Shattered Ultra-View

[Kipp]

???????

[dkozloski]

henry01, take a strain guy. I was trying to tell you that the problem is a glass defect as opposed to a bad installation or damage from getting hit by something. GM is liable for all the parts on the car no matter where they came from. If you think I inferred you were a moron you must be one.

[markeau]

Wow, what if someone was looking up thru the glass when it shattered? ... Over the last few decades there have been reports of glass shattering "on its own" in glass T-Tops and rear hatches of Camaro/Firebirds - but since it does not happen often it seems like it would be a glass or framing defect.

[dkozloski]

Auto glass, other than windshields, is heat treated(tempered). This is what makes the glass break into small pieces. If this is not properly done instead of making the glass tougher it makes it more likely to break. The drivers windows of various Ford machines would just explode while cruising down the road. People would go out to their GM two-door hardtops and find the rear window in the back seat. Both of these were traced to faulty heat treatment of the glass. This is an easily adjusted process that sometimes goes wrong.

[Smokin' SRX]

Originally Posted by Playdrv4me

I agree... I did not know the Ultraview was standard on the V8 models... that is absolutely absurd. I didnt like those stupid roofs on the ML Series MB's (so few people ordered their version of it, its practically a rare find), and I certainly wouldnt want one on the SRX. Its just another liability as far as Im concerned. And you better bet your bottom dollar that if this incident happens even a couple of more times Insurance Companies are going to start breaking out the SRX coverages by "SRX V8 W/O Ultraview, SRX V8 W/Ultraview" if they havent already. And of course with it being standard they can even just cover it with having the separate V8 and V6 models as it is.

Hi! just heard from the dealer that the Ultra - View is now OPTIONAL...even on V-8 models. Prayers answered! I suspect that the poor guy with the shattered roof was a fluke! Some foreign object smaller than a nail point can shatter glass if hit just right....and then be deflected away! my sliding glass home door was shattered by the tiniest pebble imaginable , when propelled by a hi speed weed-wacker, that the gardiner was using! I saw it and heard it! Incredible but true. However....I might ride with the shade closed when the roof is closed, from now on!

[MortnCyn]

Considering the possibility that something did hit the glass, there is also the possibility that a passenger could have been struck by that something that broke the ultra view. Never had more than a bug come in a sunroof but..............

[05SRX]

Any glancing blow could have caused the glass to shatter, the object did not have to enter the car.
I don't buy it.

[dkozloski]

I did a little research and found that all tempered glass is subject to shattering spontaneously for no apparent reason. The two major causes are physical damage that may have been done weeks or months earlier or inclusions of nickel sulphide during the manufacturing process. It is rediculous to proclaim the cause of tempered glass breaking unless you were there to see the damage delivered. In the case of the Ford side windows exploding; there were so many that occured in a short period of time and because there was a record of the origin of the glass it became obvious that there was a manufacturing problem. The same goes for the back windows in GM hardtops. In any case this is a dispute that cannot be resolved except in the instance of many parallel incidents. In the case of a new car, the dealer should replace it and hope the factory reimburses him.

[Larry05]

I still think it was a meteorite.

[akdj1055]

Henry01,

It's interesting to find out Cadillac covered the repair because my dealer and Cadillac Zone Manager(major idiot) told me to stick it. $4,800 later, partially covered by insurance, it was fixed (after several attempts). I would appreciate it if you're able to forward any other circumstances that convinced Cadillac to eat this expensive repair. Did Cadillac eat it or your dealer? Since peace of mind is gone, I at least want my money back! I guess I didn't jump up and down enough. They just accused me of being a hot-head.

As for you meteorite fans, just put your family in this situation before you throw rocks at us. It was a very scary event. Fortunately we didn't suffer injury - just aggravation. A couple months now after the fact, and we do not drive with the sunshade open - what a nice accessory. Regardless of what caused the failure, this can't be compared to a side window or normal sized sunroof breaking. You're talking about over 12 sq.ft. of glass above numerous occupants heads. And when the glass falls, it doesn't fall in a million pieces, it rains large chunks of shattered glass that break apart upon impact - which could be your head or other needed body parts.

BTW, a NHTSA investigator is or has recommended that NHTSA open a formal investigation, probably due to Henry01's injury event. Haven't heard if they are going to formally open one yet, but unfortunately, injuries seem to catch their attention. They didn't do squat following my complaint - no injury.

[djfcars]

Could the glass of broken by another way? How about if for some reason the body/frame of that particular SRX did not get it fair share of spot welds or some other manufacturing process was skipped or poorly done. Body flex could be a contributing factor. Its a long shot but who knows???

I would be mad if glass fell on my family and caused injury. Ever had a doctor drill (and I do mean drill) a piece of foreign matter out of your eyes? Not fun.

Djfcars

[turbojimmy]

Originally Posted by markeau

Wow, what if someone was looking up thru the glass when it shattered? ... Over the last few decades there have been reports of glass shattering "on its own" in glass T-Tops and rear hatches of Camaro/Firebirds - but since it does not happen often it seems like it would be a glass or framing defect.

The driver's side T-top on my GN shattered twice. First time it was because someone smashed it to gain entry to the car to steal it. Stupid thief had to sit in glass. If he took another 3 seconds with a coat hanger he could've gotten in it easily.

Second time was just last year when I forgot to latch it. Evidently it takes 72.3 MPH of wind to lift the top. And then they literally take flight. The sunscreen separates like the tanks on the space shuttle, and the top shatters in an enormous explosion of glass when it hits the highway. It's quite spectacular.

GM didn't want to fix it either time. Bastages.

Jim

[CTSTC]

This happened to my '04! It was parked in the garage, went to open the door and saw the whole thing had collapsed into the car. I did not have the sun shaded drawn so there was glass everywhere. We don't have kids, and nothing fell onto it. My insurance company paid the $2300 to fix it after I paid my $750 deductible. I was told it could have been a fluctuation in temperature (it was in February).

By the way, Larry- stop acting like a dumbass. No one wants to see your goddamn meteor theory!

[Larry05]

Originally Posted by akdj1055

Henry01,

It's interesting to find out Cadillac covered the repair because my dealer and Cadillac Zone Manager(major idiot) told me to stick it. $4,800 later, partially covered by insurance, it was fixed (after several attempts). I would appreciate it if you're able to forward any other circumstances that convinced Cadillac to eat this expensive repair. Did Cadillac eat it or your dealer? Since peace of mind is gone, I at least want my money back! I guess I didn't jump up and down enough. They just accused me of being a hot-head.

As for you meteorite fans, just put your family in this situation before you throw rocks at us. It was a very scary event. Fortunately we didn't suffer injury - just aggravation. A couple months now after the fact, and we do not drive with the sunshade open - what a nice accessory. Regardless of what caused the failure, this can't be compared to a side window or normal sized sunroof breaking. You're talking about over 12 sq.ft. of glass above numerous occupants heads. And when the glass falls, it doesn't fall in a million pieces, it rains large chunks of shattered glass that break apart upon impact - which could be your head or other needed body parts.

BTW, a NHTSA investigator is or has recommended that NHTSA open a formal investigation, probably due to Henry01's injury event. Haven't heard if they are going to formally open one yet, but unfortunately, injuries seem to catch their attention. They didn't do squat following my complaint - no injury.

Well, I still think it was a meteorite - but before you become apoplexic (sp), I also have an 82 Corvette with glass t-tops that are literally right above your head. Had the drivers one shatter into a thousand (or maybe a million) pieces when a sprinkler head came off the back of a truck in front of me. I saw it coming! Only thing that saved me is I had a dot-matrix liner that held the glass in place. When we peeled the liner off, the thousand or million pieces collapsed everywhere.

I feel your pain, man, but you can't have my beer.

[turbojimmy]

Originally Posted by Larry05

I also have an 82 Corvette with glass t-tops that are literally right above your head.

My dad has an '80 L82 Vette with glass tops. They've been cracked since he got the car - they haven't shattered yet (and it's been almost 20 years). He's got a set of non-cracked ones that he keeps in the garage. He thinks someone is gonna steal the tops that are on it so he doesn't install the good ones.

Jim