Hyundai Tucson Exploding Panoramic Sunroof - Open Letter to DVSA

rocktron_amp

Hello All

I will keep it short. On 30th December 2022, the panoramic sunroof on my 2021 Hyundai Tucson Ultimate exploded. It literally shattered in to 100's of pieces. We were lucky to avoid serious injury and be involved in a crash on the A428 near Cambridge.

I have discovered that "exploding sunroofs" are phenomenon happening with other car manufacturers. If you are considering buying a vehicle with a "moon roof" or "panoramic sunroof" then I am making you aware of the issue.

I have published an Open Letter to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

To save time, I upload the JPEG pages to my letter to MSE.

[Images and links removed by Forum Team]

Thank you and enjoy your day

Peter P

retiringtoosoon

Thanks for all your personal details i guess....

daveyjp

Its been a thing for decades.

Mk1 smart cars had a glass roof which sometimes exploded.  Could be stone impact, a flaw in the glass, over stressed etc.  However as it is still a rare occurence don't expect the letter to change much.

Mildly_Miffed

You say you don't think they should be allowed to use non-safety glass. They haven't been allowed to for nearly a century.

The photos quite literally show that the panoramic roof was made from tempered safety glass, which has shattered into tiny granules.

Should they be laminated? Probably.

But that would increase weight, and up high is just where you don't want extra weight. Panoramic roof options already increase CO2 emissions and, on some cars, limit the tyre sizes that can be fitted because of the extra weight.

Besides, they are at far lower risk of stone damage compared to windscreens. Toughened, rather than laminated, windscreens are still legal.

I suspect it's been replaced now, but I bet there would have been an initial impact point visible, probably just above the windscreen. The area that's not stayed intact will have been subject to negative air pressure from the aerodynamics at dual carriageway speed - you can see the way it's lifted up around the edges of the area that's missing.

Insurers will treat panoramic roofs like any other body glass unless there's a specific exclusion in your policy, which some cheap insurers put in, to keep the premium down. Always make sure the policy meets your needs when you take it out.

Bigwheels1111

£1500 excess for glass roofs is common.

Grumpy_chap

I suspect the OP will now be inundated with loads of offers from helpful claims management companies.  

tizerbelle

In "Insurance Clause Exemptions" think you missed a "not"? 
It reads "...car owners with panoramic sunroofs are covered by a loss or damage claim."

diystarter7

Bigwheels1111 said:

£1500 excess for glass roofs is common.

Hi

Really!!

I will need to look it up one day as both of our cars have them as do most of our kids cars - if the 1500 is a fact, then it needs to be clear in the exacess as I dont recall that ever and I've had pan roof cars for years.

Thanks for the heads upped.

Thanks

Bigwheels1111

diystarter7 said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

£1500 excess for glass roofs is common.

Hi

Really!!

I will need to look it up one day as both of our cars have them as do most of our kids cars - if the 1500 is a fact, then it needs to be clear in the exacess as I dont recall that ever and I've had pan roof cars for years.

Thanks for the heads upped.

Thanks

Looks like things have changed a bit.
It’s either covered under glass, well with LV it is.
Others would class it as a claim, excess and no claims will be affected.

[Deleted User]

Warranty, surely. They can't prove something it hit, witnesses say nothing hit it, and it's not unknown to happen due to manufacturing defects.

ontheroad1970

[Deleted User] said:

Warranty, surely. They can't prove something it hit, witnesses say nothing hit it, and it's not unknown to happen due to manufacturing defects.

No, you'd need to prove on the basis of probability that it was a manufacturing defect rather than a case of  damage if the manufacturer told you to see you in court,