2016 Lexus ES350 with the 2nd row sunroof. While driving the car the front sunroof shattered without cause, sending glass pieces into the cabin creating a very dangerous situation. This appears to be a problem that has happened many times before as there are many people that have talked about this issue. Lexus denied fault.
Lexus ES350 sunroof shattered problems
21 of the 1,451 owner complaints about the Lexus ES350 describe sunroof shattered, most of them for the 2013 model year.
- owner complaints
- 21
- worst model year
- 2013
- typical mileage
- 36,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
What owners say
The contact owns a 2017 Lexus ES350. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the sunroof exploded without warning. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed but not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 31,200.
The contact owns a 2013 Lexus ES350. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the contact heard a loud gunshot like sound and the sunroof shattered into pieces. The contact stated that small fragments of glass fell all over him due to the failure however, he was not injured. The contact pulled over, cleaned out his vehicle and was able to drive the vehicle home. The contact called the dealer where he was informed that there were no recalls on his vehicle. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 135,394.
At 1 p.m. July 5, 2021, I was driving on the expressway on a short trip from home (about 5 miles). Temperature outside was 83 degrees, inside car 70 degrees. No overpasses, nearby cars, or debris noted from roadway. We heard a loud explosion. Seeing no other vehicles, feeling nothing wrong with the tires, or broken mirrors, I cracked open the moon roof slightly and noticed shattered glass. Fortunately, we had the interior moon roof flap of the vehicle closed which prevented the shards from falling on us. There was no warning that this would happen. As it is a holiday, I am awaiting a response from both the insurance company and the dealership. You will note the "upward" explosion that would not be typical of an object coming from the road. We noted nothing from the road or sky (partly cloudy day).
I was driving down the highway in va and I heard a loud explosion and I later found out the sunroof exploded on its own no cars around, no over pass it just exploded into little pieces.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 lexus es350. The contact stated that while attempting to close to the sun roof, there was a loud explosion coming from the vehicle. The contact became aware that the sun roof glass had shattered. The contact contacted chatham parkway lexus (1120 chatham pkwy, savannah, ga 31405, (912) 330-6051) and informed the dealer of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 64,000.
On feb. 25, 2020 at approximately 7 am I was driving along a local route in hicksville, ny in my 2016 lexus es 350 traveling approx. 40 MPH. All of a sudden I heard what sounded like a gunshot. The next thing I knew I heard glass rattling around on my roof. I pulled over and noticed that my sunroof (panoramic roof) had shattered into 1 thousand pieces.
On october 7 at approximately 5 am I was driving on interstate 285 eastbound in atlanta georgia. I was driving my 2016 lexus es 350. I was traveling at a speed of approximately 75 miles an hour. All of a sudden I heard what sounded like a gunshot. The next thing I knew I heard glass rattling around on my roof. I pulled over and noticed that my sunroof had shattered into 1 million pieces
I was driving down the highway having just picked picked up thiis car I just bought from the dealership when suddenly I heard a loud expolosion up above and noticed my sunroof exploded sending pieces of glass into my car. I was scratched and had to get home 1/2 hour away. Dealership was far. The dealershhip said to call the insurance. I think it could bet the way the sunroof was put in but not sure.
Upon approaching my car, in a controlled parking lot (car is stationary), I noticed the rear portion of the panoramic sunroof appears to have exploded. Sunroof shows defective bubble, and outer-edges appear to have cracked all the way around. Investigation of the area around the car shows no foreign objects (ie. Rocks) in the area.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Lexus ES350 sunroof shattered
Which Lexus ES350 years have sunroof shattered problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2013 (6 complaints), 2016 (6 complaints) and 2017 (6 complaints).
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