2016 Honda Pilot: sunroof shattered

Filed Apr 5, 2023 · Visibility · SC

My sunroof glass spontaneously exploded. It was not hit by an object nor were temperatures extreme. Had my inside sunroof visor not been closed, the broken glass would’ve fallen on the vehicle occupants causing injury. I received a minor glass cut will taping the glass so that the vehicle could be driven home. The issue has been reported to insurance but no inspections have yet been made nor were police reports filed. There were no warning signs prior to the glass explosion, just a loud pop as the glass began popping up and cracking. I watched it happen from outside the car. Little pieces popped up onto the roof, then a wave went through the glass, portions fell into the sunroof, and then cracks ran though the entire pane. After researching, I learned this is a known glass defect issue with certain makes and models. I am fortunate that I had just parked; if I had been driving, the glass could’ve fallen into the car inurying occupants or could’ve flown off the car and hit other cars or pedestrians.

Filed Nov 17, 2020 · Visibility · 85,000 miles · CA

While driving along the highway, sunroof exploded. Small pieces of glass pieces went flying everywhere.

Filed Jun 3, 2020 · Visibility · 92,000 miles · PA

Moonroof shattered from the center of the moonroof while driving on pennsylvania turnpike on work commute at approximately 10 a.m. 06/03/2020. This was approaching the willow rove exit and vehicle was already beginning to slow as the off ramp was coming up in a mile. Nothing hit the vehicle that could be determined.

Filed Dec 22, 2019 · 49,000 miles · TX

Moonroof exploded while driving at highway speeds. There were no signs of wear and there were no chips. There was a loud pop and glass started falling down from the moonroof. We were lucky not to have gotten hurt. My children had glass all over their car seats.

Filed Jul 7, 2019 · 21,000 miles · NY

My sunroof glass shattered today while waiting to exit a parking lot. The sunshade was closed so no glass shards fell into the car. We were moving at or under 5mph on level ground. The temperature was in the high 80s with clear skies and bright sun here in rockland county ny, today july 7th 2019. The glass was not struck by a stone or debris, this was most likely a defect in the glass.

Filed Jun 6, 2019 · 35,000 miles · PA

A few weeks ago my 2016 honda pilot sunroof shattered while I was driving on an open highway and there were no other cars around. Nothing hit the sunroof, but while I was driving I heard two loud pop sounds and looked up and the sunroof had shattered. I had to have it replaced at a honda dealer, and honda refused to reimburse me for it as they did not want accept the liability of a vehicle flaw. I am contacted honda customer care twice about this to find out what caused this and whether they thought there is a risk for this happening again, and they said they couldn't offer any insight on this. I am concerned from a safety standpoint as I want to make sure this doesn't happen again and hurt one of my children. This vehicle flaw could have LED to serious injury. I did a simple google search of the problem and found several articles on this topic (such as this one: https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/exploding-sunroof-cases-head-to-court/) . While this is not a high percentage problem, I am not alone in having experienced it, and I am completely certain that it was not struck by any object. This quite simply was a failure of the equipment, and it could have resulted in serious injury either from the debris falling from the sunroof if I had the cover open, and/or from an accident had I swerved from the shock of the noise or debris and there were other cars nearby.

Filed Oct 25, 2018 · 4,250 miles · CA

Sunroof exploded outward on the highway

Filed Jun 14, 2018 · 26,500 miles · UT

My wife was driving down the freeway at 70 MPH and heard a big pop (sounded like a gun shot). The weather conditions were perfect and the road itself is very smooth. So my wife pulled over and saw that her sun roof had exploded. So I asked if anything hit the sunroof and she said no. So I looked at the sun roof when she got home and it was shattered from corner to corner. No way a rock or flying debris could cause that. Luckily the sunroof cover was closed, so she did not get hit with shards of glass. I took the car into my local honda dealer and told them what happened. They agreed that it would be difficult to cause that kind of damage to the sun roof with a rock. Unfortunately, it was not covered under the "warranty" and I had to pay for the new window which was close to $700.

Filed Feb 20, 2018 · 27,550 miles · TN

Sunroof spontaneously shattered while being driven on the interstate. Was not hit by any moving object.

Filed Jul 17, 2017 · 10,000 miles · CA

Sunroof shattered while closed upon getting on the highway, not hit by any object.

Filed Sep 24, 2016 · Visibility · 21,000 miles · WA

While driving 65 MPH on the highway a sudden loud bang occurred which sounded exactly like a gunshot going off and glass showered down on my head. Startled, I swerved on the highway, but luckily did not hit any other vehicles. I pulled off the freeway and found that my sunroof had exploded with no outside influence. It was shattered and the glass was blow out in an upward fashion, as if it had happened from the inside of the vehicle. I immediately took the vehicle to the local honda dealership and they stated that it was not from an outside source. I was given a loaner car and the dealership said they would take care of it, but this happened 9/23/2016 and it is yet to be seen if I will need to front any money out of my pocket.

Filed Jan 26, 2016 · Body · 2,800 miles · NY

While driving straight on a highway, I heard a loud noise from the top of my car. The sunroof glass had spontaneously shattered. When I looked through my rear view mirror I could see some pieces flying. Thankfully, the car behind me was far away enough that they were not hit by these glass pieces and also had my interior slider closed. A serious accident could have occurred if both my slider wasn't closed and/or the car behind me was close to me. I've had the car for less than 3 months, I contacted honda and advised them of the incident and brought it in to their service department. They claimed to have never heard of anything like this happening before. They have ordered a replacement glass for my sunroof. I'm still waiting for it come in. I also went online and researched sunroofs breaking out of nowhere and did come across many other similar complaints. It seems that it may be happening more frequently with newer vehicles because they are built lighter with thinner metals and thinner glass. The glass used on sunroofs more commonly is tempered glass, not laminated glass. Tempered glass is more prone to shattering when pressure builds up inside the car. When I spoke to honda corporate and the dealer, neither one could tell me what kind of glass was on the sunroof because they didn't know. I hope this matter can be further looked into. I hope it doesn't happen again. This was a very frightening experience that could have very easily been worse.