On March 17, 2026, the sunroof of our Hyundai Sante Fe 2021 exploded. The driver and two passengers were not hurt because the sunroof was closed and the liner in place when the explosion took place. The incident occurred on an open country highway on a sunny afternoon with no other vehicles or flying objects sighted.
2021 Hyundai Santa Fe: sunroof shattered
6 of the 170 complaints about the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe describe sunroof shattered.
- owner complaints
- 6
- of this car's complaints
- 4%
- recalls
- 0
Sunroof shattered by model year
What owners say
Driving down the interstate to work at around 70 MPH at approximately 6:40 AM and the front sunroof exploded upwards. Nothing of impact, just a loud explosion and glass blew upwards. The broken glass is positioned upward. The cover of the sunroof was closed and it was not currently in use. Otherwise, glass could have shattered all over me, causing a wreck. I am an [XXX] veteran, the explosion itself set off my anxiety, but thankfully, I was able to pull the car over without incident. I took pictures of the sunroof and I was able to drive slowly down a smaller highway to the dealership, Mac Grubbs Hyundai in Hattiesburg, MS, where I dropped the car off for repairs. I contacted my insurance company and they picked me up in a rental care from the dealership. There was no warning light, not leaks, or cracks in the sunroof prior to the incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The panoramic sunroof which is made of tempered glass is a large piece above the back passenger. There is also a small piece above the windshield. The sunroof sits in between these two pieces (not made of tempered glass). I noticed a crackling sound driving my daughter to day care on Friday August 11. I couldn’t figure out what it was. The next day I was on the highway, my husband driving our car and my toddler in the back when there was a loud pop like a gunshot. We pulled over assessed the car and realized the panoramic roof was shattering. We drove it home and realized the front piece above the windshield was also shattering and there was no impact. I googled this and apparently it’s happening to a lot of people and the dealerships aren’t helping saying it’s not a manufacture defect when in fact it is. There was no impact that caused this. Anyone else would have lost control of the car and crashed hearing that loud pop or if the shade was open we could have had glass showering down on us. This is unacceptable if anyone would have mentioned this would happen I would have never bought this vehicle. I filed a claim and State Farm paid the claim to have it replaced but this car is only 2 years old and it should be under warranty and this is a definite defect. Please google panoramic roof shattering and see what comes up. I don’t think enough people have reported this although some people have commented that they have so I’m not sure if this is currently under investigation. If not please help
Front sunroof shattered on the interstate at 80 mph. There were no other vehicles near me and it was an unobstructed road (no bridges crossing the road) temperature was 40 degrees and sunny.
While backing out of our garage, the “eyebrow” glass portion of the panoramic sunroof shattered. Nothing struck the glass. Our insurance is paying for the repair and rental car for a week. Hyundai will not cover the glass damage under the warranty. Online searches indicate that Hyundai has a lengthy history of faulty panoramic sunroofs.
While driving on the interstate where no other vehicles were within eye view and no overpasses my sunroof glass exploded. It sounded like a gunshot and it wasn’t until I heard the glass rattling above my head that I realized where it was coming from. Luckily I had the cover closed so majority of the glass was caught by that. The incredibly loud noise startled me tremendously and could caused a collision because of my focus being taken away from the road. The shattered glass was in my lap, on my hand, in my hair ect. causing small cuts with the potential to cause serious harm had the cover not been closed. No, it has been several weeks almost a month and the dealer is requiring confirmation from corporate case management before it can be assessed. Corporate has been “escalating” my case yet a caseworker was not assigned my case this whole time and once a caseworker was finally assigned on 7/8 I had yet to hear from them so I attempted to call on 7/11 and was given a further run around. I am riding around with a plastic bag and tape fastened to my car to hopefully prevent water damage from occurring going on a month now. The bags are so loud when driving that they prevent me from being able to hear what’s going on with my surroundings on the roadway which is unsafe No.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe sunroof shattered
Is sunroof shattered a common problem on the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe?
6 of 170 owner complaints about the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe (4%) mention sunroof shattered. The model year with the most reports is 2013.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe?
There are 0 recalls and 2 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe
Check engine light 20Stalling 14Loss of power 13Hesitation 10Transmission failure 7Adaptive cruise 6Backup camera 5
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