Sunroof Shattered?

[dcs111]

Hey all. I am posting this wondering if anyone else has experienced a shattered sunroof? I was driving home this evening with roof closed and was startled by what sounded like an explosion... I pulled over to find the sunroof shattered. Not sure if something impacted it or if it simply failed. It is tempered glass and so I am quite perplexed! Thoughts on these things failing on their own?

Also, I am taking it to a Toyota dealer near Atlanta for repair. I assume OEM is best option to avoid a leaky roof in the future? Thoughts?

 

[KLF]

Sunroof glass shattered

Tonight while driving home from work the glass in the moonroof of my 2013 LX570 suddenly shattered. Nothing hit it, it was not previously damaged. When it shattered it sounded like a gunshot and completely shattered. Thank goodness I closed the inner sunshade before the glass fell out. Has...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Dangerruss]

Mine did this past Wednesday! I found numerous reports online of this. My dealer says Lexus wont do anything about it. I'm fighting with insurance now. Insurance says it's not under my glass coverage {0 deductible} but under comp {deductible}!

 

[dcs111]

@Dangerruss - allegedly mine will be covered under comprehensive as well. The more bothersome insurance related issue I realized is that my policy only covers after market parts when available and so I am in dispute with them on that issue.

 

[timjax]

Wow, what are the odds. Me too, just tonight on my '16 Land Cruiser. No sign of impact, and the glass is bowed outwards.

Here's my thread on it:

The Spontaneous Shattering Sunroof

Driving on the highway tonight and the sunroof on my '16 Land Cruiser went boom above me. Wasn't sure what happened until I peeked through the cover and saw the spiderweb of cracks. Pulled over and saw it bowed up and outwards (internal force/flexing) and no foreign fragments indicating impact...

forum.ih8mud.com

Here's an article on the prevalence of the issue:

Exploding Sunroofs: Danger Overhead

Consumer complaints about exploding sunroofs have spiked in recent years. Consumer Reports tells you what you need to know to stay safe on the road and how to avoid large repair bills.

www.consumerreports.org

Let me know what you decide to do (insurance, dealer, third party repair and with OEM or aftermarket glass)! Surprising this is happening to 3 of us including @Dangerruss just this month.

 

[slipkid13]

I didn't have the issue on my LX but 2 years ago I was sitting at a light in my 2011 Sienna and I heard an explosion. The back glass shattered hard. I looked like someone threw a basketball through it.

The guy at the glass shop said this happens a lot more than people realize. "Tempered glass is temperamental" is what they told me.

 

[Tex68w]

It's been happening on Ford Super Duty's as well.

 

[KLF]

About 15 years ago a friend bought a brand new Ford Aerostar mini-van. A couple of months into ownership, we had a cold day so he went out and started it up for his wife, turned on the rear window defroster. As he was walking back into the house, he heard a loud pop. When she went out to leave, yup the entire back glass was shattered, most of it lying on the ground outside the van. They took it right down to the dealership, where they were informed that glass breakage was not covered under warranty, they had to pay the entire bill to get it replaced. Ford refused any liability. Luckily I believe they were able to claim most of it on their comp insurance.

 

[OregonLC]

Rigid glass and flexing body are a poor mix. I would imagine the sunroof has something to do with impingment in the closure mechanism leaving the pane in tension.

 

[dcs111]

Quick update- the sunroof repair work was covered under comprehensive policy. I had the work done at the dealer as I didn’t want to chance anything aftermarket... so far so good following repairs!

 

[Angelo1]

I wish they made the sunroof without glass as it’s pretty useless with it.

 

[Bigtex]

Just to add an additional anecdote, my '11 LX had an exploding sunroof incident with the previous owner. Saw it in the service history, happened cruising I-25.

 

[tacoduck]

I wish they made the sunroof without glass as it’s pretty useless with it.

I love my moonroof glass. makes the cabin brighter. sucks when they break, though.

 

[Five70]

Damn, this just happened to me today in my 2011 LX. I was driving a twisty mountain road (hwy 285 between Conifer and Denver). 60 mph, about 65 degrees outside. Boom! Sunroof glass exploded outward.

Seems like from this thread I will have to go thru insurance on this one and I should get it repaired at the dealer. Any other suggestions?

 

[Tex68w]

Looks like something hit it, that appears to be an impact radius in the corner. Possibly a rock from a passing car or one in front of you?

 

[montegofd3s]

I had one get smoked by falling rocks during a monsoon last year while attending LCDC. No one had that glass so I bought some yard signs, gorilla tape, and window unit insulation to patch it up until I could get home and take care of it. Don't use duct tape as the glue is impossible to remove (tip I received from a glass guy in the area). I taped the glass as best I could to hold it together, sandwiched the taped glass with the signs, then layered it again with tape. The foam was for support to hold it up and just stuffed between the sun shade and the sign. I drove another 5000 miles like this with no leaks, and when I got home filed an insurance claim so toyota could replace it. That is an expensive piece of glass at about 1100 bucks if I remember correctly. They also replace the front windshield since it had some chips that were assumed to be from the same incident, so I am ok with that.

 

[Markuson]

This is a long-reported issue.

Google “sun roof spontaneous shatter”

Its everywhere and does not require impact.

Here’s one of countless results:

 

[Tex68w]

Some sunroofs have done this on other models as it happened on one of my Super Duty's, bad tempered glass, but that certainly looks like an impact to me. Then again, I am no glass expert.

 

[dcs111]

Yes go to dealer and compel your insurance provider to fund OEM parts…

 

[stonepa]

I had this happen with my new LX570 in 2014. After considerable negotiations, Toyota covered it under warranty. In my case the inner layer of glass shattered but the outer layer had zero damage. Glass can shatter due to incorrect annealing.