Car door window just exploded while driving on the highway, going about 60. This is a brand new car, maybe 200 miles. I have to assume it was a manufacturing defect. There was no one near the vehicle when it happened. I can't imagine something was flying directly into the window to cause it to break, and there was no sign that something had hit the car (door was fine, no rock/object found anywhere). Has this happened to anyone else before? How can I make sure the dealer pays for this and doesn't try to stick it on me? The warranty only covers the windshield but if this is in fact a manufacturing defect then they have to cover it. It was the rear driver side window and we're just glad that we didn't have a children in the car when this happened. Their car seats are covered in glass.
Yes that happened to my mom and I back when I was in high school. My mom had had the car for less than a month and the first time she turned on the back defroster the rear window exploded. As Sajan noted that tempered glass can explode for the reasons noted. In our case as soon as the defroster was turned on the change in temperature created a stress in the glass.
But to be serious... yeah, it happens. It's because the rear and side windows are usually made out of tempered glass (not laminated like the windshield). It could've been a lot of things that caused it to explode. Thermal changes, defects/imperfections in the glass itself, changes in the frame/structure of the car, etc., etc. You may want to see if it's a common problem with whatever model you drive, but in reality, it can happen to any car, though it's probably rare. I had an acrylic moonroof visor explode on me while going over a bridge in Louisiana. I've never been so scared in my life. First, the sound of the exploding visor as I'm going around 60-70 mph over a bridge. Then having to find a Walmart nearby so I can get a socket/wrench kit to disassemble the visor in their parking lot. Louisiana Walmart is a special kinda of Walmart. But I digress...
But there was no stress at all on the window, nor was there any temperature change. It was like 73 degrees outside when this happened and the car had been parked in a covered parking garage prior to this. A POS, apparently. It was a Ford Escape.
but things don't explode until something changes. not saying it was temp change or rock but something triggered the chain of events.
damn...thats scary! glad nobody was back there. on the positive side, if thats going to happen whilst driving i would think that the drivers side rear window is best one to break. i dont know anything about car windows, but as its a new car i wonder if its a case of the window not being installed properly...like it wasnt set into whatever frame or track it needs to be set into? either that or you got shot at.
My first thought too. I used to hang out with these hoodlums that would shoot marbles from slingshots at car windows from the bushes on the side of HWY 35 in Alvin. Something like that could have happened. Someone throwing something.
If the dealership won’t fix it under warranty you may check your insurance policy to see if glass is a $0 deductible.
I had to google this ... and Ford Escapes around the 2011 model year seemed to have this problem more frequently, but in general, I'm seeing experiences of Ford Escapes from various model years showing the problem. This guy wrote a blog post about it happening with 2011 Escapes : http://ohiolemonlaw.blogspot.com/2011/09/whats-going-on-with-ford-escape-rear.html I know I've heard of sunroofs from other manufacturers explode for no apparent reason before, and those are tempered glass, as well. Since you were driving when it happened and you said there wasn't any major temp change recently, maybe it was a glass defect or a combination of a glass issue and a structural issue that put strain on the glass as the car vibrates.
