2012 Rx350 Moonroof Exploding

[JR Byrd]

08/22/12 I was driving down the interstate and my moonroof exploded outward from the car. There were no cars around and no over pass around. By the sound it created I actually thought I had blown a tire possibly. I contacted the dealership in Dallas where I purchased the car and she told me it had to have been a rock and I just didn't know it had ever hit me. She really upset me and I let her know this. This car is two months old, and if indeed something had hit my car it would've hit my hood or the windshield, not my moonroof driving down the interstate. I'm not an idiot and I want answers to why this happened, and by checking this website I see that I am not the only Lexus customer that this has happened to. As you can see in these pictures, the glass has blown outwards from the car. It didn't crater inward as if something had hit it or been dropped down on it. If anyone knows how I can escalate with safety committees please let me know.

Thank you,

JR Byrd

Well I tried uploading but wouldn't attach from my iPad.

[mleahy]

I can't help you with the safety committees but I know this happened to me a couple years back with a chevy suburban. When I closed the door to the car the far back window literally blew out from the inside. I guess it has something to do with the pressure change. Was it a particularly windy or hot day out?

[JR Byrd]

No, overcast... posted pics of the damage.

[pj8708]

Hi JR and welcome to the LOC.

Your right, you are not the only one this has happened to ,and not the only model year this has happened to. As you have probably discovered by searching our data search base, some people have found the specific explanation for why this happens.

I would tell the dealer that you want to talk with both the Lexus Regional Technical Advisor and the General Manager. If you get no satisfaction from that, tell them your next call is the State Attorney General Consummer Affairs division.

You are in the right.

Paul

hemimom, on 13 November 2011 - 08:56 AM, said:

Yesterday 11/12/2011, we were driving along an interstate at 65 mph in 55 degree weather when our RX350 sunroof suddenly exploded.

We were in a fairly rural area of the highway and at first thought we had been hit by a shotgun blast. There were no other cars nearby

and we were not under any bridges.

We immediately pulled the sun shield because although the roof was still together, tiny crumbs of glass were falling all over us.

When we stopped the car, we realized that the roof was not pushed in as if something fell on it, but bowed out from internal pressure.

We arrived home and realized the enter roof was shattered into tiny crumbs with a small hole blown in the middle. We had to take the

car a couple of miles yet and by the time we got back the second time, the cracks had lifted and a 4x6 inch hole had appeared.

We called Lexus and had it towed to the dealership immediately. Wonder if anyone else has had this problem. Bringing loaner tomorrow

will wait and see about the bill -- car is still under warranty.

Also what do people do about the inconvenient lack of ports in the front seating area of the car. You have to remove the console box to switch or add

any devices. Highly inconvenient -- will definitely prevent us from having another RX if they don't fix this problem.

It sounds like you were incredibly lucky not to have been injured in some way. Did the whole section of moon roof glass blow off all at once or did it shatter into pieces and break away?

[Buk]

Not sure fractured sunroof/moonroof is a common problem, but it does occur and this quote below is from Edmonds.com and you may take it with a grain of salt. I do disagree with the quote that they are not manufacturing defects, as I believe there can always be manufacturing defects, whether a defect when manufactured or when installed or being transported from the point of manufacturer to the dealership.

Nov 14, 2009 (9:52 am)

Exploding sunroofs are not a manufacturer defect. They only happen when the sunroof is closed and the windows are rolled up. Car manufactureers have gotten very good at making the cabins airtight so the inside of the car will remain at the same cabin pressure as when the car was sitting still. Now when you are driving down the freeway at 65-70 miles per hour the air rushing across the top of the car creates lift (bernoulli effect). If you are driving against the wind you can add the wind speed to your traveling speed and soon have pressure differences like you might see in a tornado tearing the roof off of a house. The specific day's barometric will also be a factor. Anyway the glass is literally sucked upward and breaks equalizing the pressure. The immidiate change in pressure stops the upward suction, and the remaining glass falls in your face. Side windows, windsheilds and rearglass do not have the same ammount of pressure on them because of the aerodynamic shape of the car. Sunroofs are positioned close to the windshield where the air traveling over the car still wants to travel in an upward direction.

So- it is not a manufacturer defect, but it is a design flaw. Sunroof cars should be have a pressure equalizer much like modern airliners do. Or at least move them back on the roof a few inches (but thats not as much fun. right?) I haven't done the math, and dont plan on it, but my theory is that the tinted wind diffuser on the front of many sunroofs (that help deflect the wind from entering the car when the roof is open) probably makes the upward pressure worse when the roof is closed.

Wow- feels good to actually use some of that college physics I studied so hard for. Studied Physics/aerospace - work in real estate! LOL

[BostonHBS]

The side window of my Lexus CT200h just exploded on the highway. Same type of thing...

I am 100% sure nothing hit the side window.

What was the resolution for the OP, did Lexus pay under warranty?

[NatashaBaker]

SAME THING JUST HAPPENED TO ME THIS PAST WEEKEND!!! I have a GX 470, year 2006, and I was driving on an overpass - no bridges over me, no large trucks next to me - and all of a sudden, a VERY loud POP! Made me jump. I didn't realize what had happened because my sunroof shade was closed. I checked all my windows because it sounded like a window was open. All windows were shut. Then I realized that the sunroof had shattered…not cracked…there was a HUGE hole in the middle of the sunroof. Couldn't believe it. Scared the daylights out of me. My car is in the shop today. Lexus better cover this costs, especially now that I see others across the internet have had the same issue. Unbelievable. Thank goodness the sunroof shade was closed. With my 17 month old right there in his car seat, who knows how much glass would have covered him and he could have possibly eaten it.

Natasha Baker

Austin, TX

June 2015

[BostonHBS]

This is why Toyota/Lexus have LOST ME AS A CUSTOMER.

The treatment was terrible - basically, head office could not care less about trying to determine the defect in the glass. Note that it was my side window that exploded -- but it doesn't matter, it's a defect in the glass, not due to pressure, etc.

My CT was under full new car warranty, and Lexus still made me pay for the new glass.

Furthermore, the head office SIMPLY DID NOT CARE to try to figure out what happened. It's shocking, especially in light of all of the recalls that Toyota had not that long ago, and Toyota's (fading) reputation for quality and reliability.

I switched to Mercedes and couldn't be happier.

[LEX-SV]

^ Good luck switching to Mercedes and expecting better warranty service. Not happening, I have over 15 years of experience with Mercedes cars and found the warranty service to be no better than Lexus.

Both Lexus and Mercedes have some excellent vehicle offerings, that's why I have one of each.

[VBdenny]

Not going to argue about the service, kind of what I got before I quit that dealer.

I had my sunroof tinted with limo tint, pitch black from outside. Try leaving your vents on circulate, not recirculate.