Sunroof exploded!

:
Cx-9
The sunroof in our 2018 CX-9 randomly exploded while we were driving it. Sounded like a M80 went off inside the cabin. Nothing around, no other cars, no people, nothing to throw something at it. It just shattered. Luckily the headliner was shut to catch all the tiny glass peices.

I saw that this happened to someone with a CX-5 but didn't know if anyone else has experience this? Taking it to the dealership today. I think it should be covered by Mazda, they said they will have to run it through Corp because it is glass related. Car only has 16k miles on it.
 

Attachments

  • 20201006_191638.jpg
    20201006_191638.jpg
    168.1 KB · Views: 374
Were you driving at highway speeds?

In that thread, I posted a bunch of examples of other users on the forum reporting the same thing over the years. Yours seems to be the first example on the forum of this issue on the 2nd gen CX-9.

There seem to be a lot of reasons something like this could happen. Swift temp changes, bad piece of glass, existing damage, external impact, wind buffeting, adhesive delaminating, etc. It seems to be that it isn't just one factor on its own, but a combination of many. It isn't overly common, but it does happen. If Mazda doesn't cover it, try and see if your insurance will.
 
Is it me or are we seeing a sudden increase with this issue recently? Could it be weather related or a supplier issue?
 
I've seen glass spontaneously shattering on many brands. Including many panoramic roofs. This is the first I've seen the sunroof shatter on a 2nd gen CX-9.
Hopefully the dealer can get the claim honored. They/Mazda can easily argue that there's no way to prove spontaneous explosion - something looks like it impacted it (note circular hole). Either way, your insurance most certainly has to cover although unfortunately minus the deduction out of pocket.
 
Were you driving at highway speeds?

In that thread, I posted a bunch of examples of other users on the forum reporting the same thing over the years. Yours seems to be the first example on the forum of this issue on the 2nd gen CX-9.

There seem to be a lot of reasons something like this could happen. Swift temp changes, bad piece of glass, existing damage, external impact, wind buffeting, adhesive delaminating, etc. It seems to be that it isn't just one factor on its own, but a combination of many. It isn't overly common, but it does happen. If Mazda doesn't cover it, try and see if your insurance will.

I was not at freeway speeds. Traveling around 40mph. I will pay out of pocket I think if Mazda doesn't cover it. Don't want my insurance going up.
 
I was not at freeway speeds. Traveling around 40mph. I will pay out of pocket I think if Mazda doesn't cover it. Don't want my insurance going up.

If Mazda doesn't cover it, I would still escalate up to Mazda Corporate, at the very least to make them aware of this issue.
 
The sunroof shattered on our 2019 GT last week while my wife was driving home from work on city roads. The sunroof cover was closed, so no shards of glass entered the cabin, but it scared the absolute crap out of my wife.

Called the local Mazda dealer immediately that afternoon and brought it right in. Put in a CX-5 loaner and was notified soon thereafter that Mazda was covering it under warranty. I made sure they realized nothing was dropped on the sunroof, no birds, etc. They found no indication that it was caused by anything external, so they covered it without any hassle. Repair was delayed by a day or two because they realized the seal also had to be replaced. Anyway, picking it up today so we'll see how it looks.
 
Glad Mazda are starting to cover this. Our sunroof exploded on our CX-5, except no one was even driving it. It was parked in the driveway, no one around, just went boom. Mazda told us to "pound sand" so we ended up replacing it ourselves. Luckily, it hasn't (yet) happened on the CX-9.
 
@Srad600 I would go back to Mazda Corp not the dealer and be nice when you speak to them...ask them why others on the Mazda forum have had replacement paid for by Mazda yet you were denied the same fair treatment from Mazda. Don't tell them they told you to pound sand...LOL. Let us know what their response is. I assume your CX-9 was under warranty at the time.
 
sm1kie mentioned many possible reasons. Have owned cars with sun/moon roofs since the 80's and never experienced the issue. Question to those of you who had the glass explode. Was the shade closed? Wondering if the heat build up from a closed shade is a common denominator.
 
Below is a link to an exhaustive write-up on the subject by Consumer Reports. This has been going on for years, with nearly all make/model of vehicles. There is apparently little agreement, and even less understood as to what causes these failures when they do occur. Many theories exist, but nothing remotely conclusive - almost like UFOs. The article is from Dec 2017. At the time this article was written, it appears Mazda was NOT one of the manufacturers experiencing any notable frequency of sunroof failures... if that is any consolation.
https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/exploding-sunroofs-danger-overhead/
 
@Srad600 I would go back to Mazda Corp not the dealer and be nice when you speak to them...ask them why others on the Mazda forum have had replacement paid for by Mazda yet you were denied the same fair treatment from Mazda. Don't tell them they told you to pound sand...LOL. Let us know what their response is. I assume your CX-9 was under warranty at the time.
I would but we've since sold that car and moved on, so I'll just let it go.
 
The sunroof shattered on our 2019 GT last week while my wife was driving home from work on city roads. The sunroof cover was closed, so no shards of glass entered the cabin, but it scared the absolute crap out of my wife.

Called the local Mazda dealer immediately that afternoon and brought it right in. Put in a CX-5 loaner and was notified soon thereafter that Mazda was covering it under warranty. I made sure they realized nothing was dropped on the sunroof, no birds, etc. They found no indication that it was caused by anything external, so they covered it without any hassle. Repair was delayed by a day or two because they realized the seal also had to be replaced. Anyway, picking it up today so we'll see how it looks.

Sounds like it is becoming more common. Glad your wife is on and the headliner was closed.
 
sm1kie mentioned many possible reasons. Have owned cars with sun/moon roofs since the 80's and never experienced the issue. Question to those of you who had the glass explode. Was the shade closed? Wondering if the heat build up from a closed shade is a common denominator.

It was in the low 70's and our headliner was shut, Thank God. Cause it caught all the glass shards. Wasn't hot enough out to make a difference.
 
sm1kie mentioned many possible reasons. Have owned cars with sun/moon roofs since the 80's and never experienced the issue. Question to those of you who had the glass explode. Was the shade closed? Wondering if the heat build up from a closed shade is a common denominator.

Not sure how much heat a closed shade would add, but I would be curious if any correlation to paint colors exists. Dark tones absorb significantly more heat than lighter colors; factor in surface expansion/stresses and there could be the catalyst?
 
The sunroof in our 2018 CX-9 randomly exploded while we were driving it. Sounded like a M80 went off inside the cabin. Nothing around, no other cars, no people, nothing to throw something at it. It just shattered. Luckily the headliner was shut to catch all the tiny glass peices.

I saw that this happened to someone with a CX-5 but didn't know if anyone else has experience this? Taking it to the dealership today. I think it should be covered by Mazda, they said they will have to run it through Corp because it is glass related. Car only has 16k miles on it.
Hey,
I have a cx5 2015 and my sunroof exploded a few weeks back. I went through insurance, but im certain this is a mazda fault and ill be cashing them up to pay my excess, which they will be getting off lightly..
 
Hey,
I have a cx5 2015 and my sunroof exploded a few weeks back. I went through insurance, but im certain this is a mazda fault and ill be cashing them up to pay my excess, which they will be getting off lightly..

On a 2015? Good luck with that!
 
Back