2015 Kia Sorento: sunroof shattered

Filed Dec 9, 2024 · WA

Problem: exploding panoramic sunroof in KIA Sorento 2015 I was driving on a smooth, paved two-lane road in a rural area. No cars were nearby (thankfully). car Internal temp: 64. outside external temp: 64 (I specifically made note of this because I thought a temperature differential could explain the explosion, but my car has a digital readout of both temperatures, and they matched exactly.) Sunroof was closed at the time, and I was not trying to open/close it. When the sunroof exploded, I heard a deafening, "exploding" sound. Initially, I thought my car had been shot by a bullet, based on the sound. The loud noise caused me to swerve and quickly brake. Fortunately, there were no vehicles nearby with which I could collide due to my erratic reaction. I pulled to the side of the road and got out to look. Initially, I did not see any damage, but eventually, I climbed onto my seat and saw my sunroof had exploded up and outwards (indicating nothing had entered the car from the outside). Photo available. I was on a road which bisects two agricultural fields (no nearby objects could have fallen or been thrown on my sunroof to cause damage.) The cause remains unknown, but I can rule out foreign objects hitting my car and temperature differential. I drove the car to the KIA dealer and left it there for a week to have it repaired by KIA representatives. Repair invoice available. No other representatives inspected the car. There was no warning of anything - no lights, no message, no bell, just a sudden, incredibly loud noise. My canvas sun shield was closed at the time, and this prevented glass from making contact with my body, but there was a great deal of glass on the top of the sun shield.

Filed Apr 28, 2020 · 62,553 miles · SC

I was driving on a rural highway, on a saturday morning, sun shining and a brisk 70 degrees, when I heard what I thought was a gunshot and my ears ringing from the sound. My sunroof started shattering and then raining glass down into my car. I thought maybe something had hit my car and stopped as soon as safe. Needless to say I was scared to death. I immediately took my car to the kia dealership because my roof was blown open. I called the insurance company to make a claim and they will fix my sunroof. I then saw online that this was an issue with a kia sorento and just want people to know that this exploding sunroof is happening and it is scary and dangerous!

Filed Oct 2, 2019 · 77,690 miles · MO

Sunroof exploded going down the highway.

Filed Sep 4, 2019 · Visibility · 41,000 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 kia sorento. While driving approximately 55-60 MPH, the sun roof shattered without warning. The contact took the vehicle to a state barracks to be inspected and was informed by the state trooper that there were no signs of road debris contact prior to the sun roof shattering. The vehicle was then taken to kia of dartmouth (located at 143 faunce corner rd, dartmouth, ma 02747, (508) 999-2542) to be inspected, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 41,000. Claim documents xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx attached. 'parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).'*jb *bf

Filed Aug 27, 2019 · 48,032 miles · AR

We were headed back from vacation , just got into the little town of province louisiana, and the moon roof just exploded ! There were no other cars around us no debris! We were driving about 50 MPH on a 2 lane highway.the noise was so loud it sounded like a shotgun went off in the car , we nearly ran off the road !

Filed Jun 25, 2015 · 12,000 miles · IL

Driving on mild summer day (~70). Lightly-packed cartop carrier affixed properly/safely to kia crossbars (installed by kia). Driving on interstate highway with "passing lane" traffic (about 75mph). Running AC at about 70 inside, with all windows up. Panoramic sunroof closed, with inner soft sunshade also closed. About three hours into five hour drive. Suddenly, without any visual warning (e.g., rock, shard), we hear an *explosion* sound from above, along with the sound of glass clanging everywhere and the rush of highway air. I quickly switch my hazards on, decelerate, and pull off the road as quickly as I can. I noticed that no neighboring vehicles as much as flinched during the incident, nor did anyone stop ... As if nothing appeared to have happened externally from their point of view. When we got out to investigate, we saw that the front major pane of the panoramic sunroof had completely shattered center-out, probably about 2sqft of glass missing. Notably, several edges around the newly-formed hole were upturned. Those are all the details I can remember. My very strong belief is that the sunroof exploded without any external debris involved. The position of the cartop carrier relative to the hole, my vehicle's position relative to other cars/trucks (not terribly close), the fact that I saw no object hurtling toward the vehicle prior to the incident, the fact that no object was found in between the roof and the inner sunshade, the fact that no other cars/trucks behind me reacted ... All the signs point to something simply being wrong with the vehicle.