Shattered moonroof/sunroof glass while driving

It's a characteristic of the vehicle. Nothing to see here. Move along.

 

Yes twice. But I lived in CO and it was due to pressure changes inside the cab from driving at altitude

 

We didn't tint it, actually haven't done any changes to the vehicle. Don't know if it was tinted in the factory.
The night it happened it was around 78 (we live in Vegas) and had the AC on auto 76 inside the truck.
Music was on, but not that loud.
Took it to Toyota dealership the next day and they just think it wa a rock or an existing crack on the glass, they won't cover it under vehicle warranty, because they don't have enough of those cases in their database to consider it a "Toyota problem"

 

phone call to corporate seems reasonable.

 

That sucks that they denied covering it, I would call Toyota Corp and open a case on it.

 

Probably just a rock. I think tinting auto glass adds a bit of strength.

 

There are a handful of guys that have had the Windshield crack out of the blue with no impact damage and my theory is the cab is tweaked a little which is putting pressure on the glass, wonder if as you said it could also break the Sunroof.

 

Absolutely a truck problem. Don't let them tell you it's not.

 

adding stuff to stuff will always increase strength. that doesn't necessarily increase its resilience to breaking due to many, many factors, however. like cte mismatch or impacts which create localized high strain instead of dispersed strain at lower magnitudes (these two things are common reasons glass fails, both of which are negatively impacted by tint on the inside surface)

 

OP try a different dealer and call Toyota Corporate, explain the situation, how you want to give them the chance to fix it otherwise you'll be trading in the truck and not recommending Toyota in the future to others, etc. type of thing. Willing to bet they'll help you make an appointment to get it fixed under warranty.

 

or... hold off on the threats until the second date. something something honey than vinegar...

 

You must of missed the first part of what I said, "give them the chance to make it right" but yes, polite and courteous but also displeased is the way to go, no threats, just honesty nothing wrong with saying "hey can you make this right if not I will no longer support your product or recommend it". I've dealt with them a lot with my lemon 16.

 

I don't know if I buy into that or if that is true, but I put ultra dark Limo Tint on the Sunroof in my car and have never had an issue.

 

I know Hyundai did a full recall at one point on atleast one of there cars due to roof glass shattering, it was a major safety hazzard. I would def talk to corporate because a sunroof should not shatter like that.

 

I don't know, these might not be correct, I have no idea:

"...Adding a Safety and Security film will increase strength of the glass and thus make it extremely difficult to break..."

http://www.tintingsupplies.com.au/why-glass-tinting/5/why-safety-and-security

"...Window tinting isn't just for looks...Keeps glass from shattering..."

https://www.zenetec.com/Detailing-Centre/automotive-window-tinting

"...Window film increases the break strength of glass which can protect you and your passengers in case of an accident..."

http://tintspecialist.ca/automotive-window-tint/

 

Security film and all of those benefits all reference the strength. Ie the force it can withstand without being penetrated. none of them stop the glass itself from breaking. just the barrier.

 

From what I've read it's very uncommon, but possible. It also only affects laminated glass and not tempered glass for some reason. Your car could very well have tempered glass.

 

I went through this a couple years ago in my 2013 Nissan Altima SV. Exact same scenerio, freeway, no vehicles nearby, no construction or overpasses. Everything I've read points to cabin pressure + thin glass = exploding moon roof. I wasn't so lucky, the broken glass ran down my roof scratching it all to hell. Dealer wouldn't fix it, I had to make an insurance claim. It would have cost me over $1,500.00 to pay out of pocket. And yes, it sounded like somebody fired a gun inside the car. As you can see in this picture, it blew outwards.

 

I cant see a rock flying at the right angle to break a sunroof short of someone dropping a big one off a bridge.

 

Agreed. the angle a rock would need to hit the glass to cause enough force to shatter it would be somewhat high (e.g. 45 degree angle). How you get a rock bouncing this high on a highway is beyond me...