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.
BMW 328I sunroof shattered problems
21 of the 2,584 owner complaints about the BMW 328I describe sunroof shattered, most of them for the 2011 model year.
- owner complaints
- 21
- worst model year
- 2011
- typical mileage
- 55,000
By model year
What owners say
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.
The sunroof in my car exploded yesterday morning as I was driving in clear weather on the open freeway. There were no other vehicles or other obstacles near the car when the incident occurred; nothing to "throw up" a rock onto the car and cause the damage as BMW says occurs often in situations like this. When the sunroof blew out, it sounded like a gun went off in my car, My dad and I were was showered with glass, and the impact was so strong it made a dent on the roof of my car.
The sunroof of my 2014 BMW 328i sedan exploded while driving on a highway at 75mph. The explosion sounded like a gunshot or a truck tire exploding. Thankfully I kept control of the car and the pull shield was closed preventing a majority of the glass from raining down on me and my passenger. We did pull over to the side of the highway were a witness described the glass as exploding up and sliding down the back of the car. Glass was found in the trunk crevasse of the car and inside the vehicle. Next, we proceeded to a safe location off the freeway and found the sunroof glass to have a hole in the center. The remaining glass was protruding upwards in a convex shape. To note, I did not have cars in front me during the explosion so no direct impact from a rock or other debris. My dealership has the car for inspection and repair. A claim with my insurance has been submitted. My car had a comprehensive service in May of 2022.
Sunroof exploded while driving on the highway
- 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.
While driving on the highway, a loud bang was heard and broken glass was seen falling over the rear windshield. After pulling over, it was found that the sunroof had exploded, with a large hole in the middle and glass around it protruding upwards.
I was entering the highway at 65mph, there were no cars in front or behind me and no bridges above me, once I got to around 70mph my sunroof exploded outwards with extreme force for no reason, I could not find a rock or gravel and I do not believe glass will shatter outwards when broken from the outside.
My closed electric sunroof exploded at 70 MPH. No one near me, not driving under anything. Sounded like an explosion, glass from the center rained down on me and the remaining glass is pushed out, not in
My moonroof spontaneously exploded today (around 5:40pm). I was driving open road (city, about 30-35mph) and there was no evidence of a rock or other foreign body other than glass in my cabin. The edges of the remaining glass of the moonroof tilted upwards. The noise and glass surprised me and I drifted into the median briefly before calming down/regaining control.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the BMW 328I sunroof shattered
Which BMW 328I years have sunroof shattered problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2011 (5 complaints), 2015 (5 complaints) and 2014 (4 complaints).
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