On May 19, 2025 I was driving down the highway at approximately 70mph and experienced a loud explosion sound and my panoramic sunroof exploded. I did have the sunshade closed so I was not hit with any debris. I did swerve and narrowly avoided an accident. There were no warnings before this happened. I was not passing under any bridges or immediately behind any vehicles (there were vehicles to the side and behind me). I took the automobile to the Kia dealership and they filed a claim with Kia Consumer Affairs and a representative came out and told them they needed to file with Kia Tech Line. They did that weeks ago, to no response. The dealership actually called me today and told me to try to contact Kia Consumer affairs ourselves to see if they would respond to us. I did see that there have been reports of this previously and class-action lawsuits for this issue. The Kia dealership guy said they had a customer that this had also happened to and when we went to get a rental car Enterprise told us that they also had a customer with a Kia in the last two weeks that had the same thing happen to them. My Kia is still at the dealership and is available for inspection as it has not been repaired yet because they were waiting for Kia.
2020 Kia Sportage: sunroof shattered
5 of the 169 complaints about the 2020 Kia Sportage describe sunroof shattered.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 3%
- recalls
- 0
Sunroof shattered by model year
What owners say
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the contact heard a loud popping sound, and the sunroof glass shattered. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.
On August 22, 2023, without warning the panoramic sunroof of our 2020 Kia Sportage exploded. There was a loud bang, and glass flew into and out of the vehicle. Most of the glass was expelled from the vehicle upon the sunroof exploding. The edges of the glass that remained point upward, indicating an outward force. Thankfully, the cloth sunscreen on the underside of the roof was closed and kept the remaining debris from falling further into the vehicle. My husband and I were in the front of the vehicle looking out the windshield at the time of the incident and did not see any object come in contact with the roof that could have reasonably caused such a large explosion. Our concerns are twofold. First, the sunroof exploded. It would seem that the sunroof should be made of the same type of laminated tempered glass as a windscreen, which does not shatter - even if the glass is cracked by some object. Again, we did not see any external force impact the sunroof such that it should have completely shattered. Second, the glass shards that were left behind were relatively large pieces (1"x2" to 1"x3"). Had the sunscreen not been closed, my husband and I could have sustained serious bodily injury. Additionally, the shock and noise associated with the explosion significantly impacted safe driving, which was along a major interstate with moderate traffic.
On the evening of Saturday, August 5, while driving to dinner with my wife, an unexpected and startling incident occurred with my 2020 Kia Sportage. The sunroof of my vehicle suddenly exploded with a sound resembling a gunshot. There were no apparent signs of debris or any external force from another vehicle that could have caused the glass to shatter. This incident was both unexpected and concerning, highlighting a safety issue that requires investigation and potential resolution by the manufacturer or authorized service center.
I was driving on the highway on a clear day with no cars around me when my sunroof exploded. The glass was defect and the manufacture isn't trying to accept responsibility. The dealership will not confirm how the denial was determined nor will they produce a formal denial letter. The biggest issue in my opinion is I don't even think kia looked at the photos because when I asked the dealership for them (because it's needed for a claim with kia consumer affairs) I was told they didn't have them. When I asked the body shop how they provided them to the dealership I was told by text. I opened a case with kia consumer affairs but they have yet to reach out to me and the case has been open for 34 days now. I was told by a different dealership they kia consumer affairs usually takes 3days to reach out.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (CS2312)
- Customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (CS2312)
- Owner notification (CS2312)
- Panoramic sunroof inoperative and/or abnormal noise when operating
- Information for headlamp condensation and moisture
- This Pitstop provides information to diagnose common areas of concern related to wind noise on some...
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2020 Kia Sportage sunroof shattered
Is sunroof shattered a common problem on the 2020 Kia Sportage?
5 of 169 owner complaints about the 2020 Kia Sportage (3%) mention sunroof shattered. The model year with the most reports is 2024.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2020 Kia Sportage?
There are 0 recalls and 7 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2020 Kia Sportage
Engine failure 37Oil consumption 32Check engine light 23Fire or smoke 16Knocking 15Stalling 14Loss of power 10Won't shift 6
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