Exploding sunroof!
 

It's pretty tough to get Audi to admit fault in anything unless there's a fault code in a computer. Good luck!

Hi @Lisa schmaltz sounds like you got a new feature, but unfortuantely it's a one-time use only ;) I doubt Audi will take any responsibility for it, but you'll get it covered under insurance. From an engineering perspective I can totally understand why a sunroof can explode, think the metal fatugue and changes when the car is in movement against a glass structure. Good luck and let us know how it goes. BTW, this is pretty interesting: https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...nger-overhead/

Glass is not going to be a warranty-able item.. you cannot prove it was a manufacturer defect at this point, and you'd be surprised.. glass dont break from the size of the object impacting it, a small piece of ceramic can destroy automotive glass without much effort.. its about force over area, particularly a large force on a tiny area.

Sunroof exploded
 

Yuck, that's pretty scary! Consumer Reports had an article about this sort of thing:
https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...nger-overhead/
It's hard to tell what your options are...

Same thing just happened to me today on my 2017 A4. I hope Audi takes responsibility - this should not happen. Thankfully, my shade was drawn as well, but still scary.

Re: Amy exploding sunroof
 

Sorry to hear that happened to you. It is scary and should not be covered by YOUR insurance but by the Audi warranty! There is so much info out on these sunroofs exploding... just google “exploding sunroofs” and you’ll find numerous articles. I helped our local news to story on it (look up KGW-TV Portland channel, Chris Willis news anchor). It’s amazing how often this is happening.... don’t back down to Audi, make them fix it.

Try your vehicle insurance. Tell them a truck sent a rock on your vehicle and hit the sunroof. I just had my windshield replaced under my insurance last week. My deductible was $100.

Whats amazing to me is Audi always says it's impact causing the breakage, but if you watch the video of the hail damage in Texas, every car had smashed front and rear windows, but none had broken sunroofs...

2017 Q7 - sunroof exploding
 

Last Friday i was on the way to the Airport in Houston to drop off my wife. Out of nowhere, the sunroof just exploded! We found ourselves and my dog (that was on the back seat) covered all over in shattered glass. Had the sun screen opened when it happened. No one was in front or on the side lanes... This time we were lucky and we are ok. Never heard of this until then. Did search and found out many reports, investigation documentaries from different news channels, and forums, where this has happened and since 2015 the reports are increasing... panoramic sunroofs or not doesn't matter, the problem is there, and i haven't read one article yet about what is being done about to resolve the problem. This is a safety issue, where it's a defect/design on the glass or the roof of the cars, or whatever... It needs to be addressed and resolved by car/glass manufacturers. Currently my car is at the Audi shop, Audi is fixing it and taking care of the full cost.

Exploding Sunroof 2019 Q8
 

Can you tell me if this was ever resolved? I was just driving into work this morning and my sunroof on my new 2019 Audi Q8 exploded. It literally sounded like a gunshot. Scared the crap out of me. Called the Dealership and then drove straight there. They were trying to tell me something hit it, but that is BS. They also tried to tell me Audi claims this has NEVER happened before. RIGHT!! So I actually pulled up this site while I was in the waiting area and proceeded to show them while pleading my case. This is insane . They gave me a loaner but certainly didn’t sound too reassuring that Audi would claim responsibility.

Sorry for what happened to your Q8! Wow...
Audi in Houston took care of the issue. They had other cases with other models. This was the 1st Q7 they had to deal with. Despite the good service of Audi and the service/shop group, i felt submitting a claim thru the NHTSA so something is on records and hope someone can do something more than we can. You should not let them submit the repairs under your Warranty. It should be done thru Audi... Once the warranty expires, it could happen again, and I'm not sure who will cover the defect/repairs. Good Luck!

Another good reason to avoid sunroofs. Harder to find an Audi in stock without the panoramic moonroof but it is possible or you can order them with the moonroof delete yourself.


A recent article about exploding sunroofs:

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...nger-overhead/

I know there are reports of spontaneously exploding sunroofs so I am sure it is real. But if you look at the contour of the roofline it is possible to take a rock to one on the freeway and with the spin it will put off can arc it so it is less of a glancing blow. There is probably a defect in glass in some of these though.

My sunroof exploded as well
 

I just had the sunroof on my 2019 Q7 explode. Almost same scenario. 75 mph, no traffic around, 63 degree cloudy day, on a smooth highway. Pretty scary sound that was louder than a gunshot. Very little glass was caught on the shade since it exploded outward. Good thing no motorcycle was behind us. This could be extremely dangerous situation. Heading 4 hours to dealership now to see when they can fix it.

Steve, not sure where you live, but Audi should take responsibility in full. Do not let them use any of your own warranty if you have one. They should also replace the entire roll screen system. Good luck!

Exploding sunroof
 

I am appalled reading these posts as we also encountered a terrifying situation driving on Xmas morning and having our sunroof spontaneously explode while on the freeway. Thank GOD the sunroof shade was closed at the time, capturing the hundreds of pieces of glass shards and protecting my two kids from having glass fly into their eyes. Audi World has refused to accept responsibility. What is most worrisome is that they must know this problem exists putting families at risk on the road.

I plan to to reach out to Jeff Plungis a Consumer Reports autos expert who has written extensively on this dangerous problem.

Spontaneous failure of tempered glass is a well-documented, real thing. It's rare, but it happens to shower doors, sunroofs, oven doors, etc.
I've worked with tempered glass consumer products for many years, and I have dealt with this issue first-hand. It sucks, but there's not much that can be done to truly eliminate the possibility of sudden shattering. The very best you can hope is that the product manufacturer offers to repair/replace under warranty or sheer goodwill.

To clarify your post, Audi World is not us, I"m assuming you mean Audi USA.

Yes meant Audi USA

Just say no to moonroofs :)

Exploding Moonroof 2019
 

Yes. Same thing just happened to me. Driving on highway, no other cars around, and we hear a loud explosion and feel glass fall all over. We both thought we were shot. Horrific!





QUOTE=Lisa schmaltz;25291537][/QUOTE]

Exploding sunroof Q7
 

We just had the same thing happen. We were driving on the highway and heard a loud pop/explosion. We didn’t know what happened. It was really scary! We looked up to see that the entire glass panel had exploded out.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...b4fac8cb1.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...66b4bfc5b.jpeg

Interesting that this is an issue no one seems to have heard about until it happens to them. Consumer Reports published on this topic several years ago, as it impacts lots of cars with sunroofs of all types, not just the ginormous sized ones on the Audi Q7. Interestingly, Audi is barely a blip on the radar compared to other car manufacturers when it comes to exploding sunroofs. Not that it doesn't happen; it does, just not in a statistically significant manner as compares to the other car manufacturers.
Read this:
https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...nger-overhead/

To prevent this from occurring on my Q7, and reduce cabin heat-gain, I had every glass surface inside my Q7 coated with high-heat-rejection, ceramic window film...even the windshield. I'm cool as a cucumber now, and not worried about exploding sunroofs, because I pretty much always keep the shade retracted when I'm in the car. Especially since the heat no longer passes through the roof. (Car not equipped with Hot weather/deep tinted sunroofs, which it definitely needs in the deep South)

For safety, I'd suggest getting just the sunroofs covered in a high-grade window film...I only got the legal standard tint I put on the windows (again, no heat package option on my car), and if I did it again, then I'd go one shade darker on the window film for the sunroofs, which in-turn, also rejects more heat. If you already have the Hot weather package on your car (deep tint sunroofs, side & rear window shades, etc.), then you can go with the same type film they put on the windshields, which has almost no tint to it at all; just heat rejection. It cost me about $200 for the sunroofs...shop around and ask for discounts, but use only the highest quality tint so it won't fade/shrink/peel, etc., and comes with a lifetime guarantee.

LOL, since I'm sharing this info, I realize I need to go get the other Q7 done now too, but that one has the hot weather package, so it'll be the windshield-grade, heat-rejecting film I use on our '15's sunroofs.

Q7 Exploding Sunroof
 

Thank you both for the additional suggestions on the shield and filing the issue.
to clarify the conditions for mine, I live in NY and the weather was approx 35 degrees and no precipitation. It was about 4 pm. The car was traveling about 65 on a dry unbumpy highway, and the explosion happened about 20 min into our ride. We were returning from a store, so the vehicle had been warmed up earlier in the day too.
I’m just grateful the cloth cover was closed because my daughter was in the back seat and she would have been covered in glass.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...130eda951.jpeg

This happened to mine today
 

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...57ad9dd27.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...5e639ecf9.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...b270afdba.jpeg

Same thing happened to mine today. Scared me and now I have little cuts in my head from the glass.

The same thing happened to my 2015 Q7. It was a rainy December so I covered the roof and had it towed to the dealership because I didn't want to drive it back home with my family who was just showered with shattered glass. I read about the issue happening on Q5s from the year before so I assumed it was a warranty issue. The service manager said to take it to a glass shop and he had never heard of the problem. I refused to pick the car up from the dealer and contacted Audi USA who covered the replacement.