[abbyeaton]

I was driving home yesterday, and my sunroof just exploded! There was shattered glass everywhere, and I was left with a few cuts from it. The car is only two years old and in great condition, but I am completely shocked that this has happened and then to top it all off, the warranty won't even cover it! How on earth is a sunroof glass exploding the driver's fault, I guess I will never know. Now have to make a million calls to find the replacement glass and have it installed. I was a big fan of my jeep, but honestly, this has made me so upset, and I can't believe I am the one stuck with the bill and not the manufacturer! Very disappointed.

 

[Fishyguy]

I have heard of them exploding from time to time. Other manufacturers also have it happen. Give your insurance company a call

 

[blaster9]

My back window of my WK2 exploded. Jeep Cares finally covered it

 

[Jim_in_PA]

abbyeaton, what model, year and trim Jeep do you have? This area is for the brand new JGC "WL". I want to move your question to the correct discussion area.

Jim
Forum Moderator

 

[moparado]

One more reason i hate sun, moon, pano roofs or whatever one wants to call them where leaks are waiting to happen or the open/close mechanism breaks.
Unfortunately my WK2 came with one so i'm stuck with it.

Only things i can think of why this could happen is;
a chance in a trillion of a meteorite hit (lol),
the glass is pre-stressed from a faulty installation,
bad hail storm,
rock got kicked up from another vehicle,
faulty open close mechanism binding the glass,
glass subjected to extreme temperature contrast
or
bad glass from the factory.

If FCA won't cover it then there's a chance what Fishyguy said, contact your insurance company and see what they say.
Wind shields and side window glass gets cracked all the time where most insurance policies will typically cover those replacements.

Some F150 rear power windows with defroster heating elements are also known to crack when defrost is enabled.
The reason i never turn on my power rear window's defroster.

 

[PowerJRod]

I was driving home yesterday, and my sunroof just exploded! There was shattered glass everywhere, and I was left with a few cuts from it. The car is only two years old and in great condition, but I am completely shocked that this has happened and then to top it all off, the warranty won't even cover it! How on earth is a sunroof glass exploding the driver's fault, I guess I will never know. Now have to make a million calls to find the replacement glass and have it installed. I was a big fan of my jeep, but honestly, this has made me so upset, and I can't believe I am the one stuck with the bill and not the manufacturer! Very disappointed.

Ive heard this happening to RAM owners on my last forum. First time I'm hearing about the Jeeps doing this though. Definitely contact insurance company. This gives me idea to get full glass coverage since I have the Panoramic 🙄.

 

[Mopar_guy]

It happens on Lexus's RX as well. It's not common but it does happen. If Jeep won't cover it, call your insurance company.

 

[21JeepL]

I was driving home yesterday, and my sunroof just exploded! There was shattered glass everywhere, and I was left with a few cuts from it. The car is only two years old and in great condition, but I am completely shocked that this has happened and then to top it all off, the warranty won't even cover it! How on earth is a sunroof glass exploding the driver's fault, I guess I will never know. Now have to make a million calls to find the replacement glass and have it installed. I was a big fan of my jeep, but honestly, this has made me so upset, and I can't believe I am the one stuck with the bill and not the manufacturer! Very disappointed.

Were you on the freeway when it happened? Just like a rock hitting your windshield, a rock can hit your sunroof glass as well. Since the glass is horizontal it doesn't take a big rock at highway speeds to break it...and it's not laminated safety glass like the windshield. I'd call insurance on this issue because it's most likely from an impact.

 

[OSCAR2018]

This exact thing happened to me in my 2021 RAM. Based upon the physics of freeway driving...the chances of this being due to impact are extremely LOW given the pattern of airflow over the roof of the vehicle. If your vehicle is under warranty...I would lean aggressively on Jeep to replace. An insurance claim will likely cost you a deductible and possibly an increase in your premium. Ultimately, this should not fall on your insurance company to clean up a material flaw.

 

[sl13]

How can anybody say this is Jeep's fault? Unless there's a known defect, this could have been caused by anything striking or falling onto it at some point in the past. You can strike a window with a hammer and nothing will happen. An hour, day or month later it can shatter, seemingly for no reason. It's funny stuff this strengthened glass.

I'd bet it was a ball, branch, stone or something else that fell on the roof. The op didn't see or know about it and later on it decides to give up.

Get it replaced and move on!

 

[OSCAR2018]

Yep...never a big deal until it happens to you.

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

Agree that there can be a delay from time of impact to obvious damage/explosion, but RAM replaced mine under warranty. No contact with any branches, balls, rocks, meteors...to my knowledge.

 

[GCgolfer]

One more reason i hate sun, moon, pano roofs or whatever one wants to call them where leaks are waiting to happen or the open/close mechanism breaks.
Unfortunately my WK2 came with one so i'm stuck with it.

Only things i can think of why this could happen is;
a chance in a trillion of a meteorite hit (lol),
the glass is pre-stressed from a faulty installation,
bad hail storm,
rock got kicked up from another vehicle,
faulty open close mechanism binding the glass,
glass subjected to extreme temperature contrast
or
bad glass from the factory.

If FCA won't cover it then there's a chance what Fishyguy said, contact your insurance company and see what they say.
Wind shields and side window glass gets cracked all the time where most insurance policies will typically cover those replacements.

Some F150 rear power windows with defroster heating elements are also known to crack when defrost is enabled.
The reason i never turn on my power rear window's defroster.

 

[GCgolfer]

I was one of the f150 people. The rear defrost turn on automatically because of the temperature and about 5 miles down the road it sounded like a shotgun fired inside my truck. Glass went everywhere. I have never used a rear defroster again.

 

[moparado]

I was one of the f150 people. The rear defrost turn on automatically because of the temperature and about 5 miles down the road it sounded like a shotgun fired inside my truck. Glass went everywhere. I have never used a rear defroster again.

Yep i have never turned on my F150's rear window defroster in the 5 years i've owned it and so far never had the rear window shatter.

 

[Jeep Haven]

The OP never returned, but for anyone else finding this thread: as the linked CR article relays, this issue affects a number of car brands. Happened to us on a BMW sedan about a year ago. Driving on a parkway, beautiful day, no cars directly around us, no trees above us....with no warning and with nothing perceptible striking the roof, was like a gunshot or explosion above our heads, and then whooshing air. Luckily the roof shade was closed and the glass didn't come crashing down on us (a large part of it blows upward anyway).

As alluded to by some above, the manufacturer's argument is something MUST have struck the sunroof, you just didn't realize it, could be something very small, highway speeds, etc.. Even if that is true, I don't think the product should be such that at some random point after an impact it just explodes.

Anyway, your insurance will cover it as a comprehensive claim. Comprehensive claims don't usually affect your rates as directly as collision or liability claims. Also, fwiw, I complained to BMW and they reimbursed me the deductible.

 

[PowerJRod]

This exact thing happened to me in my 2021 RAM. Based upon the physics of freeway driving...the chances of this being due to impact are extremely LOW given the pattern of airflow over the roof of the vehicle. If your vehicle is under warranty...I would lean aggressively on Jeep to replace. An insurance claim will likely cost you a deductible and possibly an increase in your premium. Ultimately, this should not fall on your insurance company to clean up a material flaw.

Agreed. Personally I'd file a lawsuit but all depends on a few things. I think you and I talked about the Ram sunroofs on the Ram forum before lol.

 

[eggroll]

I have a 2021 Grand Cherokee L with 8,000 miles. Just happened as I was on the entrance ramp to the highway and accelerating. There are bulletins for faulty mechanisms so it would not surprise me that there is a defect causing stress on the glass. No other vehicles in front of me. My insurance is covering it along with a rental. Pays to have full coverage and 0 deductible for glass.

 

[Katie Watson]

I was driving home yesterday, and my sunroof just exploded! There was shattered glass everywhere, and I was left with a few cuts from it. The car is only two years old and in great condition, but I am completely shocked that this has happened and then to top it all off, the warranty won't even cover it! How on earth is a sunroof glass exploding the driver's fault, I guess I will never know. Now have to make a million calls to find the replacement glass and have it installed. I was a big fan of my jeep, but honestly, this has made me so upset, and I can't believe I am the one stuck with the bill and not the manufacturer! Very disappointed.

THIS HAPPENED TO ME WITH MY BRAND NEW 2022 JEEP COMPASS TRAILHAWK ELITE! I just bought my jeep 1 month ago (May 11, 2022) I was driving home from work, I heard a loud pop and my sun roof exploded. Looks like it was pushed out from the inside. Took it to the dealership, I figured it was covered under the extended warranty I purchased but they said no. Not sure what to I can do, @JeepCares is there anything you can do to help?

 

[Jeep Haven]

THIS HAPPENED TO ME WITH MY BRAND NEW 2022 JEEP COMPASS TRAILHAWK ELITE! I just bought my jeep 1 month ago (May 11, 2022) I was driving home from work, I heard a loud pop and my sun roof exploded. Looks like it was pushed out from the inside. Took it to the dealership, I figured it was covered under the extended warranty I purchased but they said no. Not sure what to I can do, @JeepCares is there anything you can do to help?

Because your car is pretty new, perhaps Jeep will offer assistance, but as mentioned by a bunch of us in the thread, you're probably going to have to go through your insurance and file a comprehensive claim. If so, push Jeep to cover any deductible you may be liable for.

 

[JeepCares]

THIS HAPPENED TO ME WITH MY BRAND NEW 2022 JEEP COMPASS TRAILHAWK ELITE! I just bought my jeep 1 month ago (May 11, 2022) I was driving home from work, I heard a loud pop and my sun roof exploded. Looks like it was pushed out from the inside. Took it to the dealership, I figured it was covered under the extended warranty I purchased but they said no. Not sure what to I can do, @JeepCares is there anything you can do to help?

Thank you for tagging us, Katie Watson. If you need support while working with the dealership, please send us a private message.

Kate
Jeep Cares