‘It sounded like a gunshot’ – Business News
Car sunroofs throughout a selection of makes and fashions have been spontaneously exploding – and experiences of the startling incidents may hit a record-high this yr.
Over the previous few years, 1000’s of drivers have filed complaints with US auto-safety regulators about their sunroofs all of a sudden shattering, typically whereas they had been driving, in accordance with a Wall Street Journal evaluation.
Nearly 500 such complaints have been filed to date this yr with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. There had been 550 complaints about damaged sunroofs throughout all of final yr.
A shattered sunroof on a 2025 Lexus SUV. Reddit/@ambshardy7456
In one occasion, Amber Nguyen, 26, was driving her 2025 Lexus SUV on a freeway on the best way to a work assembly when she heard a loud bang.
“I’m not even joking, it sounded like a gunshot,” Nguyen, who lives in Louisiana, instructed the Journal. “The sound is totally different than if a rock just hits your car.”
Then, Nguyen heard the sound of wind coming in via her shattered sunroof. Her sunshade had been closed – but when it hadn’t, she might need ended up lined in glass shards.
In different complaints, a Kia minivan’s sunroof spontaneously exploded whereas driving on a Wisconsin freeway, a GMC sport-utility vehicle’s moonroof fell onto seats the place kids trip and a Mercedes-Benz proprietor heard a “gunshot” sound earlier than their glass shattered.
The sunroof failures had been reported in more than 200 fashions from 17 completely different producers over the previous three years, in accordance with the evaluation.
Such failures occur about as soon as a day, and about one in 5 complaints contain a 2025 or 2026 model yr vehicle.
Among the automobiles mostly cited in sunroof complaints embrace Toyota’s RAV4, the Hyundai Palisade SUV, the Kia Telluride SUV and the Honda CR-V.
It’s doable that some shattered sunroofs are the consequence of design and manufacturing mishaps. The weird explosions are additionally believed to be brought on by highway particles hitting the glass repeatedly over time and excessive shifts in temperature inflicting the glass to develop.
Over the previous few years, 1000’s of drivers have filed complaints about their sunroofs shattering. Yakobchuk Olena – stock.adobe.com
On Reddit, vehicle homeowners have shared gripes in regards to the exploding sunroofs, with many evaluating the sound to a gunshot and a few saying the incidents occurred once they had been blasting the heating system on a cold winter day.
Since 2021, the NHTSA has obtained almost 2,800 complaints of sunroofs unexpectedly breaking. More than 500 complaints concerned newer automobiles, the evaluation mentioned.
But the sunroof points have hardly ever led to remembers.
In 2013, the company launched a probe into Kia Sorento SUVs after a number of experiences of surprising sunroof harm.
After a seven-year investigation that discovered over 4,000 reported incidents of sunroof fractures, the NHTSA mentioned in 2021 that it didn’t discover enough proof of a defect.
The shattered sunroof of a 2013 Kia Sorrento. NHTSA
It mentioned the problems had been doubtless brought on by small rocks being kicked up by different automobiles and inflicting “imperceptible” harm over time that ultimately builds up and causes breakage.
“A breaking sunroof can be startling and costly, and NHTSA has investigated and is monitoring this issue,” a spokesperson instructed the Wall Street Journal, including that it’s unaware of any crashes or severe accidents linked to shattered sunroofs.
The NHTSA added that main suppliers are seemingly transferring towards utilizing laminated glass – which is utilized in car windshields – and different stronger supplies in manufacturing.
In the meantime, sunroofs and “moonroofs” have grown more and more common in newer vehicle fashions.
The glass options are actually outfitted on more than half of automobiles produced for the US market – a 35% leap over the previous decade, in accordance with knowledge from industry-research firm Omdia.
Sunroofs are opaque coverings that match the car’s exterior and may be eliminated to let within the mild or contemporary air. “Moonroofs” are tinted glass coverings that allow in mild even when they’re closed. Reports about shattering glass embrace each phrases.
Hyundai mentioned it has commissioned a number of research to investigate sunroof breakage however hasn’t recognized any defects, as a substitute blaming particles hitting the glass.
Honda argued that it has more and more offered more CR-Vs outfitted with moonroofs, so evaluating uncooked grievance numbers could fail to replicate how typically the roofs are literally breaking.
Kia and Toyota didn’t instantly reply to The Post’s requests for remark.
