While driving at about 35mph on my road I heard what sounded like a gunshot inside the cab and then discovered that my passenger side window literally exploded. This is a known issue and seems to be related to the rear window defrost. I called my local ford dealer and they said this is not something they will replace. I'm not alone with this issue, this is happening to many f150 owners and no one is doing anything about it!
2011 Ford F-150 visibility complaints
Page 3 of 6: complaints 41 to 70 of 147, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Issue: rear power slide window heated on the way to taking my son to school this morning I had my rear glass defrost on to help reduce the fog on the glass. About 5 minutes into our drive the panel of glass right behind his head shattered (rear window, passenger panel) with a very loud and scary boom. Upon pulling over and inspecting the glass both inside and out there was zero signs that anything had actually hit ht rear glass. It is still in the window and smooth in appearance from the outside, just cracked into a million small pieces. This is a major problem that ford and or their glass mfg. Need to own up one. This costs us, the owners $500+ every time we have to repair this issue and eventually a child sitting in the rear is going to get glass blasted into their head. Please help us and keep out children safe!! Thank you
Rear right 3 piece window shattered by having the defrost on.
Rear windows equipped with defroster and rear passenger side windows with slider windows shatter when the rear defrost button is used. My vehicle has the slider window and upon replacing at safelite glass they said they see this frequent on ford trucks and that to prevent is to either not hookup defrost when window is replaced or not use the rear defrost.
About 5 minutes after turning on the rear window heater, a large bang sound was heard and the passenger side rear window panel was shattered. Outside temperature was about 34f.
It was a cold morning and I switched on the rear window heat to clear the window. About 15 minutes later, as I was driving on the highway, there was a loud bang. It sounded like a gun had been discharged inside the vehicle. All dashboard indicators were in the normal range. As I left work later that day, I noticed that the passenger side of the rear window was completely shattered. All of the glass fragments had remained in the window frame. I believe that the window heat malfunctioned and caused the rear window to shatter. I researched the problem on the internet and found that this is a common problem with numerous complaints.
Rear window shatters after defroster goes out causing window to break apart and fall out. Rear window shattered while driving 65 on highway
Turned on the rear window defrost and the passenger side window shattered shortly thereafter while I was driving definitely a defect in the defrost mechanism
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford f-150. While driving 45 MPH, the rear passenger side window shattered. The contact stated that the rear defroster was activated prior to the failure occurring. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. Atchinson ford (9800 belleville road, belleville, mi 48111) informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The manufacturer was notified and confirmed what the dealer stated. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Tuned on my rear defroster and light did not come on. I pressed it a couple more times and nothing. About 10 minutes later when I was getting gas in my local city in alabama, it sounded like a gunshot went off. I look and the passenger side rear window panel has shattered. I did some research online and file hundreds of similar complaints due to a fault rear defroster. Ford is willing to do nothing about it, leaving customers with the expensive bill. This should be a safety issue.
My 2011 f150 rear window pane broke about 1 minute after turning on the rear defrost as I was driving down my street. This needs to be recalled as it is a very dangerous situation to have a window breaking directly over the rear seats. Kids and passengers are being put in a dangerous situation by entering the backseat. This is clearly a problem as others have stated. Ford and my extended warranty will not cover the window unless it is diagnosed, however I have contacted 5 dealerships who said they are unable to diagnose a problem like this. I can no longer have anyone ride in my truck in the backseat.
As I was driving down the highway to work at 4:45 am (and nobody else on the road), I pressed the rear defroster button to clear the frost from the windows and side view mirrors. It was about 30 degrees that morning. The defroster button did not light up. A few seconds later the light flickered. Immediately following, I heard a loud bang like a gunshot. When I got to work I noted the right side of my 3-piece rear window was in place but shattered. I believe the defrosting system or rear window to be faulty. I am currently waiting to hear back from ford's customer service to see if they're going to cover it. In the meantime, the window is barely in tact. The truck had 30,700 miles on it at the time of the incident. The dealership said they have never heard of this happening. However, I learned three of my coworkers had the same experience with trucks dated 2011, 2012, and 2014. Online research shows we are not the only ones. Come on ford own this problem!
It was 15 degrees outside. I used my electric start. Let the truck warm up for about 10 minutes. Went out to truck and opened the front driver door. I heard a loud noise from the back of the truck. I inspected the car and found that the back window had shattered. After doing some research online I discovered that lots of other owners are reporting this from a malfunction in the rear defrost. I was not driving and there was no other thing that could have caused my window to shatter. I live in the suburbs of minneapolis and my truck was parked in the driveway. I am just thankful this did not happen when driving down the road with my three boys. I believe ford needs to recall the rear window with slider with power defrost as this is a safety hazard.
While driving my 2011 f150 supercrew cab on a 30 degree evening, I turned on the rear defroster. Within a few minutes, a passenger in the back seat heard a crackling sound and then a loud pop, the passenger side of the 3 section rear window had shattered, within a few hours the glass from this window had started to fall out and enter into the cab, and onto the seats. This happened on 12/30/2016 at approximately 6pm, speed was about 35 MPH and no other traffic was on the road.
After auto starting my truck on the morning of december 14 2016. Upon departing my house, I heard a loud popping noise. However I was not able to verify where it came from until I arrived at my destination. I noticed a pattern on my sliding rear window on the drivers side. Upon further investigation I discovered the window was shattered all though it was still in one piece. While researching methods of repair I discovered that this has happened over 70 times.in previous complaints it has been said that this could possibly be attributed to faulty construction or an electrical system failure that could cause a fire. I feel this is a driving hazard for both driver and occupants due to the possibility of minute glass fragments getting in eyes and causing injury and possibly a fatal accident. Therefore I feel that an immediate recall is necessary. People have lodged complaints since 2010 until present. Injury would occur if the window was to blow out causing injury or accident to other vehicles or persons following mine or others vehicles (motorcyclist).
Rear sliding window exploded from electric defrosters could not see out of rear window the bang was so loud I lost control for a moment there was glass everywhere in the back seat ford refuses to even look at it and the extended coverage wont cover the repair I can use the defroster when having small children in the back seats when its cold for the fear of injury to the children this is a option the cost big $$$$ and cant be used when it cold and having my grandchildren in the back seats ford needs to step up on this one its not safe for many reasons I was driving on a highway and if the children were with me it could have been deadly.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford f-150. After the rear window defroster was activated, the passenger side of the rear window shattered. The contact noticed that the casing of the heating element and the shattered area of the window contained burn marks. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Rear window shattered when rear defrost was running. Defrost had been running for 10 minutes. Very loud pop while I was driving on the interstate.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford f-150. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the rear passenger side glass shattered without warning. In addition, the rear defroster was not operating correctly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was approximately 71,500.
Rear glass window on 2011 f150 with power slider- driver side back quarter glass shattered, while driving. Rear defroster was on. I have researched this issue and have seen many complaints reported online. I am glad my children weren't in the back seat at the time this happened and it stayed in the frame and did not blow out/into the rear vehicle passenger area
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford f-150. While driving approximately 5 MPH, the rear driver's window shattered without warning. The dealer stated that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The contact had the window replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000.
Warming my truck up to leave for work this morning. Turned on windshield defroster and rear window defroster to remove heavy dew. Rear defroster turned on for about 10 seconds and shut off by it self. While driving I noticed it had turned off, pushed the button again and it did not turn on. About 2 minutes later I heard a loud "pop" and looked in my rear view mirror to see that the right rear window had shattered.
After rear defrost was activated while driving to work in the morning there was a very loud bang and the drivers side rear window broke and spidered. This occurred on april 15 2016. Temp was about 35 deg f. Note rear window was replaced once already in 2013 for the rear defrost not working.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford f-150. While the vehicle was in reverse, the contact turned on the defrost and the rear window shattered. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford f-150. After the rear defroster was activated, the rear windshield shattered without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 42,000. The VIN was not available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford f-150. While reversing, the rear window shattered. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000. Updated 05/18/16*lj updated 06/09/16.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford f-150. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the rear passenger side glass shattered outwardly. The failure occurred without any impact to the vehicle. The rear driver and passenger side seats were occupied; however, there were no injuries. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 54,000. Updated 06/14/16
Rear window shattering due to rear defrost temp in the 30's, started my truck, turned on the front & rear defrost for a few minutes before leaving the driveway. Heard a loud pop from behind me. My drivers side rear window was shattered. I immediately turned off the defrost, and turned off my car. Good thing I hadn't put my child in the car seat before the defroster caused the glass to shatter. I never put the vehicle in gear, stayed stationary.
Rear passenger window shattered after turning on rear window defrost.
On march 24, 2016 I started my vehicle and activated rear defrost as there had been some light snow build up. Within a few moments I was traveling down the road at approx 45 MPH. About two minutes later I heard a loud bang that sounded like a gun shot. This was a bit startling and my reaction immediately caused me to swerve into the adjacent lane of traffic. I quickly pulled to the side of the road and noticed that the right rear window had shattered. The slider and left side did not break, only the right. This could have turned out much worse had there been a vehicle driving next to me at the time. Very scary experience and potentially very dangerous.
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