Moonroof shattered while driving
 

I was on the highway last night and my moon roof shattered and dropped glass in the car. I didn't hit a bump and I couldn't tell if something hit my car (it was dark). There was a pop/gunshot sound when it shattered.

Called OpenRoad Toyota Scion Richmond this morning and they said they won't cover any of it because they think a rock hit it. Then I got a lesson in how people drive from Alberta to BC all the time and get rock chips that they don't cover :toot:

I've never had glass shatter and break on me and I don't think this is common. If I wasn't wearing a baseball cap it could have been quite dangerous if it got in my eyes. When I pulled over there was a hole the size of an orange and the glass kinda made a volcano shape upwards around the hole. I already started the ICBC claim but I'm a little bummed Toyota won't do much with it. If it's a chip I wouldn't fuss but with glass falling into the car it's kinda freaky. Any thoughts/experiences?

It's a 2012 Scion tC.

Pics:
http://joao.ca/dump/IMG-20150212-WA0018.jpg
http://joao.ca/dump/IMG-20150212-WA0003.jpg
http://joao.ca/dump/IMG-20150212-WA0005.jpg

glad you're not injured but that looks like an icbc issue.

not sure why you feel toyota should be on the hook unless there have been recalls for imploding moonroofs.

I really don't understand what you want the dealership to do for you. If it wasn't a result of a manufacturing defect, they're not responsible for it.

Could've been a rock from another vehicle or dropped by a bird, or even a crack from a rock that shattered the glass when you hit a bump.

were you following/close to one of those dump trucks that carry shit by any chance?

Definitely looks like ICBC should be dealing with it and the dealership won't be able to do much for you unfortunately

have you checked the scion message boards to see if anyone else had this happen before?

my memory is dim because this was from long ago, but it involved a new minivan with a glass issue for the sliding door. when you slammed the door shut the glass would break and explode everywhere. dealers were blaming owners for slamming the door too hard but eventually it became a known problem as it was happening to a lot of people discussing it on the net. it turns out there was a problem with the tempered glass for a certain build date and eventually the manufacturer fixed them at their expense.

Yikes...

7 On Your Side: Exploding sunroofs are more common than you might think | WJLA.com

2005 Sunroof Exploded. - Scionlife.com

Exploding Sunroofs! - Car Forums at Edmunds.com

sunroof exploded? - Page 2 - Scion tC Forums

Sunroof explosion - Scion tC Forums

Thanks guys. I'll deal with ICBC. I guess in my mind I imagined glass being treated in a way that keeps it together a little better.

I found 2 threads:

2014 tC sunroof shattered!! info please - Scionlife.com

Moon Roof Glass Exploding - Scionlife.com

This guy got it covered by Toyota but some others not so lucky

Super unlucky, but it happened to my cousin as well. Rock flew up from the car she was following, went inbetween her fairing on the roof rack and smashed the moon roof.

Insurance covered it under comprehensive.

Same thing happened to her passenger window as well during the same year. (Also covered under comprehensive)

happened to some other brand as well. Just randomly explode for no reason, no one really knows why. Probably manufacturers defect in making the glass.

Sounds like you pissed off God.

Happens to many glass roof cars. Mercedes had it happening when I used to work for them, but it was not an issue with the roof itself, rather being hit by a rock. The problem is that the complete roof is glass and sadly this is the area hit hardest by rocks at highway speeds.
Thankfully it is covered by ICBC.
Many dealers in the states will cover it under goodwill warranty even though its not an issue with the vehicle simply to appease the customer.

I used to recommend that customers have the roof glass tinted so that in an event of being hit that the glass would not shatter.

Toyota had a recall on their moonroofs for the 7th gen Celica, something about the pre-2003s moonroof being made of plastic that would warp and they were replacing them with glass ones

Anyway yours looks like something hit it or had hit it, have you noticed any chips?

and this is why you shouldnt piss off god and buy a car with no sunroof!

how much would it cost to put down the clearbra material (or is it security window film?) over the moonroof glass, so that there is no chance of it shattering at all? would it make a difference to keep this from happening again?

That's a good idea. I might do both because I have a second stationary glass panel on my roof. Thanks!

No chips from before. I usually leave the shade cover off.

3M clear film could help prevent this from happening from the outside, but because its tempered glass and designed to shatter into small pieces I recommended tinting it from the inside.
I always recommended this for two reasons. It will stop it from falling into the car in the event that it is hit as well as help prevent UV damage to interior panels (or at least slow it down).

I'm sure you could use 3M clear film on the roof of the car to help as well. We use it to do lights and whatnot on the front of cars so I dont see why it would not work. I'm not sure what it would cost tho. Depends on the material used and how much of it was used.

I would suspect a rock hit it. I have a massive rock chip and few smaller ones exactly where a sunroof would be, so i would suspect it's not all that uncommon. Shitty luck though.

I thought moon roof windows come stock tinted from the factory no?

most factory tinted glass has no uv protection built into it. it will only cut down on light transmission, but does nothing against fading.

The glass is coloured, it does not have a film on the glass (the part that would cut down on pieces of glass entering the vehicle).
Most of the windows are tinted from stock but it has no UV properties to it so it will cut down on interior light but not the UV damage.

Did you find any bullet in the car?

sounds like a case of this:

I was gonna say don't buy cars with a sunroof, but that post will do. haha.