Driving down the interstate and the sunroof exploded. It was closed.
Honda Passport sunroof shattered problems
20 of the 1,700 owner complaints about the Honda Passport describe sunroof shattered, most of them for the 2019 model year.
- owner complaints
- 20
- worst model year
- 2019
- typical mileage
- 4,085
By model year
What owners say
Tempered glass sunroof shattered out of nowhere
On XXX on XXX in [XXX] my wife and I were driving on a clear day at about 55 MPH and we heard an explosion like a gunshot. We quickly realized that our sunroof had exploded above our heads. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a car behind me swerve to avoid the glass shards that had flown out of our car. We pulled off the highway and tried as best as we could to clean up the glass and we had to drive slowly home. We had some scratches but that is all. The car is still under warranty and Honda refused to replace the sunroof. Treated poorly by the dealer. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The sunroof spontaneously shattered while I was driving approximately 75 mph on M-113. The roof was tilted open. There was no vehicle immediately around me, no truck, no apparent road debris or impact, and the weather was dry and approximately 58°F. The glass shattered into the passenger compartment and onto me.
I just bought the brand new vehicle about a month and a half ago. Went on a vacation in [XXX] National [XXX]. I was cruising along XXX in [XXX], smooth highway, no one near me, great weather, and all of a sudden, there was a huge boom sound so loud, and glass fell down on me, I looked up and my sunroof had exploded and shattered, while the shade was open. I never saw any vehicle near me or bad weather or problem. Just cruising speed on an open highway. I read online and have been told this is a known occurrence with sunroofs in Honda Passports, and have researched online seeing it happen to others. I pulled over and called my Honda dealership. The recommended a crash wrap and to close the shade. I couldn't get it wrapped until I got home to [XXX], and my dealer did that. The shattering occurred on XXX about noon. It was scary, and I had glass in my hair, lap, and all around me in the car. No issues prior that I was aware of. I was looking straight ahead on the open highway when this occurred. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The sunroof shattered without any impact issue, while we were driving down the road at approximately 65 MPH. If the sunshade had not been closed the driver and two passengers would have been showered in glass risking serious injury. The driver would have been challenged to maintain control risking serious injury to those in his vehicle and others on a busy highway. High Risk incident. I'm from Iowa and purchased the vehicle in Des Moines. The sunroof failed in just north of Greeley Colorado, and I had to have the repairs completed in Greeley, at the Honda dealer. The dealer claims that "glass is not a warranty item" unless I can prove a defect existed. Well, the sunroof essentially exploded and there's not much left to be able to prove the defect. My dealer in Des Moines would have supported a warranty claim. No one other than the Honda dealership in Greeley Colorado has inspected the damaged parts. There was absolutely no warning that the sunroof was about to fail catastrophically. We were driving at ~65 MPH in hot weather ~95 degrees, when a sudden heavy rain shower occurred, along with a corresponding sudden drop in temperature; 15-20 degrees, and we heard a very loud bang on the sunroof, like a baseball bat hitting the roof, and then we could hear glass shards on top of the sunshade. I pulled off the road and examined to sunroof to see that it was completely shattered or exploded. Fortunately, the rain stopped as suddenly as it started, and we located a Honda dealer in Greely and had them make repairs as the vehicle was not drivable with the sunroof shattered. Initial price quoted was $1,218 and the final price a week and a half later was $4,101. Honda denied my warranty claim, and insurance denied claim since there was no hail.
Sunroof while driving exploded - the boom was extremely scary
While driving on the freeway, somewhere between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, the sunroof spontaneously exploded. Thankfully, the sunroof liner had been closed so no glass entered the cabin. Had the sunroof liner been opened, shattered glass would have sprayed the entire cabin, driver, and passenger.
My sunroof glass randomly exploded! Yes, my safety and others safety was threatened! Glass shards would have hit my face had my sunshade not been closed! Glass shards flew off the back of my vehicles and there was another vehicle driving in the same lane behind me. The road was smooth and there were no potholes present. My car was driving smoothly, no warnings of any sort alerted me to any issues. As I was driving, I suddenly heard a VERY LOUD “pow!” kind of noise from the top of my car. It was incredibly loud, and sounded like a gunshot or a firework on the roof of my vehicle. I was able to pull over to inspect my car, and I immediately saw the damage to my sunroof. The rest of my car stayed perfectly intact, and there was no rock present, no foreign debris, and no mark on my interior sliding sunshade (indicating nothing hit my sunroof glass to shatter it). My interior sliding sunshade was closed at the time this incident occurred, as I am positive I would have experienced an injury to my face had it been open! The explosion from my glass was violent, as it did not simply crack my glass, but instead it blew up leaving shards of glass on top of the interior sliding sunshade – those shards would have hit my face and body when the explosion happened. I have photos of the damage and I also have two dash cams in my car – one of the cams records video footage of the front view of my vehicle, and the other camera records video footage of the back view from my vehicle. The video footage I have recorded also supports my claim fully, and demonstrates that no objects were “kicked up” and hit my car, and the back view shows the shards of glass flying off of my car during the explosion. You can also hear the loud “POP!” in the video footage I have, and it is very clear when this happened. A certified Honda dealership has my car at their shop right now. Honda Corporate has been slow to respond and they are falsely claiming they have never heard of this happening!
While driving the sunroof exploded for no apparent reason. Honda dealer said that it was not their problem and not covered under warranty.
Related recalls
Structure: frame and members
- What is wrong
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2026 Pilot and Passport vehicles. The rear subframe bolts may have been tightened improperly.
- Risk
- Loose rear subframe bolts can lead to a loss of vehicle stability or rear subframe detachment, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the rear subframe bolts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 24, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Honda's number for this recall is OOY. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on beginning July 10, 2026.
Recall number 26V424000 · Recall details
Structure: body
- What is wrong
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Pilot and 2019 Passport vehicles. The front frame left and right side upper members may not have been welded completely to the unibody. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 208, "Occupant Crash Protection" and 219, "Windshield Zone Intrusion."
- Risk
- In the event of a crash, incomplete body welding may provide inadequate protection to occupants, increasing the risk of an injury.
- Remedy
- Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle for missing welds, free of charge. If the vehicle is identified as missing welds, the dealer will offer to repurchase the vehicle or provide a similar replacement vehicle. Owner notification began November 6 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Honda's number for this recall is X6J.
Recall number 19V784000 · Recall details
Questions about the Honda Passport sunroof shattered
Which Honda Passport years have sunroof shattered problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2019 (7 complaints), 2026 (5 complaints) and 2022 (2 complaints).
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used Honda Passport?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history