It was in the 60's this morning and raining. Decided to turn on the defroster to clear the mirrors. About the time the mirrors cleared it sound like a bomb went off inside the car. We looked back and saw the rear glass completely blown out except for a few small shreds hanging. First thing that come to mine was the letter Toyota sent about the warranty enhancement about this problem.I didn't think much about it at the time,but it sure got my attention today. The warranty ended April 30, 2018. I called Toyota to see if they would be any help,but they said no, outside of the warranty period. Has anyone else ever heard of other vehicles having this happen to. I haven't. Now I wonder if our 2010 4runner will do the same thing. I don't think we will be using the defroster to see.
06 Sport Rear Glass Shattered this morning
- Thread starter BR06run
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BackOff
New member
known issue.
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/tsb/234148-tsb-0189-17-rear-hatch-glass-shattered.html
Page 2 is just some old leftover spam that could be removed...devs?
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/tsb/234148-tsb-0189-17-rear-hatch-glass-shattered.html
Page 2 is just some old leftover spam that could be removed...devs?
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Bossman
Senior Member
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/190892-boom-rear-window-exploded-morning.html
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/73590-rear-windshield-shattered-morning.html
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-...my-rear-hatch-window-shattered-defroster.html
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/236249-rear-window-busted-defroster-read-here.html
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/73590-rear-windshield-shattered-morning.html
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-...my-rear-hatch-window-shattered-defroster.html
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/236249-rear-window-busted-defroster-read-here.html
When the new one is put in I am going to tell them leave the defroster disconnected. Toyota's letter states "While the majority of vehicles will not experience this condition". They need to be more convincing that using the defroster can quite possibly shatter your glass.
AuSeeker
Elite Member
I wonder if leaving the new rear glass disconnected if it still let the mirror defrosters work?
wc11
New member
Should work fine. I don't believe it's a continuous circuit.
But getting the rear window tinted helps keep the glass together as a sheet rather than exploding into bits all over in the event of failure.
According to the wiring diagram I have all the circuits are in parallel to each other so one doesn't affect the other. Also it shows the window defroster on a separate fuse than the mirrors. Pulling it out should disable the defroster. I know mine is coming out.
mwebster22
Member
Thankful I ran into this thread. My daughter moving from Houston to Denver where I’m sure the defroster would get turned on. I’m going to pull the fuse per
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/atta...hatch-window-shattered-defroster-05900310.pdf
Can anyone confirm that this doesn’t disable the side mirror defrosters?
AuSeeker
Elite Member
As mentioned above, the mirrors heaters and the defogger have different fuses, the document you posted also confirms that, so that tells me they work independant of each other....but since they both operate from the same switch that may not be the case, the only certain way to find out is to remove the defogger fuse and see if the mirrors heaters still work, so if they do or don't be sure to report back here with that info so we all will know for sure!
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The actual switch on the dash goes to the Body ecu which controls different things. The Body ecu then activates a relay that goes straight to the battery unfused. After going through the relay the defroster and the heated mirror circuit then split. A 10A fuse feeds both mirrors while a 30A fuse feeds the defroster. So pulling the 30A fuse should leave the mirrors working. I never realized a window defroster would pull enough current to warrant a 30A fuse. I guess that's why they burn up. After cleaning out a ton of glass from the back of the car and another ton from the rear hatch door, I disconnected the heater wires from the piece of connector that was left. It was all black and burnt. I assume that was the cause of it shattering. This defroster was very rarely used too. I would caution anyone about using there's. Hope this helps.
why dont you run it down there in Houston well before she is going to leave to make sure it works. If it explodes....just replace it with aftermarket.
She is absolutely going to need rear window defrost in Colorado.
Why....if you read up on the issue, it wont necessarily happen with the aftermarket replacement once its replaced.
mwebster22
Member
“run it down...”? I don’t understand what you’re suggesting.
I think what he means is to run it everyday and hope if it shatters it will do it before his daughter takes it to Colorado.But you can run them for years and then out of the blue it shatters.They don't give any warning either. And yes I think I would trust the aftermarket glass over the Toyota.
mwebster22
Member
Okay, thanks. But what I’m trying to keep from happening is the failure and replacement cost...
Yep...that is what I meant. Turn on rear window defrost down there in Houston. I feel like if there is corrosion and a short in the window you might find that sooner than later and get the issue solved before she runs it here in Denver on a cold morning.
For example, this morning was about 2 degrees here Denver. Would hate to have it break on nearly subzero morning here in Denver. Better to have it explode down there in Houston. In other words, dont be afraid to give it a try for fear of it exploding.
The idea of people unhooking it or never turning it on doesnt make sense to me.
You may have the right idea. Run it in a warmer climate to see. It was in the 60's when ours went out. I had cut it on not to defrost anything but to dry the mirrors since it was raining and you couldn't see out of them. We were about 4 miles from home then and rushed back to keep the back of the car from filling with water. If we had been 100 miles from home it would have been much worse. It was a very unpleasant experience with it exploding like it did. It may be more likely to shatter in higher temperatures since the glass would get hotter. At 2 degrees I doubt it's going to get very hot.
Ours was replaced yesterday and I was glad since all it's done lately is rain in Georgia. Both the plug in connectors and the heating strip at the connectors was burnt on ours. I assume that it overheated and that's what caused it. Almost everyone that had this happen said they were using the defroster. Toyota also said that's what causes it.
I would take the back panel off and look to see what it looks like. If it's not burnt you may be okay. After all Toyota says "The majority of vehicles will not experience this condition". I was curious if any other manufacturers had this problem so I searched the Web. Well it seems 2014 and 2015 F-150s have had there sliding back glass shattering and it's the same situation.defroster was on. And then look how many cars are out there using these everyday with no problem. Taking the panel off and seeing how it looks would give you a better idea of what to expect.
Dubbs_Malone
New member
Jesus. That's such BS. I'm sorry, man.
I bought a used 06 in July. Window shattered on me in August. Called Toyota. Told me that I had to get it replaced by April 2018. Absolute BS. What more can we do about this? I understand that they "gave us an opportunity" to replace the faulty part, but I didn't even have the car then.
