Toyota Grand Highlander sunroof shattered problems

Filed Nov 5, 2026 · Body · TX

Rear moonroof glass shattered spontaneously, no object impact

Filed Oct 27, 2026 · CT

The front panel of the two-panel glass moonroof spontaneously shattered, buckled and collapsed onto the panoramic roof sunshade of my 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid without any impact or accident. I was driving at about 35-45 mph on a paved road and noticed the sound of wind coming from the car ceiling. I opened the panoramic roof sunshade slightly to see if the moonroof was open and saw that the front panel of the two-panel glass moonroof had spontaneously shattered. By the time I got home about an hour later, the moonroof glass had buckled about 1/2 inch into the air and a large chunk of the moonroof glass had collapsed onto the sunshade on the ceiling of the car. I now have a 6x10-in. hole in the moonroof glass and large, raised cracks much longer than that. The repair shop told me not to drive the car, because the broken shards of glass could damage the sunshade and get into the moonroof track. My car is available for inspection upon request. The defect in the moonroof glass clearly put my safety at risk. Had the sunshade not been closed when the glass collapsed, my car would have been full of shards of glass. I could have been hurt, and it could have caused an accident. This problem has been reported online repeatedly in Toyota Highlanders, as well as in Toyota RAV4s, resulting in a class action lawsuit with respect to the RAV4s. A service representative at the Toyota dealer saw the problem, but she could not help me because they don't handle glass. I also reported the problem to Toyota at 800‑331‑4331, but they have not inspected the damage. I have been informed that there are no replacement skylights for my car anywhere in the US and that it will take 1-2 months before the part will arrive. Nevertheless, Toyota has refused to pay for a rental car or cover the indoor storage I will need to obtain for my vehicle while we wait for some indeterminate time for the part to come in. There were no warnings of any kind before the skylight glass failed.

Filed Sep 29, 2026 · Brakes, Seat belts · PA

June, July and August multiple occurrences of Electronic Parking Brake and Drive Engagement Failure intermittently occurring. The Automatic electronic park brake fails to release from Park to Drive or Park to Reverse while drivers seatbelt is fastened, all door closed, vehicle on level ground. Vehicle behaves as if it's still in Park and revs RPM with gas pedal pressed without movement. Vehicle may abruptly lunge once engagement finally occurs after vehicle on/off & multiple Park to Drive manually placed. Seatbelt of driver has stated that the drivers seatbelt is not buckled when it is and all doors are closed. Display on the info display states that driver door is open when it's closed and that seatbelt is unfastened, when it is fastened. Push start button intermittently fails like it has a dead battery. Button is pressed at appropriate length to start but sputters or hesitate before finally starting with sometimes multiple attempts. Excessive wind noise due to roof seal being raised. Roof weather stripping was lifted/separated. There was no full replacement of this issue on September 17th at a local dealer but rather a quick fix of refitting the molding. I stated that is not the appropriate fix due to the actual factory seal stating it cannot be reused once compromised. Today, September 29th, the back panoramic sunroof exploded going down the highway with no other external impact and was stated as a possible occurrence after a seal is not replaced appropriately. It is note in my Toyota case management file as well. Overhead console electrical failure had been fixed may 28, 2026 after purchase in March brand new. The drivers overhead light failed and all cabin lights surged when pressed. Driver door lock and key fob malfunction in June 27. The drivers door locked with the key fob still inside vehicle at center console. Toyota app indicates vehicle was unlocked. Driver door would not unlock by app. Had to crawl through the passenger side to manually unlock.

Filed Aug 25, 2026 · CO

on 8/13/2026, I was driving alone on West I-80 right before Park City, Ut; I heard a loud pop and my panoramic sunroof exploded which was really scary. I was not using my sunroof at all, so the cover protected everything on the inside. At first I thought it was a flat tire, but no warning messages came onto the control panel. There were not immediate safety issues, so I was able to get to a Toyota Dealership to have it repaired. I did not hear any gravel or road debris flip up onto my sunroof, nor did I hear any under my tires when driving. My vehicle was inspected by a service technician at the Toyota Dealership and he just said it was probably caused by an outside influence.

Filed Jul 31, 2026 · Body · CT

Driving on highway and suddenly panoramic sunroof glass shattered spontaneously. It nearly caused us to crash into median due to the sudden extremely loud noise that sounded like a gunshot at close range and then the sound of glass shattering and hitting into sunroof shade and top of car. My 18 year old daughter was driving and it was extremely scary for her and myself. No nearby vehicles on either side of the road or near an overpass. We were fortunately near an exit and able to safely remove vehicle from road. I feel extremely lucky that no accident or injury occurred and credit my daughter's ability to stay calm and not panic at highway speed. To date, the car insurance company Travelers states it is not covered as there was no accident and dealership states it is not a warranty item (but they have escalated it to Toyota corporate for further review) and no one is willing to repair it so far (including stand alone glass companies!). But it will certainly be several thousand dollars in repairs. In the meantime I cannot drive my car when there is any chance of rain or really at highway speed. No warning prior, no history of any cracks or damage to sunroof prior. The car is just barely 1 year old.

Filed Jul 1, 2026 · UT

Driving down the highway and the sunroof exploded

Filed May 31, 2026 · Visibility · TN

While driving on the highway, I heard an extremely loud noise followed by rush of wind. I was not under or near an overpass and there was nothing to indicate an impact by a foreign object. I arrived at my house 10 minutes after the incident and inspected my car. I determined the noise I experienced was the panoramic sunroof, of which the front panel spontaneously exploded while operating the vehicle. I could find no other damage to the car. The sunroof and internal shade cover were closed and not in use, nor was I trying to operate them. The sunroof had a large hole in the center directly under a luggage rail, and the glass around the hole was angled upwards. The small shards of tempered glass were contained on top of the sliding sunroof shade. There was no foreign object, damage to the soft interior sliding shade, or any dents/scratches on the roof. Had the sliding shade been open, the shards would have rained down on me and any passengers (none at time of incident). There were no vehicle warnings of any kind. I took it to the Toyota dealer who inspected the damage but refused to cover it under warranty. I filed an insurance claim with photos and it was approved for repair.

Filed May 30, 2026 · TX

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? I was driving when I heard a loud boom, it almost sounded like a gunshot. Not noticing anything I continued driving. After a short distance I started hearing wind whistling. It was at this point I pulled over and saw my sunroof had shattered and there was a big hole. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? If I had not have the shade closed glass would have fallen into the car. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, I brought the car to the Toyota dealership. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? I did call my insurance company but I am not sure if they actually inspected the damage. They have been dealing directly with the Toyota dealership service department. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No, that's why I continued to drive until I heard the wind whistling

Filed May 25, 2026 · VA

Component that failed: Sunroof How was safety at risk: I was driving my 2025 Grand Highlander on Sunday, [XXX} in the morning. While I was driving, my sunroof exploded, causing a loud noise and a blowout in the front part of the sunroof (pictures included). There was no debris on the road or any other reason for the sunroof to have exploded. This was extremely shocking and concerning - if we had not kept the sunroof shade closed, the glass from the sunroof would have fallen directly on myself and my wife as we were driving, potentially causing an extremely dangerous situation. The sunroof blew outward, NOT inward as would have been expected if something had hit it and caused it to shatter. I also found multiple forums where I discovered that this is a common problem: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] The problem is widespread enough across models that there is an ongoing lawsuit regarding panoramic sunroofs: [XXX] The dealer and Toyota are claiming that it had to be an external source, but again, there was no debris in the area or any other reason to cause the blowout. The vehicle has been inspected by the manufacturer's field service technicians. It is currently still at the dealer, awaiting final decision on coverage for the blowout. There were no warnings. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed May 23, 2026 · Visibility · OR

On [XXX], while driving my 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander at approximately 45-50 mph on a gusty, high-wind day, the rear panoramic moonroof/sunroof panel blew out and shattered completely without warning. The failure occurred as I rolled up the vehicle windows during the wind gust. Rapid window closure created a sudden spike in cabin air pressure — a documented pressure differential mechanism — that forced the moonroof glass outward until it shattered. There was no external impact of any kind. The glass, which is not laminated safety glass, scattered throughout the interior with occupants present. Component is available for inspection. This failure is consistent with the federal safety agency Investigation PE13-035 (Kia Sorento panoramic sunroof spontaneous breakage), in which ODI found glass shattering while in motion to be a safety hazard warranting engineering analysis. The same pressure-based failure mechanism applies here. This is a documented pattern on this specific model. Lemberg Law [XXX] ) analysis of the federal safety agency complaint data confirms spontaneous sunroof shattering among the top defects on both 2024 and 2025 Grand Highlanders, with Toyota denying warranty claims by alleging "outside influence" — disputed by owners and attorneys alike. No recall currently exists for this component. The rear seat directly below this glass is a primary location for child safety seats. Non-laminated glass shattering over rear occupants — including infants — represents an acute and unacceptable injury risk. I request the federal safety agency open a formal defect investigation into the panoramic moonroof/sunroof glass on 2024-2025 Toyota Grand Highlanders and evaluate whether a safety recall is warranted. I have photographs and have notified Toyota Motor North America in writing. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)