SUNROOF EXPLODED

[markow202]

Hi everyone, im new here and unfortunately something like this is my first post. Yesterday went to the dealership AIRPORT MAZDA where I bought my 2013 Mazda 3 Skyactiv (LOADED CAR with every option) for its first oil change etc. The car is 4 months old (bought it in Sept 2013). They washed the car and off I went.

Later that day was driving to a friend's place to help paint and popped the sunroof open on the tilt up feature to get some fresh air inside but forgot it open when I got to my friend's place. Later when leaving a few hours later got into the parked car and hit the button to close the roof....upon it closing BANG all the glass exploded on the moonroof and showered the interior and my hair. Luckily I was not driving. Managed to get the car home and covered it until Monday morning in which im biting my nails to see what the dealer is going to do with warranty or tell me the classic story of a rock hitting it etc. I refuse to pay for this mishap.

Upon google search of "exploding sunroof" its unreal to see the vast reports of pretty much any car after 2010 of this happening.

http://s28.postimg.org/6oxte6cq5/IMG_7457.png

[Kiewan]

Ouch. If the tilter is electric and you used it under normal use then you should be fine. Really bad luck.

Welcome btw

[switzah]

Welcome!
Sorry to hear about your sunroof. :(

[silverstarmazda]

well if its not under warranty then your out of luck... the moonroof isnt something you want to drive around...missing... if its not covered, it doesnt matter how much you refuse to pay. you either pay or have a hole in your roof.

read over your warranty coverage and see if your protected. see if you can find why it shattered. how cold was it, was it outside, any obstructions, design fault, assembly fault, etc. horrible for this to happen to you in this time of year.

[captobvious75]

Parked car and boom? Warranty should cover

[aris]

This is why I never open my sunroof in winter

[Zotaga]

You're in luck.. now you can ask for a tempered glass replacement OR a plexi-glass window.. neither of which should shatter like that.. that's nuts..

You acquired a Mazda "Zoom Boom".. sometimes I think that should be their new slogan..

[peterm15]

You're in luck.. now you can ask for a tempered glass replacement OR a plexi-glass window.. neither of which should shatter like that.. that's nuts..

You acquired a Mazda "Zoom Boom".. sometimes I think that should be their new slogan..

Ummmmmm

That is tempered glass. Thats why it shattered like that.
And plexi will scratch easier then mazdas paint.

[Zotaga]

I thought tempered glass was the glass that didn't shatter.. like your windshield.. it just caves in..


Ummmmmm

That is tempered glass. Thats why it shattered like that.
And plexi will scratch easier then mazdas paint.

[peterm15]

That would be laminated glass. 2 thin panes with a piece of plastic in the middle. Which should not be used in moveable parts as its easily cracked.
Tempered glass is heat treated. It is direct hit impact resistant but can easily shatter if you hit a corner or use a pointy hammer.

Plexi can easily flex and fly out. Which is why its not typically used in cars. Outside of race cars which bolts the plexi in place.

[XTOTHEL]

could it be that water/condensation froze towards the front of the windshield and acted as a wedge, then when OP tried to close the sunroof, the wedge stressed out the glass and made it go boom?

[peterm15]

That is possible.

Ive had tempered glass randomly explode in my hands. Usually it will only happen when the glass is weak for one reason or another. Manufacturing defect is the most common.

[markow202]

Thanks for the inputs. Heading to the dealer now to see what happens! My last car was a Mercedes....this makes me wanna cry lol.

[markow202]

could it be that water/condensation froze towards the front of the windshield and acted as a wedge, then when OP tried to close the sunroof, the wedge stressed out the glass and made it go boom?

Upon observation this looks like the definite cause

[FoXy]

weirddddd... I hate when that happens I remember summer when I was sitting on my back then tehn BAM out of no where my neighbors big glass patio table just shatter for no reason. No one was even back there. Sometimes shiz just happens, but I would for SURE try to claim it. That shouldnt happen. You you could have been hurt.

[geobur]

That is possible.

Ive had tempered glass randomly explode in my hands. Usually it will only happen when the glass is weak for one reason or another. Manufacturing defect is the most common.

same scared the shit out of me when it happened lol...one second holding a perfectly good piece of glass...next second pieces go in every direction and standing there going WTF?

[midnightfxgt]

Upon observation this looks like the definite cause

You refuse to pay to fix? Sounds like user error to me.

You went out in sub zero temps, and left it open. Tried to close hours later, and it likely shattered due to the force of the motor pressing the glass against ice. I think they will likely cover it, but does not sound like a defect to me.

[silverstarmazda]

anything in the users manual where it says not to use the moon roof in certain conditions?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJsyWqNGGh4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvFn7RmVlIQ

seems to happen to a lot of cars in the cold... spontaneous glass explosion :/

[geobur]

You refuse to pay to fix? Sounds like user error to me.

You went out in sub zero temps, and left it open. Tried to close hours later, and it likely shattered due to the force of the motor pressing the glass against ice. I think they will likely cover it, but does not sound like a defect to me.

I disagree...if they are not meant to be open in "subzero temperatures" it should say as such in the user manual...as it was OP did not open it in "subzero temperatures" as we did not experience anything close to subzero temperatures on the weekend...subzero refers to temperatures below 0*Fahrenheit which is approximately -18*c.

[markow202]

Brought the car to the dealer this morning and without fuss will be promptly covered by warranty :) No fuss.

[geobur]

Brought the car to the dealer this morning and without fuss will be promptly covered by warranty :) No fuss.

I should hope so...good to hear, glad everything got sorted out without any problems! and on that note :welcome smiley

[switzah]

Brought the car to the dealer this morning and without fuss will be promptly covered by warranty :) No fuss.

Yay!!! That's great news! :)

[midnightfxgt]

I disagree...if they are not meant to be open in "subzero temperatures" it should say as such in the user manual...as it was OP did not open it in "subzero temperatures" as we did not experience anything close to subzero temperatures on the weekend...subzero refers to temperatures below 0*Fahrenheit which is approximately -18*c.

Fine... below zero temps, better?

The manual also does not state you shouldnt wedge a 2x4 in the track and try to close it. That will also break it. If the user opened/closed it, I would agree. It is the fact that it was open for hours and had ice build up on the tracks while open. The ice buildup was not a defect.

Glad it was covered, like I said, I figured it would be.

[FoXy]

Good thing you are still under warrenty or that would have sucked.

[geobur]

Fine... below zero temps, better?

The manual also does not state you shouldnt wedge a 2x4 in the track and try to close it. That will also break it. If the user opened/closed it, I would agree. It is the fact that it was open for hours and had ice build up on the tracks while open. The ice buildup was not a defect.

Glad it was covered, like I said, I figured it would be.

I get your point, but it wasn't open it was only tilted...it the window isn't designed to be able to withstand a little bit of ice/or snow buildup (as it would not have been that much with just the window on tilt for a couple hours and it would have been downward pressure on the tempered glass on only two corners) that to me is a design flaw. I left mine open on the weekend as well but luckily had no problems even thought it had snowed a fair bit. That being said if there was a ton of ice on my hinges when I came out I wouldn't have tried to close it.

[markow202]

I should hope so...good to hear, glad everything got sorted out without any problems! and on that note :welcome smiley

Thanks man! :)

[markow202]

I get your point, but it wasn't open it was only tilted...it the window isn't designed to be able to withstand a little bit of ice/or snow buildup (as it would not have been that much with just the window on tilt for a couple hours and it would have been downward pressure on the tempered glass on only two corners) that to me is a design flaw. I left mine open on the weekend as well but luckily had no problems even thought it had snowed a fair bit. That being said if there was a ton of ice on my hinges when I came out I wouldn't have tried to close it.


I agree - and when it was closing it didnt struggle at all. Once it got fully shut is when it went bang. You live and learn. As for the ice, the seal anyways around the sunroof isnt the best, I had it leak slightly in a touchless wash once although ill forgive that as the pressure is immense in those things and it does however push alot of water into the seal area it seems.

Once the new one is in im guessing it should be good (summer use only from now on!) hopefully doesnt blow up again like some reports. Doesnt look like anyone on the forum here had this issue though

[Jackal]

I wonder if this is an issue with that year or a one off. We'll find out if people start posting about it or as you say there are some reports. People should try this while it's still under warranty and not while driving.

[r4mi5awi]

You should look into that seal issue. Although I own a 2012, been through many touchlessv washes and never had any leaks. Not that I noticed. Hopefully the replacement will fix it as well.

[Booter22]

I disagree...if they are not meant to be open in "subzero temperatures" it should say as such in the user manual...as it was OP did not open it in "subzero temperatures" as we did not experience anything close to subzero temperatures on the weekend...subzero refers to temperatures below 0*Fahrenheit which is approximately -18*c.

you mean people actually read the manual..? i dont think so...

what it sounds like happened. just a guess. maybe a rock hit it. could have been rather big and chiped it in a spot. and when the roof was closed and the cabin pressure increase the weakest spot of the glass let go. a bit out there? maybe but my windsheild went that way. got a rock chip that hit it. small chip. as soon as i got out closed the door the cabin pressure case the glass to crack about 8 inches.

but rest assured. this is the first 3 i have seen with a roof every shattering. think it was just a 1 off with random circumstances that are "unknown"

[silverstarmazda]

i read the manual :(

[Stathakos]

My buddies 2011 genpu sedan did this, he didn't even open it or anything it just randomly exploded. My theory is just the expanding and contracting of the roof probably put too much pressure on the glass. Maybe there isn't enough gap to allow contracting in expanding between the roof and the sunroof

[r4mi5awi]

I'm starting to wonder how high OP had his heat on. Blasting it on max or high enough, then turning off the car in combination with rapidly dropping outdoor temperatures when parked maybe, just maybe might've been the culprit. Haha I doubt it, since everybody does this lol

But still...

/mystery

#sherlockmattlockcolomboaintgotnothingonme :p

[Wisecraker]

Brought the car to the dealer this morning and without fuss will be promptly covered by warranty :) No fuss.

That's great to hear!

[geobur]

I'm starting to wonder how high OP had his heat on. Blasting it on max or high enough, then turning off the car in combination with rapidly dropping outdoor temperatures when parked maybe, just maybe might've been the culprit. Haha I doubt it, since everybody does this lol

But still...

/mystery

#sherlockmattlockcolomboaintgotnothingonme :p

lol! Possibly although I do this too :/ and was actually wondering about the same thing earlier this morning...now I keep looking up at my sunroof half expecting it to explode in my face :P

(I know, I know...that's what she said)
figured I would get that out of the way in case Loki was lurking around here :P

[markow202]

Heat wasnt blasting as the car was cold and as soon as I turned it on I hit the button to close the tilted roof and as it got to the close position is when it went PANG!

[r4mi5awi]

Heat wasnt blasting as the car was cold and as soon as I turned it on I hit the button to close the tilted roof and as it got to the close position is when it went PANG!

Prior to parking it, not returning back to your car.