Hey everyone!

We have been longtime Mazda drivers and have been overall happy with the brand until today.

We were driving down the highway about to start our vacation when we heard what sounded like a gunshot. We normally dont use our sunroof but my husband opened the sunroof cover to find that our sunroof had exploded outward. We were so lucky our sunroof cover was up!

We quickly pulled off the highway as it started to rain and stopped in at a local glass repair shop where they were luckily able to tape it.

We brought it in to the Mazda service centre and the tech told us that yes, this happens all the time to new Mazdas but that it isn't something they will cover under our warranty. It obviously exploded outwards, we were not under a bridge and there was no debris amongst the broken glass. It seems clear that this is a manufacturing /design defect.

Anyone else had this happen?

 

WELCOME TO THE FORUM


This is a very controversial and HOT topic on a few Mazda forums as well other platform forums.

The facts are at this time the NTSB has noted the concerns and has determined at this time neutrality and advised auto manufactures to consider self testing and evaluating if it is a defect in a design and or material or manufacturing.
Mazda at this point does not cover this under the WARRANTY however in some cases the *dealership have chosen to do replace the sunroofs under the Warranty program they have with MAZDA . *It is NOT clear if MAZDA reimbursees the dealerships that do this.
The NTSB has also stated that the number of cases is not considered to be in the category of a recall, and this also goes with their independent testing and determination that at this time it is not a defect.
I would suggest that you contact MAZDA USA direct with your personal event and see if you can persuade them to make an exception and warranty your glass?
I would also talk directly to the dealership management team and also plead your case with them.
You can also read the true facts about the the results of the NTSB investigation on their website.

Many different vehicle forums and MAZDA forums including this one have some members effected by sunroof breaking. I can tell you that there are many thoughts about this which like you describe the event as it just happened?
The down side is that even the NTSB could not recreate "it just happened" to come up with even a reasonable conclusion why? So at this point you are unfortunately added to the very few that "it just happened" group for now?
Sorry!

For my few friends that like to debate back and forth with me ( ) please contact the NTSB and completely read their full through report about this subject.

 

So even with a bumper to bumper warranty, this issue may not be covered? I wish auto manufacturers weren't always trying to screw over the customer .

 

There's a possibility that some yob hurled a stone from an overhead bridge you went under.

 

And there you have "one" of many possible reasons as to why Mazda will not (yet) cover this issue that very few owners are experiencing.
It is rare that a company will cover something under warranty if they cannot directly attribute it to a defective part or construction.
You will occasionally find a dealer that will "make things right" on a new vehicle.

 

Check these threads on another forum for more instances... This may be helpful as many have had this fixed under warranty.

https://mazdas247.com/forum/t/explod...wtf.123870339/

Another successful claim:

https://mazdas247.com/forum/t/sunroo...ded.123873600/

And another where they denied coverage:

https://mazdas247.com/forum/t/explod...ing.123873580/

 

I must correct you about your stating MANY in that response. Because members owning MAZDA often will join a few forums and post the same information that actual total numbers become inflated. The word MANY is not the case by any means.

I read those and responded, and you did not read the information as usual. That forum has a lot to be desired to many DIY and theories that are not proven correct on many topic. As I posted and can be read by anyone doing a little more than just trying cause BS (see quote above) on a thread can read the report from the NTSB and READ IT AND LEARN instead of going by what owners post which in most cases as the examples you posted is only partial information what completely happened and all the steps and people they talked to for them to get a new glass covered either as dealership courtesy or an *arrangement between the dealership and MAZDA USA. *That information may never be publicly available.
Do you personally know of can show by way of documentation that MAZDA directly covered the glass? REPEAT: Or is it as I suggested the dealership did it as a curtesy and they will attempt to recover the through MAZDA under thier contract reimbursement?
There is a BIG difference.
I really was waiting to see what nonsense you posted on this thread... you never let me down !

Let me repeat : At this time no Auto manufacture and specifically Mazda is doing a recall or coverage universally for sun roof damages. It is however done on a one on one between the Dealership and the consumer.
The NBTSB has currently ruled that they are not seeking the auto manufactures to issue a recall not are they state ting that it is a defect.

How much clearer can that be?

I might add I called USAA, AAA, and Geico and talked about this with more then one agent and they state that each insurer if covered will be covered for the normal deductible of the coverage type but NONE are pursuing any action that is considered to be defective glass. Feel free contact any of these or you own and post what they tell you!

Having a personal theory, I and I pretty sure I posed this on this forum or the other forum maybe not the MADZA forum , having gone to a Auto Recycler and actually trying to break the sunroof in a couple of the models effected. We laughed are *** off how bunch it actually took to break them! So this goes back to my theory about interior pressure and pressure releases under a set of circumstances that fractured the sunroof glass. IMHO and understanding of the design of the framing and structural support around the sunroof would make this more reasonable to consider (and maybe it has) which I am not sure because of the very low number of instances comparing model on the road to not be a defect in the glass or framing of the sunroof.

 

Another reason to get glass coverage on your vehicle . In my experience any sun roof/moon roof is going to be a problem in one way or another sooner or later. They will either break ,leak or fail to function all together, and they are never easy or cheap to fix. A very nice option, but seldom trouble free. Funny story ,A friend of mine who passed away 2 years ago was an insurance agent . Came to my shop/lot when the moonroof on his 2013 BMW 760Li got stuck open and wouldn't close ,it just made a nasty noise. the car was off warrantee ,and he asked if I could fix it. I said it was not something i would want to try and repair .He said the dealer wanted a minimum of $1400.00 to fix it . He asked to borrow a hammer ,i gave him a 2 pound hammer, he broke the sunroof with the hammer and gave my lot boy a $20.00 bill to vacuum out the car and left. His glass coverage paid for a new sunroof. He, Tony G was always a bit shady ,but always got me the best price on auto and home insurance .

 

The only sun roofs that in my past having any problems were from owners that did not do simple thing like clean them and the framing, seals, drains at least a couple times in a 5-10 years period of ownership.
Sunroofs and moon roofs and panoramic glass tops have been reliable and safe for decades unless as I posted not serviceed once in a while.

Show me someone with a sunroof with a daily driver having ownership for 1 year and I will show you dirty tracks!!! LOL

Oh and this response also goes for universal and universally aftermarket installed (properly following the manufactures exact installation instructions) sunroofs and moon roof!!!!!!!!

 

It's very few if any people who ever service sunroofs ,until they fail or leak. Most people wait until something breaks to service or fix it. As far as safe ,the fact is any glass sunroof or panoramic glass roof will never be as safe as an all steel roof .