2015 BMW 328I: sunroof shattered

Filed Feb 1, 2023 · MI

I was driving this evening and the panoramic sunroof suddenly and unexpectedly shattered. There was no warning or event that led to this. No pothole or external factor. The road was smooth and no other cars were around my vehicle. I heard an extremely loud "pop" and thought something had hit my vehicle. When I stopped to identify the problem, I exited my vehicle ad saw the panoramic sunroof glass was cracked and shattered, but had lifted up in a domed shape, or a bubble. The outside temperature was about 17 degrees. Fortunately I had the headliner in the closed position so no broken glass would have fallen into the cabin.

Filed Jan 26, 2023 · TX

I was driving on an interstate highway this afternoon in Houston at approximately 65 mph when the non-panoramic (single window) sunroof of my 2015 BMW 328i exploded over my head. Sounded like a gunshot. Large and small glass shards all throughout the cabin. No other vehicles within particularly close range of my car when it happened. No visible rock or other debris. No sound or vibration from any impact. Appeared to be spontaneous and not the result of rock or debris. Upon inspection from the outside, it appears clear that there was an outward explosion - pictures and video show the glass around the perimeter of the hole angled upward toward the sky. Glass of course showered into the cabin as well. Despite the dispersion of glass within the interior of the cabin, fortunately I did not suffer any cuts or other injury. But the incident was extremely dangerous. The explosion was very loud and could easily cause a driver to become distracted and/or lose control of the vehicle, especially if occurring under heavier traffic conditions. Obviously the risk of a cut and/or injury to the eyes is significant as well. I called a local BMW auto dealership to discuss the issue. The service advisor indicated that he has seen this happen a number of times with BMW vehicles but that BMW will not cover the cost of repair unless the vehicle is still under warranty. Thank you for your time and consideration of this incident.

Filed Nov 4, 2021 · TX

- As I was driving down the road, my sunroof exploded. There was a large popping sound like the release of pressurized air, and glass began falling down. I had the visor closed so it was able to catch most of it. When I was able to pull over, There was a large hole, nearly the size of the sunroof. The surrounding glass that remained was shattered. - My safety was in danger from the falling glass, and the distraction while driving down an interstate. - I cannot find any delaer or recall that can help me, although it seems to be a common problem. - It has been inspected by my insurace company. - There were no warnings.

Filed Oct 10, 2016 · Visibility · 16,000 miles · TX

Glass sunroof exploded while driving on the highway at about 80mph. Glass shattered and fell onto me (driver), the passenger seat, console, and back seat. There were no other cars around me at the time, and there was no debris on the road. It was a clear day, on a clear road. I was driving straight, on a smooth stretch of highway, no bumps on the road, and the road was clear. Tiny shard of glass caused a minor cut on palm of hand, otherwise no injuries to report.

Filed Jul 4, 2016 · 17,500 miles · MD

Sunroof exploded-2015 bmw 328i sedan-on friday, 6/24/16 around 8:15am, while traveling in wash, dc's rush hour traffic at 35-45mph on route 295n, a loud blast, like a bomb, suddenly jolted my car! Fearfully, I continued to steer the car looking for a safe place to pull over, which was approximately 150 feet beyond a curve in the road. I pulled over, my daughter and I were ok but bewildered when we saw a large gaping hole in the center of my sunroof! I immediately thought that we had been shot or a large object had hit us. Glass chips began falling on us. Still in shock, it took me a few minutes to realize that I should close the sunshade! Not knowing what happened, we were too scared to exit the car, so my daughter called 911 and I pressed my sos button for assistance. We simultaneously were trying to explain the situation to the receivers of our calls. A dc police officer arrived and quickly accessed the incident. He'd witnessed the same on a few other makes of cars. He assured us that based on the outward protrusion of the remaining glass, the impact was from within, it had exploded, not imploded. There was no indication of a shot or object of any size hitting the car. There were a few pieces of various sized shattered glass on the backseat, where my grandson's car seat caddy was. The officer eventually convinced me it was safe to drive to my dealer and I did so. When I arrived at the bmw dealer, the service mgr. Immediately acknowledged to me and gathering coworkers, of seeing previous sunroof explosions. However, in two follow-up calls he stated that bmw would not cover (pay). The 2nd call, after following up with his manager per my request, he stated that [it] could only shatter if something hit an existing crack...the same with the previous sunroofs incidents he had seen. I did not have a crack in my sunroof previous to this incident!