Rear Windshield Shattered this morning

[Flygirlz]

This describes what happened to me yesterday. Added issue is that the glass pieces affected my ability to open the liftgate (it's closed and can't be budged). My 4Runner is in the shop right now, looking at $450 to $750 if the liftgate motor needs replacing.

I've noticed that people posting on this forum were going to report their glass issues to Toyota. Anyone get a response? Does Toyota cover part of the cost? I haven't seen any recalls regarding this.

I just had this exact something happen to me. I had turned on the defroster and it had only been on for maybe 10min. There was a funky burning rubber smell then BANG, it sounded like a gun went off in the car and the window exploded into the back! Fortunately, my dog was laying down in the seat and not in the back. I contacted Toyota and all they would tell me is that there wasn't a recall and I must have damaged it. I explained that my vehicle has never been in an accident or had any damage, then they just blew me off since it was't under warranty. Thank god I have glass coverage with my insurance!

 

[bodyman19]

Poor Design

There is no doubt that there is a design flaw with the glass!! The defrost is what is causing the glass to break! I would imagine that the post on the glass has worked itself loose and caused the short!

 

[07V8]

This makes me want to manually disconnect the rear window. The mirror deforster is so useful and I don't want to lose that function.

How easy would it be to access the line that feeds the fear window?

 

[dyintorace]

Add my 2006 truck to this list. Happened this morning. Rained last night, so the truck was covered in water and dew. We live in north Florida, outside temp was probably 75 and very humid. Taking our son to camp, I turned on the rear defroster to dry the rear window. Dropped him off, heading home then BOOM! Probably ~15 minutes from start to it shattering. I guess I'm going to call Safelite now.

 

[Hobson]

Adding mine to this list... It was about 80 degrees this morning, I was going 75 down the interstate and it basically exploded. (rear defrost was off)

There were no large pieces left in the window frame, it looks like the window is completely rolled down.

Any facts as to what is causing this?

 

[JonnyClean]

Adding mine to the slowly growing list. Safelite fixed it yesterday. Where the defroster connects to the window is charred.

 

[Continental]

Throw my name in on the list.
06 4 runner 150k on it. My airport car... driving to DFW airport on 08/30 to get on a flight. probably high 80s, defrost was off, I faintly smelled something burning but thought it was just the car in front of me when BAMM and back window shattered.

Bad news I had to then park in covered for 24 bucks a day, secured anything i didn't want to lose in glovebox and locked it, left on trip for 6 days.

Good news is there is still faith in humanity..Nobody touched anything!

Guess a call to USAA and safelight

Better than a kick to the head by a llama I guess :llama:

 

[Texas8668]

In Dallas and my '06 has 155K on it, back window still in tact...

Is there anything preventative I can do for this thing OR is it just a replace it when it eventually shatters?!

 

[Continental]

I didn't have any warning with mine. I was just driving to the airport off 121 when it happened. Hopefully it won't happen to you.

 

[adkfinn]

In Dallas and my '06 has 155K on it, back window still in tact...

Is there anything preventative I can do for this thing OR is it just a replace it when it eventually shatters?!

Tex: It seems like most people experiencing this discover after the fact that the defroster was/is shorting where the wires attach to the glass. My only thought on preventative is to check the connection for any damage, clean it well, and give it a healthy dose of dielectric grease to ensure a nice positive connection. You'll have to pull the interior panel off of the hatch, so you might as well replace the exterior hatch release button rubber while you are in there...

 

[BRUIN8124]

I feel like I am hitting the self destruct button every time I use my rear window defrost. I have been lucky so far.

Is this more common in any certain model years?

 

[SCMtnToy]

Add another to the list.

It was a warm day and had been sitting in the sun. That evening, I was heading to town - still about 80 degrees out. The rear defrost inadvertently got turned on and I noticed it about 10 minutes into the trip.

I smelled electrical, but thought it was a car's toasted brakes (on a mountain road, stuck behind people riding their brakes, so that's fairly normal). After hopping on the freeway and going a mile, BOOM. The entire thing exploded. The connectors to the glass were charred and had "that odor", so that definitely looks like the cause. It's surprising to see such a dramatic failure from a bad connection.

2005 4runner, original glass, no chance of anything hitting the rear window.

 

[chompster4runner]

Sometime last year...wife on her way to work and boom! Thought she was shot at on the freeway. I advise everyone to make a complaint to Toyota Corp. Didn't bother to plug the wire back in. This and the annoying moonroof rattling. Something that was never a problem on previous gens.

 

[SCMtnToy]

Yeah...that sunroof rattle is here too. Haven't looked into resolving it yet. First step is replacing the rear glass...

 

[chompster4runner]

Yeah...that sunroof rattle is here too. Haven't looked into resolving it yet. First step is replacing the rear glass...

Check to make sure warranty is not void if you decide to install it yourself. Most place only guarantee if they install it. I resolve my rattle with some cushion blocks on both rear corners. Just make sure no one tries to open it...lol

 

[SCMtnToy]

Yeah, I'm having a shop install the glass. Thanks.

 

[jeepgod]

Add me to the list, I was driving down the interstate going 70MPH and it was raining so I turned on my rear defroster and it cleared it up. A few minutes of it being off my rear window started to fog up again so I turned it back on 2 minutes later my rear window shattered while driving. Had to drive the rest of the 150 mile trip home in the rain with out a back window. I had Safe Lite install a new window took about 1.5 HRS and came to $182.07 with a $40 off new customer coupon.

 

[busbeepbeep]

So I'm the OP in this thread. Just got a warranty enhancement letter in mail today explaining that there's now warranty coverage for this defect. I haven't turned on my rear defroster at all since that day it busted in 2010. Got the rear window replaced by Safelite I believe, but who knows if i can find a record of it now.


edit: sorry, I see there's already threads about it. FIrst thing I did was look for my old thread.

 

[KBToys]

Just wondering what year is all of your 4runners that had the back window shatter? From the few that posted looks like 2006 has had them shatter

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Bob22222]

Today I received notice from Toyota Motor Company.
The are extending the factory warranty covering the rear glass until sometime in the late April of 2018. There also seem to be a process for recovery of repair expenses with proper documentation. It was much like the dashboard notification I received a few years back. I'm the third owner.
I leave it to you to decide if that meets your expectation of good customer service.