when parked outside. Condition w/ A/C via the app for a few also when parked outside. Very hot here and the A/C always works great, going on 2 years now. Unless A/C is actually defective most people here will agree, or have in the past when someone complains anyway. Lot's of info on this here - search is your friend.

As far as this particular device it doesn't appeal to me - too expensive and cumbersome from the look. Anyway, that's all my opinion but based on many years in the desert with many cars so take it as you will. Or not....

 

[MyEarHurts]

Already tinted it to 20 percent with XR plus ceramic 98% heat rejection. No matter what film you put on there, it's not going to make a big enough difference when a sun is beaming right down at it. This retractable cover is much better than the shade with the dumb magnets which I've had before. Eventually the glue on the metal pad that you stick to the sunroof will fall off from the heat heating up the adhesive.

 

[Flex]

I came across this on Amazon too, it's definitely an appealing concept. But based on my experience, the heat + sun will quickly deteriorate the lifespan of any adhesive/3M tape. The glass itself gets hot, and the adhesive will practically melt. Wish they came up with a design that didn't rely on this. It may last slightly longer with some adhesion promoter, but it is very unlikely to last through a summer.

For now, I settled on the new 2 piece sunroof shade. They recently released the 2 piece design since the 1 piece designs end up sagging.
I actually prefer 2 sections for the roof, so that you can control how much light you want in the cabin, taking into consideration the number of passengers in your car. Also easier to install/remove when it's not 1 giant sunroof shade.

 

[ochompsky]

I'm in MD, hot summers with very high humidity. No sunshade. I thought the AC was fine last summer.

also in MD. disagree. i have to run full blast and it still can't keep up. lived here all of my life and never had other cars struggle like this does to keep it cool.

 

[Vicj]

Hmmm. Mine runs full blast at the start, obviously, but settles down quickly. I only set my AC to 70, though.
I also realized that most of the heat comes through the huge windshield , not the glass top, which actually has a high heat rejection coating. On a hot, summer day, when the car has been sitting out in the sun for a while, put your hand up near the roof glass. Feel the heat coming through, then move you hand to in front of the windshield where the sun is coming through. Much more heat coming through the windshield, I think you'll find.
After doing that experiment a few times, I simply had a film put on the windshield. Not a darker tint, but a heat rejection one. Problem solved.
In my mind, it's the windshield, not the roof. But that's my findings only, your results may vary.

 

[ochompsky]

Hmmm. Mine runs full blast at the start, obviously, but settles down quickly. I only set my AC to 70, though.
I also realized that most of the heat comes through the huge windshield , not the glass top, which actually has a high heat rejection coating. On a hot, summer day, when the car has been sitting out in the sun for a while, put your hand up near the roof glass. Feel the heat coming through, then move you hand to in front of the windshield where the sun is coming through. Much more heat coming through the windshield, I think you'll find.
After doing that experiment a few times, I simply had a film put on the windshield. Not a darker tint, but a heat rejection one. Problem solved.
In my mind, it's the windshield, not the roof. But that's my findings only, your results may vary.

wait, there's such a thing that will provide heat rejection without visibility loss? can i ask where you got it done in MD and how much it was?

 

[Vicj]

wait, there's such a thing that will provide heat rejection without visibility loss? can i ask where you got it done in MD and how much it was?

Well, not COMPLETELY transparent. 90% 3M Crystalline film. As transparent as you can buy, only blocks 10% of light, but high heat rejection. My brother does tint work. He did it. I imagine, though, there are lots of shops that can do it, as long as they use 3M tint. Crystalline rejects 60% of solar energy, and 97% of infrared, and 99% of ultraviolet, without changing the appearance of the window.

 

[sleepydoc]

I'm not an owner yet - is this really true? I've read casual mention of this 2-3 times on this site.
Whether an AC is strong enough is definitely subjective and term "adequate" leaves a bit of wiggle room. But do most people feel the AC is not up to the task in sunnier climates?

My current car (~13 year old Subaru) cannot cool down the interior enough on hot days. A strong AC is one of reasons why I want another car.

Not from my perspective! NJ summers are hot and humid, and I had no issues either with the lack of a sunscreen of some sort or with the AC cooling the interior quickly and effectively. And my car sat out in my driveway until November. It's also great when at the beach, I would start the climate control before I left my spot and by the time I got to the car, it was nice and cool.

Some folks have tinted the glass roof, but to me, that takes away one of the neatest features of the MY.

I'm in MD, hot summers with very high humidity. No sunshade. I thought the AC was fine last summer.

also in MD. disagree. i have to run full blast and it still can't keep up. lived here all of my life and never had other cars struggle like this does to keep it cool.

I'm on my 3rd MN summer and have found the AC to be fine. I would note that Tesla has had issues with some of the heat pumps (I got mine replaced under recall/warranty a year ago.) so it's possible that some complaints are due to defective heat pumps.

 

[sleepydoc]

So, someone is critical of the A/C, and suddenly their car is a POS? Uh…no.

yeah, unfortunately there are a lot of cultists on this site for whom Tesla is perfect and anyone who has any complaint whatsoever is a just a hater.