2020 Toyota Highlander: sunroof shattered

Filed Sep 17, 2026 · NC

I was traveling on hwy US1 South about 56-58 mph when I heard what sounded like a gunshot. I immediately slowed down and pulled off the road. As I drove off road on grass/gravel I heard crumbling of glass above on sunroof. The sunroof glass exploded. I called the nonemergency 911 for a police officer to come to the scene. I explained what happened and that there was no rock or large debris. He inspected and suggested I contact my insurance and if they needed a police report it would be in the system.

Filed Apr 22, 2026 · UT

I was driving on a busy road going 50 mph and my sunroof exploded. Nothing hit my vehicle and It wasn’t a hot or cold day. No one was injured because my sunroof cover was luckily closed.

Filed Jan 7, 2026 · AK

The sunroof suddenly exploded while stopped at a stoplight. Luckily I had the interior slide shut otherwise we would have been covered in glass.

Filed Jan 4, 2026 · CA

While driving on the highway, our sunroof spontaneously exploded. We heard what sounded like a gunshot and found a giant hole in our sunroof glass.

Filed Nov 3, 2025 · CA

We were driving on the highway and heard what sounded like a gun shot. Our sunroof had exploded. Luckily the interior door was closed or we would have been showered with glass. There was no one around, no rocks or road debris. It just came out of nowhere!

Filed Jan 4, 2025 · Body · MO

While driving on a highway, with little traffic around, our sunroof exploded, sending shards of glass down. It produced a sound of a gunshot and quite possibly could have resulted in such a distraction to cause a wreck. The vehicle has not been inspected but insurance agents has been contacted. There were no warnings at all.

Filed Nov 16, 2024 · MN

While driving on the freeway in the evening about 10 minutes into the drive, a loud bang was heard like a shotgun and the front portion of the panoramic sunroof had shattered. Small shards of glass entered the cabin but fortunately no one was injured inside the vehicle. No sign of a rock hitting the vehicle or defect in the panoramic had occurred prior to this incidence. It appears to have occurred spontaneously. There was a large hole in the glass with an outward projection like the pressure inside the vehicle somehow blew out the sunroof. The passengers in the vehicle were at risk of being covered in small shards of glass including a small child in a rear facing carseat who was sitting behind the driver's side. The driver and front passenger would have been impacted as well if the glass gave away. This occurred at high speeds on a freeway where if the glass would have fallen inside the cabin could have caused the driver to be covered in glass, injured while driving at high speeds and caused a wreck. The incident was reported to the highway patrol who could not place a formal report because they said it was not a mechanic defect and the Toyota corporate office said that they could not report because it was a glass issue. Insurance has not been informed yet as we are waiting from the local dealership to see if they can assist. There were no warning messenger prior to this problem and it occurred spontaneously.

Filed Feb 20, 2024 · Body · CA

We were driving at around 70 mph on lane #3 on [XXX] near Auburn CA at around [XXX] on [XXX] with 2 passengers and some baggage in the trunk. No baggage were on the roof rack. Traffic was light and no vehicle was directly ahead of us at the time. Weather was cloudy. Suddenly we heard a loud bang above us, like a gun going off. I opened the sunroof cover and found the sunroof glass shattered. After exiting the freeway and parking, we found only the sunroof glass was damaged. The glass was shattered but still intact. There was no damage to the roof or roof racks. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Mar 21, 2023 · WA

On March 20th while on the freeway my 2020 Toyota Highlander sunroof exploded. Related or not, I had just rolled up my driver's window immediately preceding the explosion. The sound from this was loud and surprising. Thankfully I was able to get to the right lane and exit the freeway. Upon stopping and viewing the sunroof I was surprised to see the remaining glass pushed UP out of the car. I had no warning nor was I in a situation that I would have expected there to be a problem. I have an appointment 3 days after the explosion at the dealer for them to check it out.

Filed Jul 23, 2022 · TX

Sunroof exploded (like the sound of a bomb), without warning, on 7/21/22, while driving the vehicle. The shards traveled upward, and broken tempered glass protrudes towards the sky. Size of hole (largest points) approx. 16" X 9". It was not a rock or any other debris that caused this--it was internal force. I reached out to the dealer on 7/21/22, and today with pictures, who will reach out to Toyota. No damage was done to the vehicle, to the best my knowledge, other than the sunroof.

Filed Jun 3, 2022 · WA · 1 injury

While driving around 60 MPH all the sudden I heard a loud explosion like a shot gun going off and then my sunroof exploding and shattering all over me and the interior of my car. There was no impact from another vehicle, rock, tree, anything. It just exploded into thousands of little pieces out of nowhere. It was terrifying. I was able to safely pull over. There were cuts experienced.

Filed May 19, 2022 · Body · WA

In April 2022, the sunroof on our 2020 Highlander Hybrid spontaneously exploded (without impact) while driving on the freeway. It was like a loud shotgun went off in the cab of our SUV. We were showered with glass and small cut to my wife's hand. Thankfully there was no traffic otherwise it could have easily caused an accident, putting us and others at risk. The local Toyota Dealership (where we purchased the car from in 2020) took photos (half the glass broke out, the remaining glass had glass shards pointed upwards like a volcano). The Service representative originally advised us that Toyota would likely pay to replace the sunroof and pay for our rental car (as we had just begun a 2-week trip), but then later refused, stating that the sunroof must have had a chip in it or was impacted (which were absolutely false claims). They stated that I must submit it to my insurance who they billed for $2,410 (sunroof assembly remove & replace, new glass, clean-up detail glass shards, supplies/materials, labor), and $500 of which I would have to pay for a deductible. After many difficult emails and telephone conversations, Toyota Corporate finally agreed to pay my $500 deductible but then later handed me a Goodwill Settlement Agreement to sign, stating the matter is resolved and I would take no further action. I refused to sign it, because I had a $1,900 Car Rental bill (less $450 from my insurance), that Toyota refused to pay. There were no warning messages or symptoms. It is a manufacturing defect that Toyota refuses to acknowledge so that customers and their insurance companies get stuck with all of the bills.