Rear Window Shattered. For NO REASON!

[jonnyquest]

I get a call from my wife while at work, saying her rear window in her 05 4Runner was shattered. Upon investigation, there's no signs of forced entry. And glass both on the inside & outside of the truck.

A fellow employee that works in her building stated she heard it shatter but saw no one around. Basically shattered by itself!

To be on the safe side, filed a police report (for insurance reasons). Lee & Cates glass came out to replace it. They said the rear door latch doesn't work and had to gain access from the side. Advise my wife to take the 4Runner into a body shop & have them fix it, since the insurance deductible is already paid and should be included. My insurance concurred and advised the same.

Ok, does anyone have any idea how this happened, and why the rear hatch/door is disabled?

We live in Jacksonville, FL. It was mid 60's temp when it happened. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Thank you for any insight!

Jon

 

[fdbyrne]

I've only ever heard of that happening when the rear defroster was being used.

 

[Sungod]

Don't bother with Lee & Cates. They are lazy ****s who tell you nonsense like that because they only want easy work. Go with Baker. Robbie and Jay are freaking awesome. Oh and if your bill is over $200 you get a steak dinner at a steak joint in a shady part of town. I just had them replace the windshield on my Tundra and Jay had it out in a matter of minutes.

 

[jonnyquest]

They already replaced the glass. To be honest the glass looks horrible. Ripples/waves in the glass. No where near "factory".

Very disappointed.

Setting up an appt with a body shop.

 

[Sungod]

They already replaced the glass. To be honest the glass looks horrible. Ripples/waves in the glass. No where near "factory".

Very disappointed.

Setting up an appt with a body shop.

That sounds right. They use aftermarket glass and that is common with aftermarket junk. You could go back and complain, but it is probably pointless. My father took his truck to get the back window replaced and they messed it up and would do nothing.

You can still call Baker instead of a body shop. Those guys know what they are doing and it wouldn't shock me if L&C messed something up and now are sending you somewhere else. I don't see how they accessed it from the inside. It seems almost impossible to get the trim off without the hatch being open.

 

[jonnyquest]

I'm actually going through a select service with my insurance company. It's a legit body shop. Maybe there's something they can do or work in a better rear window.

 

[CAMELPRO]

Looks like a lot more glass on the inside than outside. I'd look for a bb or pellet in the shrapnel. Maybe even a rock.

 

[Sungod]

I am not sure I would take it to a body shop for something like that. They don't typically work on electrical systems there. Dealer would probably be the best choice.

 

[Marfy]

Hey, sorry too say but someone smashed my back window to steal a backpack, I got factory back glass, and it was like $700 (cad) for the glass. Just FYI. It was flown in from Japan. Kind of insane...

 

[foxtrot]

Same thing happened to me when my rear window shattered. Sometimes a piece of glass gets stuck in the jaw that closes around the latch. Not a big deal and the glass shop should have taken care of that when they cleaned out all the broken glass inside the hatch.

 

[sambishop]

I had the same thing happen to me while driving through Ferguson, St. Louis driving to a junk yard. I was watching road rage behind me giggling when all of the sudden the rear window exploded! Sounding like a gunshot, I ducked my head in fear for my life screaming "GOOD SHIT!" I pulled over, looked for signs of gunshots and found none.

The rear defrog wasn't on. I have an 05 Limited. It seems the 05's are known for this.

 

[gaara46]

was it really windy out that day?

2 of my windows got shattered (along with about 15 other cars in the same lot) on a super windy day..probabaly tiny pebbles being flung at the windows. it wasnt my rear window though. my driver side rear door and the one behind that.

 

[Nav8tor]

I get a call from my wife while at work, saying her rear window in her 05 4Runner was shattered. Upon investigation, there's no signs of forced entry. And glass both on the inside & outside of the truck.

A fellow employee that works in her building stated she heard it shatter but saw no one around. Basically shattered by itself!

To be on the safe side, filed a police report (for insurance reasons). Lee & Cates glass came out to replace it. They said the rear door latch doesn't work and had to gain access from the side. Advise my wife to take the 4Runner into a body shop & have them fix it, since the insurance deductible is already paid and should be included. My insurance concurred and advised the same.

Ok, does anyone have any idea how this happened, and why the rear hatch/door is disabled?

We live in Jacksonville, FL. It was mid 60's temp when it happened. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Thank you for any insight!

Jon

So this isn’t totally crazy. Same thing happened to me a couple weeks ago. Glad to know I’m not the only one. while I was driving (15 miles an hour) at 5am to work in December in San Diego. The sound of the explosion was like my rear window had been hit by a baseball bat or been shot. Glass exploded inside and outside of the car. It was the first day I was drving my wife’s 2006 4Runner since our new Baby and thank god she wasn’t driving it when it happens with this kids in the back.

Was a cold morning in the 40s and rear defrost was on when the window exploded. I kept my head down and continued to work before I stopped (in the very small chance I had something throw at me or stray bullet �&#56876. In military so I parked on base with no fear of Car being Broken into. Left Car outside and emailed for wife (still sleeping) and she called safelite when she got up. They quoted almost $400 for the replacement, so she called local Toyota dealer to price shop.

Glad she did because they told her this “was a know but rare occurance” and after verifying the VIN # they said it was fully covered by Toyota.

Saga doesn’t stop there. This happened in December and they still have my car (now Feb) and haven’t gotten the windshield in yet they “ordered” to replace it. I eventually got a loaner to get to and from work, but I don’t know how exploding windows don’t fit into “recall” worthy situation. Maybe since no one has gotten hurt badly enough yet. If my kids had been in the car I would have gone ballistic on Toyota because glass went everywhere. Toyota says they can’t find the windshield they ordered in December. How is that possible in the age of Amazon and FEDEX...?

This whole thing turns me off from Toyota...

 

[k3v11n]

Spontaneous Combustion? Friend just had this happen to him in his 04 Accord.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_glass_breakage

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[bob3dsf]

I know the "known issue" was mentioned, but i received a letter from toyota on the recall. I don't have access to the letter now, but i know it mentioned occurrences when the rear defroster waa bring used. I forget the other details like mileage or time windows for contacting a dealer for repairs.... but I think it was more of a warranty extension thing as opposed to a recall.... FYI

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[Elan750]

Yes cal toyota, they will either replace or reimbure you the costs you incurred. This is actually pretty common not only with Toyota, but many cars.

tempered glass doesnt like uneven heating elements.

 

[YotaDriver]

I'm not sure what would cause the rear window - or any window, really - to spontaneously shatter while the car is parked, but it would stand to reason that if one of the defroster wires has been damaged, i.e. had the insulation scraped off while trying to remove a parking permit or other sticker, then I could see that causing a hot spot, which could cause the glass to shatter due to the ambient cold temperature and the uneven application of defrost heat.

Watch what happens to a bottle when you throw it in a bonfire and then pour water on it once it's heated up. That's what's happening to these windows, I suspect.

Sounds like this problem plagues all makes, not just 4Runners:

Rear defroster shattering glass

 

[oljedi11950]

Goggle search is your friend !:eyebrows::hand:

 

[4Running335i]

Everytime I read these I consider just unhooking my window up/down switch and defroster entirely. Its almost become a don't push this button that I want to push.

 

[chompster4runner]

Everytime I read these I consider just unhooking my window up/down switch and defroster entirely. Its almost become a don't push this button that I want to push.

Before Toyota did a tsb, I installed my rear window myself which disqualified me for a refund. I decided not to plug the wire back onto the window and capped it off.:crybaby: