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When it happened, Heather Savage was driving the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder with two of her five children. Four-year-old Eli was strapped to the second-row car seat, while 15-year-old Raquel, who had just graduated from ballet class, sat in the front passenger seat.
They were walking on the regular route home in Cache Valley, Utah, at a speed of about 40 mph, when Savage heard a loud and powerful explosion. "My heart beats faster," she said. "This is not what happens when you drive."
She suspected a tyre burst, but the SUV did not shake. Whenever she was free, she pulled over and parked, got out of the car and looked around. At first she thought, "Well, my tires are okay." Then she looked up and saw that the skylight had exploded and hundreds of pieces of glass were dripping on the sunshade of the skylight. Above her children's heads.
"I felt very lucky when I shut it down," Savage said. "When I look at cars, I like sunroofs, but I never imagined that this would happen in a million years."
An exploding sunroof may sound strange, but a survey by Consumer Reports found that this is not the case. These incidents occur every month of the year, occur across the country, and occur in vehicles from all over the world; they occur on interstate highways, country roads, and even when parked in driveways.
In recent years, the size of skylights has expanded significantly and has become more and more popular. The number of consumer complaints about them dashing without warning has skyrocketed.
Although this situation does not occur as often as tire bursts on highways, any explosion that occurs while driving may constitute a real safety hazard.
Although this issue is well known by the auto industry and government safety regulators, drivers usually think their sunroofs are safe.
Our investigation found that, with a few exceptions, the car manufacturer did not acknowledge or resolve the issue. It is also obvious that the safety standards and regulatory supervision of skylights have not kept up with these huge size and design changes, and more work needs to be done to ensure their safety.
Although the experts we interviewed did not necessarily agree on what caused the glass to explode, they agreed that the larger the area of the glass, the more difficult it is to ensure that it will not break.
The chance of this happening to you is very low, but when the sunroof of the vehicle is indeed broken, consumers usually need to deal with it by themselves. CR found that dealers or car manufacturers have little consistency in how they acknowledge or resolve this safety and maintenance issue, or who should pay. (Do you own a car with a panoramic sunroof, or are you considering buying one? Read our advice on how to protect yourself financially and physically.)
According to CR's analysis of the consumer complaint database maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in the past 20 years, at least 208 vehicles representing 35 brands in the United States have reported broken sunroofs.
Since 1995, U.S. car owners have encountered the trouble of submitting at least 859 official accounts to security agencies, and 71% of accidents occurred after 2011. CR read through these reports. Although some details are different, they are the same. Heather Savage's experience is this: the skylight suddenly shattered without direct or known cause.
Among the complaints, there were at least 36 reports of injuries, mainly minor cuts or scrapes, but no serious injuries or deaths.
"A rain of glass fell on me," the owner of a 2013 Hyundai Veloster said in a complaint to NHTSA. "My arms and forehead are bleeding, I managed to start work, thank God, when it happened, there were no other cars near me."
Some automakers—such as Hyundai, Ford, Nissan, Kia, and Toyota—are more representative of NHTSA complaints. Scion tC, Hyundai Veloster, Kia Sorento, Nissan Murano and Kia Optima are the most cited models. The Sorento is the only vehicle currently under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
CR's analysis of existing government and industry sunroof failure data shows that the problem is spread across the industry, but it is more common in certain brands — especially Kia and Hyundai — than their overall market share suggests.
"When you have evidence of such a problem, no matter what the standard is, automakers should develop better methods," said David Friedman, who served as the NHTSA Acting Administrator in 2014 and is now an automobile and product Director of Policy and Analysis. Consumer Union, the policy and mobilization department of Consumer Reports. "They don't need to wait for NHTSA to stimulate them."
Consumer Reports wants to see several things happen:
• Any car manufacturer that has experienced a major accident should order a recall (if it has not yet been recalled).
• Regulators should expand their investigations into Sorento to include other automakers and models. Friedman said that there is sufficient evidence to show that this is a safety flaw, and NHTSA should not wait for serious injuries before taking action.
• The entire automotive industry needs to set stricter safety standards for so-called panoramic sunroofs without waiting for regulators.
In this special report, we spoke with car owners who have experienced these explosions, as well as car manufacturers, regulatory agencies, glass and structural engineers, and industry and safety experts. We also reviewed federal defect investigations, industry technical bulletins, class actions, and U.S. and international reports on skylight explosions.
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Read through the consumer accounts in the NHTSA database and some of them stand out. For example, a luxury car company in Long Island, New York told NHTSA in August 2014 that it had five sunroof explosions — all in the 18-car fleet of Ford-made Lincoln MKT in 2014. At the time of the explosion, one car was parked in the company parking lot.
A 2012 Kia Optima owner wrote: “Either I was hit by a meteorite, or the Kia glass is defective.” A driver from Houston reported a slight glass scratch. (NHTSA deleted the name in the self-reported complaint.)
For consumers, the pain comes one after another, first when they have to go through the experience, and then when negotiating repairs and deciding who will pay. A Marion, Arkansas man whose sunroof burst in a 2013 Ford F-150 pickup truck wrote: “Ford Customer Service rejected my warranty claim, so I had to repair it under my insurance and pay the difference,” he said Say, come to 1,009.68 USD.
Obviously, consumer complaints in the NHTSA database are only a small part of the actual skylight explosion in the United States
Although the owners of Kia Sorentos have submitted at least 43 reports of broken sunroofs to US regulators, Kia has told NHTSA that there are at least 156 Sorento sunroof cases in its own records. Kia Optima owners have submitted at least 25 reports to regulators, but the company told NHTSA that it knew 173 Optima sunroofs were broken.
Ford reported 88 sunroof explosions on its Edge crossover-11 times the number of complaints reported to NHTSA.
As part of the investigation into Sorento’s defects, the security agency asked automakers to provide data and other information about the broken sunroofs of 13 manufacturers, but they have not yet shared all the information they learned publicly. Five documents out of the 13 responses were published on the NHTSA website, but even in these five responses, the key responses were edited or lost.
(NHTSA told us that it is working to include the remaining eight people in public archives.)
The lack of transparency regarding the true extent of this widespread security issue may be the reason why the issue has not yet fully surfaced in public consciousness or has attracted serious attention from US regulators. This may be the reason why consumers seeking compensation are turning to class actions filed against individual automakers.
Based on the number of complaints, Jason Levine, Executive Director of the Center for Automotive Safety, said: “Something is happening. The act of calling it a god feels like an old industry script for a new car function. The roof is half glass instead of quarters. The fact that there is no glass or glass does not change the responsibility of the industry and individual car manufacturers to ensure that the cabin is as safe as possible," he said, adding, "The first thing that must be concerned is safety, and then beauty."
The international community has been actively trying to solve this loophole — firstly caused by South Korean regulators investigating a large number of complaints related to cars from South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia and some other automakers in 2013.
Since 2013, NHTSA has been investigating Sorento from 2011 to 2013, but since the spring of 2016, the apparent progress seems to have slowed down.
When CR asked NHTSA about the status of the Sorento investigation, the agency stated that it “will continue to analyze test data and other information to determine whether this issue is related to the defect,” but did not specify when the investigation will be completed.
The agency did not specifically address most of the issues we raised, including whether it supports stricter sunroof glass standards, and whether it is concerned about the surge in complaints since 2013.
In the four years of NHTSA's investigation of Sorento, the popularity and popularity of super-large skylights has sprung up, and during this period, the number of incidents reported to NHTSA has also increased significantly. Beginning in 2013, consumer complaints to NHTSA more than doubled from the previous year, from 41 to 100, and then almost doubled to 187 in 2014.
Functions such as panoramic sunroofs are usually designed into luxury cars and then spread to a wider range of vehicles. "They don't always transfer successfully," Levine said. "Whenever these types of reports appear between manufacturers and across the year, it will start to ask whether it is adequately prepared for the expansion of these types of functions."
In the last three annual car surveys conducted by Consumer Reports, at least 35 people believed that sunroof explosions were a serious problem in their vehicles.
Melody Terai, the owner of the 2011 Kia Sportage from British Columbia, Canada, was one of them. She told CR that when she merged into the highway, her sunroof exploded. Terai said she still feels anxious about this: "Hopefully, among all other recall issues, this issue will be resolved before [a] death occurs."
The panoramic sunroof is an impressive engineering feat-a large glass panel is bent to the aerodynamic profile of the roof, usually made of tempered glass because it is strong and does not add weight.
They have an alluring quality, perhaps because they connect people to the outdoors like skylights.
Automakers have discovered that consumers will spend thousands of dollars on luxury packages with this feature. Some brands including Hyundai and Kia provide them in almost all models. As a result, panoramic sunroofs have become mainstream and larger, sometimes covering almost the entire roof.
However, there is no reason why skylights cannot be large, spectacular and safe. Talking with CR, an automotive glass expert and structural engineer, said that there are some ways to make sunroofs safer, first of all the types of glass.
During their investigation, the Korean automobile safety regulator found that a step in the manufacturing process called "ceramic printing"-used to coat some glass and create a darker area that hides mechanical parts-can make certain parts of the pane Some parts become weaker and more easily broken.
After investigating certain models, South Korean safety officials asked the United Nations agency responsible for global transportation regulations to study and formulate new glass standards.
U.S. regulators are cooperating with their counterparts in the United Nations panoramic sunroof working group. If the United Nations team that has been meeting for two years proposes stricter global standards, the United States may follow suit.
In 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) strengthened standards to prevent occupants from being ejected from side windows during a rollover, but chose not to issue similar requirements for sunroofs. Studies have shown that the use of laminated glass (two panes of glass made of a piece of plastic that can retain their shape even when broken) can reduce the ejection of other parts of the car.
NHTSA told CR that the agency is studying "the structural integrity of skylights under various conditions, including reducing passenger ejection."
Industry sources said that Ford has begun to use laminated glass in the sunroofs of some of its models. When asked about this, the company said: “Ford uses both laminated glass and tempered glass in vehicle applications according to engineering requirements.”
At the same time, Volvo told us that it has applied for a patent for a laminated sunroof glass design that "provides excellent protection in the event of a rollover."
In total, Consumer Reports contacted 17 automakers to find out how often they heard news about sunroof explosions from customers, whether they detected any obvious patterns, and whether they supported a type of glass Standards will reduce the possibility of breakage.
Although all companies acknowledged that they received our questions, almost all the replies were without specific details, and some companies cited pending litigation as having no more frank reason.
Fiat Chrysler tells us that "safety is the most important" and it will continue to monitor "the performance of our vehicles on site." The responses of many other automakers echoed this theme.
When asked about its sunroof, Kia mainly blamed road debris: "When the cause of the damage can be determined, it is always road debris or projectiles, even when it involves users who insist that the damage is not caused by road debris. ."
Omid Rashid, a chemical engineer from Alberta, Canada, drove his 2015 Toyota Venza on a sunny day at 40 degrees Fahrenheit last winter.
Rashid noticed some cracks in the roof, but he didn't know what to do. Then he heard the sound "like a bomb", and suddenly he was bathed in glass.
On the remote highway far away from home, his ears were still buzzing, and he waited wobbly for several hours, waiting for a trailer to take him to the nearest Toyota dealer. He recalled going to bed in a hotel room, with shards of glass remaining in his hair.
The next day, he said that dealer technicians said it was very common and might be caused by rocks. Rashid said that Toyota representatives also repeated this theory.
Rashid didn't buy it.
He has been expecting some sympathy or apology. Instead, he received approximately $900 in repair costs, and in the opinion of his engineers, there were at least a lot of wrong reasoning.
Rashid said he knew that the temperature did not fluctuate much that day (CR confirmed) and there were no other vehicles nearby. He said that any rocks spit out from his own car tires would fly back instead of flying towards the roof. "The laws of physics say it's impossible," Rasheed said.
Toyota said that although it was unable to comment on this specific incident, it was "committed to the safety and security of its customers."
"There is no doubt that this is a security flaw," Rashid said. "I could have hit another car, I could hit another obstacle. Thank God, there is nothing around me."
Although there are many controversies about the main reason for the skylight explosion, it is generally believed that the current regulatory standards have not kept up with the size or design innovation of panoramic skylights. Basically, this means that some skylights are under-designed.
Automotive glass must meet the minimum standards set by the American National Standards Institute and SAE International. But these regulations have not been revised since 1996-long before the oversized sunroof became mainstream.
Tempered glass is almost always used for skylights because it meets existing standards. It is the same glass used for the side and rear windows and is usually very strong. Experts say that tempered glass is sufficient for small and flat skylights, but not for large and curved skylights.
Rob Vandal, senior director of research and development at Guardian Glass, a major US automotive glass supplier, pointed out that one problem is that modern designs are more three-dimensional and usually involve bending the glass to the curvature of the roof. This makes them more susceptible to impact, even from very small objects, Vandal said, because they provide a more vertical surface for the attacking object.
"Statistically speaking, it will be affected by some failures, and failures will be catastrophic failures," Vandal explained.
Russ Corsi has worked for PPG, a global automotive glass supplier in Pittsburgh, for nearly 32 years. He said that larger sunroofs are also easier to weaken over time because the glass panels absorb the impact of road bumps, car frame twists and "heat". "Shock"-expansion and contraction caused by sudden changes in temperature.
Corsi said that if the sunroof "breaks [on its own]", "this is most likely a manufacturing defect," noting that "the larger the glass piece, the smaller the margin of error."
For example, Corsi said that a quality control issue involved the beveled edges around the roof glass. Chips on this edge make the glass prone to failure, and for tempered glass, this means explosion.
Corsi said one way to prevent skylights from exploding may be to use hybrid glass that combines the characteristics of tempered and laminated glass.
What further complicates the safety equation is that every car manufacturer is under pressure to reduce costs and make vehicles lighter to increase fuel consumption. Automobile manufacturers usually use the thinnest glass-about half a centimeter thick.
Regulators can increase the performance requirements that windshields already have to withstand, rather than requiring the use of specific types of glass.
All of this makes it almost impossible to distinguish between a stable skylight and a fragile skylight. One might think that a distinctive feature such as a panoramic sunroof has sufficient safety standards. Consumers must rely on the manufacturer's quality control and regulatory efforts.
NHTSA can investigate and order a recall. In addition to the current investigation into Sorento, the agency has conducted four sunroof defect investigations since 2004. Two times led the automaker to recall the 2012 Hyundai Veloster and the 2004 Nissan Maxima during the NHTSA investigation of vehicle models. Two other vehicles were shut down without any defects being discovered-the 2004-2006 Cadillac SRX and the 2005-2006 Scion tC. These two models are among the top ten in consumer complaints.
Audi and Volkswagen issued a sunroof recall notice without first conducting an investigation by NHTSA. Audi recalled the 2012 Q5 and 2013-2014 A8 and S8, and Volkswagen recalled the 2013-2015 Beetle. Spokespersons for the two brands told CR, "We attach great importance to product safety."
Automakers can use other less transparent methods, such as "technical service announcements" sent to dealers. The announcement usually tells the dealer how to solve the known problem, but only after the consumer complains. The announcement does not acknowledge the existence of safety defects, and repairs are not necessarily free. Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi and Toyota handled various sunroof repairs in this way, including leaks.
Consumer Reports has identified about 12 class actions involving broken sunroofs in the United States, involving complaints against companies such as Hyundai, Kia, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Volkswagen. Generally, these lawsuits allege that automakers failed to protect their owners, deliberately sold vehicles with safety deficiencies, and failed to perform warranties.
Brian Kabateck is a Lexus owner’s lawyer in a case against Toyota. He said that all his customers demand is that the manufacturer's requirements for the customer are correct. "Just extend the warranty period," he said. "It's not like we are trying to make countless dollars."
In response to the lawsuit faced by Hyundai Motors, the company claimed in December that its sunroof did not have any problems or defects, and denied failing to warn drivers of any "so-called" dangers.
When asked to explain the reasons for the recent reduction in the number of broken Veloster incidents, Hyundai told CR that its recall had solved the original problem. The company's investigation attributed a large number of accidents to malfunctioning "unloading station robots" that could damage the glass during the manufacturing process.
Heather Savage said that her husband Roy's job was to find a repair method for the one-year-old vehicle. He started with a Nissan dealer. "I told them the skylight just exploded and they were like,'Well, you should be able to drive it. But we do nothing; we don't repair it."
With five children and a busy life, he did not spend time arguing, but contacted his insurance company, and the insurance company told him to use a glass service provider. With the glass cover, the portion of their $1,005 bill is a $100 deductible.
Next, he searched the Internet for the answer: "I'm a little annoyed," he said, and disappointed that "the skylights have no protective film, making them look like windshields."
Nissan told CR that it had no evidence of a problem with the sunroof of its car and recommended that consumers file a claim with the insurance company.
Since her plot, Heather Savage has said that she can't stop worrying about all the glass above her head. She said that the sunroof sunshades have been working.
"I'm really hesitant to open it, or to wash the car, or do anything that might destroy it," she said. "It's kind of scary."
Although Consumer Reports does not recommend that you avoid buying cars with panoramic sunroofs, there are steps you can take to protect your economy and health.
Ask the dealer whether the sunroof is made of laminated glass. The dealer may not know the answer, or it is coming soon, but it is worth asking. Make it clear that you are asking about the type of glass in the windshield. If the glass breaks, it can stay together instead of colored glass. Glass experts tell us that if it is laminated, it is usually stamped.
Ask about the warranty of the vehicle. Specifically, ask whether the vehicle’s warranty covers manufacturing defects and sunroof damage.
Please consult your car insurance company. Ask about your coverage for accidents that are not covered by the car’s warranty, including sunroof explosions. Some consumers report that their policy covers replacement; others do not.
Listen to the warning signs. If you do buy a car with a sunroof, please note that at least one person we talked to heard some cracking noises before his sunroof exploded. If you hear such sounds, please send the car to the dealer and let them know.
Try not to panic. Yes, it is likely to be loud, unexpected and scary. But try to stay calm and keep control of the car until you can reach a safe place to park and evaluate what is happening. The consumers we talked to have experienced one of these incidents, and they all stated that they can avoid accidents or serious bodily injuries.
Record the damage. If possible, please take out your phone and take photos or videos on site. In addition, please pay attention to the time, date, location, weather conditions, and whether you have found any objects that may work in or near the car.
Submit a report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The safety agency said it relies on these reports and other sources to identify safety-related deficiencies in vehicles and propose solutions to these problems. To report an accident, please visit NHTSA's consumer complaint website or call the vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236. (See our suggestions on how to file a complaint.)
Please contact your dealer and manufacturer. Ask them what they plan to do about it. Some consumers will immediately receive an offer for free repairs, or even an apology. Others received large bills of $1,000 or more. A car owner said that after many complaints, the dealer agreed to replace the broken sunroof for free. So complain, don't accept the first "not our problem!" you received.
If the distributor and manufacturer do not provide assistance, please call your insurance company. The company may put pressure on dealers or manufacturers to bear all repair costs. If they still refuse, your insurance company may pay after you pay the deductible.
Consider joining a class action. If you are frustrated with the dealer's or manufacturer's response, please consider participating in one of the ongoing class actions to seek damages for the owners of the models suspected of sunroof defects.
Although Consumer Reports does not recommend that you avoid buying cars with panoramic sunroofs, there are steps you can take to protect your economy and health.
Ask the dealer whether the sunroof is made of laminated glass. The dealer may not know the answer, or it is coming soon, but it is worth asking. Make it clear that you are asking about the type of glass in the windshield. If the glass breaks, it can stay together instead of colored glass. Glass experts tell us that if it is laminated, it is usually stamped.
Ask about the warranty of the vehicle. Specifically, ask whether the vehicle’s warranty covers manufacturing defects and sunroof damage.
Please consult your car insurance company. Ask about your coverage for accidents that are not covered by the car’s warranty, including sunroof explosions. Some consumers report that their policy covers replacement; others do not.
Listen to the warning signs. If you do buy a car with a sunroof, please note that at least one person we talked to heard some cracking noises before his sunroof exploded. If you hear such sounds, please send the car to the dealer and let them know.
Try not to panic. Yes, it is likely to be loud, unexpected and scary. But try to stay calm and keep control of the car until you can reach a safe place to park and evaluate what is happening. The consumers we talked to have experienced one of these incidents, and they all stated that they can avoid accidents or serious bodily injuries.
Record the damage. If possible, please take out your phone and take photos or videos on site. In addition, please pay attention to the time, date, location, weather conditions, and whether you have found any objects that may work in or near the car.
Try not to panic. Yes, it is likely to be loud, unexpected and scary. But try to stay calm and keep control of the car until you can reach a safe place to park and evaluate what is happening. The consumers we talked to have experienced one of these incidents, and they all stated that they can avoid accidents or serious bodily injuries.
Record the damage. If possible, please take out your phone and take photos or videos on site. In addition, please pay attention to the time, date, location, weather conditions, and whether you have found any objects that may work in or near the car.
Submit a report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The safety agency said it relies on these reports and other sources to identify safety-related deficiencies in vehicles and propose solutions to these problems. To report an accident, please visit NHTSA's consumer complaint website or call the vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236. (See our suggestions on how to file a complaint.)
Please contact your dealer and manufacturer. Ask them what they plan to do about it. Some consumers will immediately receive an offer for free repairs, or even an apology. Others received large bills of $1,000 or more. A car owner said that after many complaints, the dealer agreed to replace the broken sunroof for free. So complain, don't accept the first "not our problem!" you received.
If the distributor and manufacturer do not provide assistance, please call your insurance company. The company may put pressure on dealers or manufacturers to bear all repair costs. If they still refuse, your insurance company may pay after you pay the deductible.
Consider joining a class action. If you are frustrated with the dealer's or manufacturer's response, please consider participating in one of the ongoing class actions to seek damages for the owners of the models suspected of sunroof defects.
Editor's note: This article was also published in the December 2017 issue of Consumer Reports.
We respect your privacy. All email addresses you provide will only be used to send this story.
I grew up in the golden age of Detroit and drove the charming old-fashioned 65 Olds Cutlass in high school and college. Later, through a series of cars manufactured by Volkswagen, Volvo and Saab, I experienced the fun and cost of European engineering. That was before the reliable and spacious Honda minivan. Now I am reporting on car safety, new technology and corporate responsibility for CR in Washington, DC
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