Shattered rear glass

English Tony,

Welcome to PriusChat.

I can't help with the repair issue, it's not happened to me.

That said, were there there any special or unusual conditions when the glass
broke, ie;
* very low temps,
* something in the hatch that poked the glass from inside,
* previous collision repairs in the aft end of the car
* car sitting at a noticeable sideways angle
* very weak or inoperable gas struts

 

Interesting to see follow-up on this, since back in the old days at least 2 Prius of the 2001-2003 model had the rear glass fall apart with no known cause.

 

I had this window shatter one morning when I closed the hatch. Nothing was in the cargo area, car was inside my garage, it was between 60 and 70 degrees (F) in the garage, all other doors and windows were closed. No door slamming was involved...just a gentle close and then a loud Wth.

Parts counter said they have seen a couple other instances...believe it is due to air pressure difference when closing. Who knows...all I know is it was very inconvenient and about $400 by the time it was all said and done.

 

why $400? is this piece of glass not covered by the average insurance companies glass insurance coverage? should it only be a $50 - $100 deductible?

did they have to replace something else besides the glass?

 

One would think, huh? About $350 for the window and $50 for installation if memory serves correctly. Check your own coverage, but USAA coverage for other than the windshield is I pay deductible then they cover the remainder.

 

Mine is any 1 piece of glass, one claim per policy year with nil excess. Any window is covered. So if someone smashes a window to break into the car the glass is 100% covered but anything taken and you want to claim that your up for the first $300.

 

Approximately 1 year ago and AGAIN last week, the rear window on my 2006 shattered. Last week my car was parked for about 6 hours in 30-40 degree weather after I drove it 7 miles (I park it outside). Note that it was extremley windy outside with 40 to 50MPH gusts. I got into the car and shut the car and heard a strange sound that I couldn't associate with anything. I went to backup and looked in the rear view window and noticed that the rear window was completey cracked. I went outside and put one finger on the window and it formed a hole.

One year ago almost to the week, the same thing happened. This time I had driven for about 1 hour in 30 to 40 degree weather, parked the car for 5 minutes, went back to the car to get something out of the back seat and noticed the rear window shattered. No hole until I put my finger on it.

I took the vehicle both times to a Safelite location. This time they told me that they have replaced a dozen Prius rear widows in the past year. Coincidence????

 

I would hardly think that.
Do other cars have similar issues with glass breakage when a door is shut? Or, perhaps, the glass is improperly specked for manufacturing? Bad supplier? As to temperature, Japan has some cold temps too, do they have similar issues, still?

 

Just yesterday we had the same problem with our 2005 Prius.
The car was parked during the day, 75-85 degrees, came back to a completely shattered back window. When you looked at the window, there was no obvious impact spot.
It was also parked in a corporate lot with security video, they verified no one came near the car.

My wife does not remember any weird sounds while closing the doors.

Bad batch of windows or bad design??

 

I also had a mysterious shatter of the back window glass on a different car before. Never figured out the cause.

 

My rear window gets INCREDIBLY HOT in the summer here when I'm parked with the back of the car facing the sun. It is so hot that I'm amazed that it hasn't popped while driving. Gads! One touch and its 2nd or 3rd degree burns.

I credit the dark tint absorbing solar energy for getting it so hot.

 

Any car's glass can do that, although maybe Toyotas are more prone. I was driving my Sienna one day down the freeway 65 mph and the glass in the right sliding door spontaneously exploded... it banged so loud when it went it scared us and I pulled over. It stayed in place but kept crackling for a couple hours.

 

Mine seems perfect after all, the car is 5 years old

 

At 90 Km/hr the right rear window imploded on our 2008 Prius. Thankfully no one was sitting beside it. Nothing hit the window, it just shattered. Toyota would not cover under warranty and we had to put in an insurance claim, which was $300 deductible.
If someone had been sitting there, it would have been a frightful sight and a law suit to follow.
Has anyone noticed any strange vibrating noise when one window is open at the back...sounds like a helicopter flying above. When a second window is open, the sound diminishes. Is this poor design?
We have a Benz and it does not make that kind of noise with one window open.

 

Yup.... first noticed it in my 76 Rabbit... it's common in hatchback shaped cars. Open a front window an inch to damp down the high intensity low frequency note you get with one rear window open.

 

Statefarm insures all my windows so i am covered

 

A friend has a 2005 Prius.
His son closing the rear hatch exploded the lower (under the spoiler) window. My friend advised $300 to get it fixed via a Toyota dealer.
I close my hatch gingerly now on my 2007.
regards
Froley

 

This just happened to me about 15 minutes ago, home now to tell the tale.


Just came back from work, and was driving on the freeway around 65mph and it was only me in the car. It was 70 degrees outside, a bit cool but not cold. Not really windy either. Anyway, all of a sudden I hear a big "POP" from the back passenger rear window. All my windows were up because I was on the phone, but as soon as I heard the loud pop I quickly went into defensive mode thinking the worst (that someone was shooting at me - hey you never know!) So I sped up to about 75-80 in a quick few seconds and got off the next freeway exit. I pulled into a gas station and parked. I turned the car off and inspected the rear passenger window. It was completely busted and small little bits of glass chunks were everywhere in the back seat. I was hoping for some evidence of perhaps a rock or something that had gone IN the car if it was in fact a random act of violence. But, after cleaning the glass out a bit I didn't find anything.

Im trying to remember if when I heard that initial "pop" if it was because it was the glass breaking spontaneously or if it was from a foreign object hitting it and breaking it. I came on here and found this thread - it sounds like it might be a combination of both a rock and bad design/weak glass? Im not sure. Check the pictures and tell me what you think?

My day off tomorrow, guess Ill be at the toyota dealer all day. Does anyone have suggestions as to if this would be covered by warranty or how to get the lowest cost to fix it? Would I go to my insurance first or the dealer? =(

 

Wow, sorry to hear about your rear hatch glass.

I think this would be a comprehensive insurance claim. I doubt that your dealer would view this as a warranty issue since it is likely that a rock hit the hatch glass, then bounced off.

An auto glass place might be able to replace the hatch glass at a lower price vs. your dealer.

I think you should start by calling your insurance company to file a claim, and see what auto glass shops they might recommend.

The next issue is whether Toyota glass will be used or an aftermarket supplier. Usually aftermarket costs much less. If you want Toyota glass you might have to pay the difference.

I suggest you inspect the replacement glass before it is installed to make sure that no imperfections exist. Look at rectangular objects through the glass to see if there's any distortion.