2012 Prius IV moonroof glass manufacture defect?

Someone here posted upper hatch glass pictures that looked very similar, the way it broke. Maybe 3~4 years back?

Good luck with Toyota.

Addendum: the way it's broken both sides is good, makes it harder for them to brush it off as a rock chip that took off, or whatever. Looks like stresses built up and it fractured.

 

This is the thread I was thinking of:

Is it normal for rear windshield to break on its own???? | PriusChat

 

Insurance claim?

 

I’m sure you’ve saved up enough from all the DIY?

 

Maybe things are different up here, cus I always seemed to get puzzled looks when I ask US members about filing insurance claim, and your response is more or less the norm.

If that's the reality of auto insurance down there, that a no-fault comprehensive claim would push your premium through the roof, there's something wrong with the system.

Need to get John Oliver on it, lol.

 

Although thankfully uncommon, this does happen, to rear window glass, side window glass, and sunroof glass. I've actually witnessed it (girl got into her car and shut the door and "bang", the rear hatch glass was gone). There are several possible causes including stress from too tight a fit in the body, a scratch on the glass, or even a tiny chip you didn't see that happened a week before. The glass is tempered, meaning it has very high forces holding it in place internal to the glass. This makes it much stronger and also makes it break into tiny pieces, which are less likely to kill you when they hit you.

After this many years I don't think it's a defect. A defect would probably fail after less than 6 months. The stresses in tempered glass are that high. I've had a tempered drinking glass explode in my hands while drying it due to a chip on the lip.

I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be covered unless the car was very new. Maybe up to one year? Wouldn't hurt to ask though.

Good luck!

Oh, just remembered, during a visit to a local dealer, they had a Toyota RAV4 all apart replacing the sunroof. Lots of labour. Good way to use your DIY skills to save!

 

You should be able to ask your insurer, what the claim would do to your premiums. At least that's the case with our "crown corporation", an insurance company some where between government and private sector, that has most of the auto insurance here. Ask the what-if question, and they'll tell you, say: your annual premium will be bumped by $50 for two years.

 

Sorry to know that that happened to you. Bogs my mind that the cracks happened on the weatherstrip sections. I have the exact year and package options as yours, and open and close my sunroof a lot even during cold weather so definitely a concern of mine now. If anything, I'm thinking by closing and opening any door causes some type of air suction, or expansion causing a push-pull down on the glass with air displacement. The fact that lightweight for the prius is premium, the glass may not be durable as regular sunroof glass. My hypothesis: by repeating the opening/closing door process over long period of time, the glass may have just lost it's physical integrity due to repeated air suction and expansion.

 

My eyes are on everything on this prius. It's carported therefore it enjoys the extreme cold and heated pavement underneath it during summer.

 

Here we have just private insurance, no govt. involvement. Most of them allow one "at fault" incident with no premium increase. I suspect you'll be fine.

I don't think the failure is caused by repeated stress'. I suspect it's due to a slow change in the shape of the opening (the car is slowly changing shape), until the metal started rubbing the glass. Once the glass is worn from it's original shape the internal stress will concentrate at that point, and that concentrated stress will cause failure. Or it could just be a chip you didn't notice, and again, the internal stress concentrates at the chip.

 

Some designer made a mistake. It's too easy!