Rear window shattered?

may727 · #1 (**permalink**) 10-31-05, 04:03 PM

Got in the car the other morning, a 2005 that I have had for a month or so, when I closed the drivers door, all windows up, the rear window shattered and blew out backwards. Nothing hit it as it had sat in the garage overnight. Was wondering if anyone else has encountered this.

malcolm · #2 (**permalink**) 10-31-05, 05:50 PM

My son's Ford Expedition had the rear window blow out on a very hot day. I have heard of this occaisionally happening in different vehicles.

wick05 · #3 (**permalink**) 11-01-05, 10:55 PM

Did you leave the defrosters on? I have seen them blow out cause the rear defrosters were left on by accident.

That right there would top my experience off. LOL

may727 · #4 (**permalink**) 11-03-05, 10:50 AM

I did have it ont he night before as it was rainy, but the car was off all night in the garage. I hope it doesn't stay on when the car is off and most cars I have had shut off automatically after 10 mins or so. I hope with the technology on this car it does the same. I do think maybe the glass was defective and the use of the rear defroster set something off. The only thing is this car was a demo so I am assuming it had been used in the 6000 miles driven before I got it. I just wanted to get this out on this forum in case it turns out to be a common issue with these cars. Thanks for your replies so far.

malcolm · #5 (**permalink**) 11-03-05, 01:39 PM

Do a little searching and you may find other reports. This one talks about a defective defrost connector.

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/for...howtopic=26380

Here's another good link.

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc.../chem00506.htm

BarryNS · #6 (**permalink**) 11-26-05, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by may727

Got in the car the other morning, a 2005 that I have had for a month or so, when I closed the drivers door, all windows up, the rear window shattered and blew out backwards. Nothing hit it as it had sat in the garage overnight. Was wondering if anyone else has encountered this.

While my car was being serviced yesterday, there was a brond new unsold 2006 V8 AWD STS in the service lane. Rear window was totally shattered. There also were some thin vertical crack lines (3-4) across the window which made me think that window had been installed under stress and did not exactly lie flat in the openine when installed

GrannysRedSTS · #7 (**permalink**) 12-12-05, 02:23 PM

My 05 STS rear window shattered overnight for no apparent reason. No, I did not leave the rear defrost on. No, there was not an impact mark of any kind - cat footprints, but just your basic housecat, not a lion or tiger or anything. No, there was not a bb mark. It looked like it was pushed from the inside out. It wasn't even all that cold outside.

Dealer is still trying to decide if warranty issue or not...

**Jesda** · #8 (**permalink**) 12-12-05, 03:12 PM

This is the most bizarre thing I've read in years. Heck, the last time I ever endured a shattered rear window was when someone tossed a beer bottle through it.

CeeEyeA · #9 (**permalink**) 12-12-05, 03:47 PM

Another rear windshield shattered here! And when I took the car to the dealership there was another one there. In fact, before the dealership got to okay to repair the window, Cadillace sent a couple of reps to look at both cars.

To top things off ( in addition to the traction problems I have faced with the STS as I live in Michigan) while the dealership had the car to fix the window, the car was hit and now I have a bent frame.

And people are wondering why they are laying off 40,000 workers!!

It is my last Cadillac!

**Playdrv4me** · #10 (**permalink**) 12-12-05, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CeeEyeA

Another rear windshield shattered here! And when I took the car to the dealership there was another one there. In fact, before the dealership got to okay to repair the window, Cadillace sent a couple of reps to look at both cars.

To top things off ( in addition to the traction problems I have faced with the STS as I live in Michigan) while the dealership had the car to fix the window, the car was hit and now I have a bent frame.

And people are wondering why they are laying off 40,000 workers!!

It is my last Cadillac!

Uhh I would sue the shit out of that dealership and get them to give you a new car. An out of shape frame will DEVALUE your vehicle. You did not make it clear whether insurance is replacing the car, whether your still driving it, or whether they are replacing it.

As fas as the window thing is concerned, this is a very concerning trend indeed. It could well be anything from unequalized or too much pressure inside the car with the doors and windows shut (something that enough impact, say from a door slamming or closing hard, could cause a window to shatter... not the impact itself, but the sudden pressure difference), to a temperature sensitivity issue. I had the exact same thing happen to a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder I owned. Was sitting out in the parking lot in the heat and I was informed by security my window was busted. Went to look for any kind of damage to the car or something stolen from the inside and my checkbook was literally lying there in the open. I never found any kind of projectile in or outside the car, and most of the glass was on the OUTSIDE of the truck. Similar scenario.

GrannysRedSTS · #11 (**permalink**) 12-19-05, 04:38 PM

My dealer put the new window through as a warranty repair. "stress" related ... whatever that means. HOWEVER, the emergency roadside service tow truck driver dragged my car on the asphault while loading it and scratched up the front end. AND - it was dark when I picked it up, but next morning I found - chipped paint from the broken glass on the roof and hood, chipped front windsheild, glass still accumulated on the back seat and under the front seats, glass rattling around inside the rear speaker.

It's back at the dealer now, who is frantically attempting to make it right. He'd better, or I'm trading that sucker in on a Lincoln.

Murphyg · #12 (**permalink**) 12-19-05, 11:01 PM

Stand up for your rights people !!
Tell them to have it put on a flat bed and taken to another dealer if thats what it takes.

You can have ANY dealer take care of it !!
It doesnt have to be them.

And you have the right to have it put on a flat bed to get it there.
Not a conventional tow.....
And certainally not driven there by one of there jockeys !!!!

"TELL" them that politelly and firmly.

The customer is always right.
They know that, but wont admit it until they realize that you know it too.

GEORGEMC · #13 (**permalink**) 12-20-05, 06:49 PM

Windows can also break because of vibration. Many years ago the rear window on my Chevy Impala broke when a heliocopter flew low over our house on his approach to Andrews AFB. Heat expansion is the most common cause, but many other things also cause this problem.

G

GrannysRedSTS · #14 (**permalink**) 12-20-05, 07:53 PM

The dealer and the roadside assistance and the cadillac customer service people are now fighting over who is going to pay for the damage to my paint and interior from the glass. nobody wants to pay for it. the dealer is trying, but everybody seems to think someone else should pay. the only entity willing to pay for it without a fight is my insurance company, who would be glad to handle it for me, but it will cost me the deductible. Completely, totally, unfair and unacceptable. I should not have ANY heartache or hassle over what started as a warranty issue. Why should I have to make all those phone calls and explain my plight over and over while everyone tries to avoid paying for the paint job?

I will be writing letters to everyone I can think of as soon as Christmas is over. Starting with GM HQ and everyone down the chain of command from there.

1998Deville · #15 (**permalink**) 12-24-05, 11:57 PM

what happened to the car that got hit? How did it get hit hard enough at a dealership to bend the frame??? Thats not usually a 5mph crash!