On XXX, while driving my 2024 Kia Sportage X-Pro Prestige on [XXX] after exiting XXX, traveling west toward [XXX], the panoramic moonroof glass suddenly shattered without warning. It sounded like a gunshot going off very loudly inside the vehicle and badly startled both me and my service dog. The glass had no known prior damage, nothing had been placed on it, and I did not see or hear anything strike it. I pulled over and found the panoramic glass extensively shattered, with thousands of small fragments and areas of glass missing. I saw no evidence of an external impact. I received a superficial cut to my finger from a glass fragment; no medical attention was required. The interior sunshade was closed and prevented the shattered glass above it from falling directly onto me and my service dog. Glass fragments were still found inside the vehicle after the repair was completed. Multiple photographs document the extensive damage. The moonroof was repaired through insurance, but no cause for the sudden glass failure was identified. Kia America opened Case #XXX, escalated the matter for additional review, and requested post-incident photographs and incident details, which I provided. Kia later stated it had completed its review, cited factory-warranty glass coverage and the absence of applicable campaigns, and declined further assistance. I was not provided with a diagnosed cause for the glass failure. This vehicle also has a separate recurring safety concern involving unexpected engine shutdowns while driving or in traffic, including a shutdown at approximately 60 mph the following day, May 10. Those incidents were reported separately to the federal safety agency under Complaint #XXX. I am not asserting that the glass failure and shutdowns have the same cause. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Kia Sportage sunroof shattered problems
82 of the 4,730 owner complaints about the Kia Sportage describe sunroof shattered, most of them for the 2024 model year.
- owner complaints
- 82
- worst model year
- 2024
- typical mileage
- 30,000
By model year
Often reported together
Windshield crack 2Tire blowout 2Warning lights 1Loss of power 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2024 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the glass panel between the windshield and the panoramic sunroof exploded, causing glass to fall into the vehicle. The dealer was contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 44,800.
I own a 2023 Kia Sportage Pro While driving to work, I heard an explosive sound that sounded like a gunshot on the top of my vehicle. I pulled over to see that my sunroof had exploded. I checked for any objects that may have hit it, and the only thing that was in the top of the roof was glass. Thankfully, my cover was closed on my sunroof for a glass would have been all over causing possible injury.
I am reporting two separate safety-related failures on this low-mileage vehicle. The first occurred at 2,431 miles while driving on the highway. The vehicle suddenly lost propulsion and coasted with no throttle response, and multiple warning lights and messages appeared simultaneously, including braking, electronic parking brake, and driver-assistance warnings. A sudden, unexpected loss of power at highway speed creates a serious crash risk, including rear-end collision, particularly with faster or following traffic. The vehicle was taken to an authorized Kia dealer on 3/9/26 and returned on 3/19/26 after wiring/connector-related work. The second failure occurred at 4,658 miles when the panoramic sunroof glass suddenly shattered while the vehicle was in motion. A spontaneous glass failure while driving is a safety hazard: had the interior sunshade been open, falling glass could have struck rear-seat passengers, and shattering glass while driving can cause driver distraction and loss of vehicle control, as well as a road hazard to surrounding vehicles. The vehicle was taken to the same authorized Kia dealer on 4/1/26 and remained there until 5/21/26. The sunroof was not repaired. The dealer's repair order states that it "cannot identify a specific outside object or cause" and that "no damage was found clearly identifying an external object as the cause," which is consistent with a spontaneous glass failure rather than external impact. Despite this, warranty assistance was denied on the basis that an outside impact "could not be ruled out." I am concerned these represent defects involving the panoramic sunroof glass and/or the vehicle's electrical and safety systems. Both failures occurred well under 5,000 miles and within months of each other. Across the two repair visits, the vehicle was out of service for approximately 60 total calendar days, including roughly 50 days for the sunroof issue, which remains unrepaired.
While driving on an open highway, my panoramic sunroof spontaneously exploded on [XXX] coming back from Prescott with me behind the wheel, my husband as a passenger, and my dog in the backseat. There was nobody driving in front, near, or behind me. I was not driving near an overpass. The incident sounded like an explosion or gunshot. My husband began to open the sunroof visor to investigate, and glass began dropping into the car. Once we could pull over safely, there was a large hole on my panoramic sunroof. My husband, dog, and I had tiny pieces of glass on us. I took my car to Kia, and they refused to acknowledge that anything, but a rock caused the problem. There are numerous news stories about this being a problem and also recalls for panoramic sunroofs from other dealers like Hyundai, who are made by the same manufacturer as Kia. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was driving to work and there was a sound like an explosion or a gun shot and then my sun roof was shattered.
Sunroof exploded while driving. No rocks or anything hit it. Glass is pointing upward.
Sunroof on the vehicle shattered without being struck by projectile or road debris. The area where we were driving had no other cars near us at the time of the incident. There was no sound of something hitting then shattering, it just exploded. Examination of the sunroof did not reveal any points of impact, research done online has shown multiple other Kia Sportage owners with the same issue. Spontaneous shattering of the panoramic sunroof.
I was driving and heard a loud pop like a gunshot and then the sound of glass breaking. When I inspected, the sunroof had just shattered for no reason. All the edges of the sunroof have a shatter line along them with no damage in the middle of the glass
Driving with no other cars around us and no debris anywhere and the moonroof suddenly shattered with a loud noise.
Related recalls
Structure: body: roof and pillars
- What is wrong
- Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Sportage and 2022-2024 Carnival vehicles. The roof molding may loosen and detach.
- Risk
- A detached roof molding can create a road hazard for other vehicles, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the roof molding and replace or secure it as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 15, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1‑800‑333‑4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC292.
Recall number 24V025000 · Recall details
Questions about the Kia Sportage sunroof shattered
Which Kia Sportage years have sunroof shattered problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2024 (14 complaints), 2023 (12 complaints) and 2017 (11 complaints).
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