Alright. So I just bought a 2014 tC on October 3rd. I've had the car for 6 weeks and barely have 2,000 Miles on it. On November 21st, I was driving to Staples Center and heard a crack while driving, didnt really think anything of it at the time. I went inside not noticing anything out of the ordinary, I even walked around my car to make sure nothing had struck my car. I came out to my car and noticed that my sunroof was completely shattered. It ____es me off because I know that nothing hit my car, and judging by the looks of the completely shattered sunroof, it wasn't hit by anything. We all know what glass looks like when it is hit by something, and this was not one of those cases.

Is anyone with a new tC dealing with, or already dealt with, the same issue? Toyota obviously denied me under warranty saying it was caused by "outside sources" and I had to fork out $800 bucks to replace it. This is reminding me of the 05-06 tC's with the recalled sunroof part shattering itself.

Ignore the big gaping hole in the middle. That wasn't there when I found my sunroof cracked. That occured as I had to drive my car home from LA and the middle glass started flopping itself off. How does a roof crack all around the edges where the support underneath touches it?

______

 

contact your insurance carrier. Glass is considered all risk anyway and it should be covered under comprenhensive coverage.

 

This is the second instance I've seen of a tC2 on this forum having a shattering moonroof. The other guy said it sounded like a gun went off...it was like an explosive shatter.

 

I was asking if you knew of an instance of this happening to someone. I was stupid and had a super high deductible so I had to bite the bullet, otherwise I would have claimed it.

 

Do you remember where you found it? Im trying to build my case to Toyota for the arbitration im going through with them now.

 

Dude, someone totally busted your ____ in. I hope it's resolved. That is what it looks like to me.. Idk man. I've had my 13 from hot to sub freezing temps and I hear crackles but no anything other than noise

Defective glass?

 

I honestly doubt it. The big hole wasnt there until after I drove it home. It just looks too perfect to have been smashed in. I mean come on, how the heck does it crack in a perfect square?

 

it was on this forum, years back. use the search function to find the details, but i don't remember him telling us a resolution.

 

i think it must have been a rock. it breaks the glass depending on force involved a size of rock. i have thrown rocks before that (accidentally) hit windows and made almost perfect circles w/o much cracking around the hole. again, it depends on how the rock hit and from what angle -all that physics stuff.

I hope the glass shop can fix this for you. and also hopefully your deductible isn't very large because the warranty on this car doesn't cover glass damage.

 

actually from what i recall in the first time this issue was posted...

i think the windows were down while driving on the fwy and the with the sunroof closed, enough pressure built up and shattered the glass. biglilsteve might be able to remember too.

 

i never open my sunroof really and i often drive with windows open in summer, even on highway. is that dangerous? why would pressure be building up in that small space where the sunroof is? the air goes into the car and goes out.

 

Here's the thread KJ and I are referring to. This guy said he was driving with his windows up though...

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=203897

 

nice thread. weird event for sure. this is someone's post from that thread whose experience with the issue is the same as mine (except the open sunroof bit):

 

"“The dilemma is that vehicle manufacturers believe it’s an impact break,” says Beranek. “Some of the higher-end cars are covering it under warranty if the customer says, ‘I wasn’t even in the car, I wasn’t even driving it.’ Those that say, ‘I was driving down the road and there was no reason for the sunroof to blow out and it just did’ well then the manufacturers are going to say it is impact related. Until injuries occur vehicle manufacturers still have the option to charge the customer for the replacement. If they can pass off the cost to the customers, they’re going to.”"

Source: http://www.usglassmag.com/AGRR/Backi...k__Feature.htm

In short, an investigator is hypothesizing that the glass is cheaply made or thinned out to reduce the weight of distribution to the automotive companies, therefore affecting the quality of the glass. This hypothesis hasn't been confirmed and I'm only basing it off this one article, which touches on the same issue that you and the other person have/had.

He further explains:
1.A crack around the edges signifies that there's a mechanism fault - meaning that something was not assembled correctly in the factory.

2.If there is a sign of a concentrated impact, like a hole, then something has most likely hit the glass causing it to shatter.

3.If everything just completely shattered, then it's most likely pressure related.

Based on this article, I would assume that it's a faulty window or the factory that assembled did not mount it properly.

 

Okay, so the exact thing happened to me last night in my 2013 tC RS 8.0 while driving home from work. Sounded like a gunshot above my head, glass went everywhere.

I am heading to the dealership today, this is for sure a Scion issue--there were no other cars or semi trucks around me that could have kicked up a rock.

_____

 

in that case say you were NOT driving the vehicle when it happened. it was parked and you saw it happen because you were right next to it. I wonder what they would do.

 

Some A-Hole threw a Spark Plug at your car, noticed it, then picked up the evidence and left. They did it either dickin around or on purpose.
Most Big retail stores have parking lot cameras. This is why I ALWAYS park my car in bright areas when dark and if there are cameras even better.
Anyway, its possible for it to crack on its own but rare. Dealers give you a lot of ____ so they wont have to replace parts specially when you dont present any solid proof.

 

Great news! The dealership is replacing my sunroof! They still cannot explain to me why or how it happened but they are reporting it to Toyota. Based on what I have researched and hearing of others having "rattling" sunroofs and then these "spontaneous implosions" it may be a manufactures issue...who knows.

 

Thanks for responding! I Am for sure gonna use that in my arbitration with Toyota.

 

YEP!!! Exact same thing happened to me too. Congrats on having Toyota fixing your roof though. They basically told me to ____ off and I had to fork out $800 bucks to get it fixed. Hopefully through arbitration I can recover my funds.