NHTSA Complaint #10436174 — 2010 FORD F-150

STARTED TRUCK AT 0700 AM, OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE WAS 50 DEGREES. THE REAR WINDOW WAS FOGGY SO I TURNED ON THE REAR DEFROSTER. AFTER ABOUT 15 MINUTES OF DRIVING ALONG A ROAD WITH NO TRAFFIC I HEARD A LOUD EXPLOSION THAT SOUNDED LIKE A LARGE ROCK HAD LANDED ON THE ROOF OF MY TRUCK. I PULLED OVER AND INSPECTED MY ROOF AND ALL EXTERIOR PANELS OF THE VEHICLE AND DID NOT NOTICE ANY DAMAGE THAT COULD HAVE JUSTIFIED THE NOISE. I COULD NOT FIND ANY "ROCKS" IN OR AROUND MY VEHICLE...NO PEDESTRIANS WERE IN SITE. RETURNED TO CAB AND AS I WAS PULLING BACK ONTO THE ROADWAY I NOTICED THAT MY REAR WINDOW (RIGHT PANEL) WAS SHATTERED. TOOK VEHICLE TO FORD DEALERSHIP THAT EVENING AND WAS TOLD IT WAS NOT A WARRANTABLE REPAIR. THE GLASS REMAINED INTACT AND THERE WERE NO VISIBLE SIGNS OF A PROJECTILE HITTING THE GLASS (I HAVE PHOTOS). I INSISTED THAT A WARRANTY CLAIM BE OPENED, AND I CONTACTED CUSTOMER RELATIONS. FORD THEN TESTED THE DEFROSTER AND COULD NOT FIND A MALFUNCTION SO THEY SAID THEY WOULD NOT WARRANTY THE FAILURE. I HAVE PHOTOS, A CASE NUMBER, DEALER INVOICE, AND VOICE MAIL RECORDINGS OF THE 3 WEEKS OF HELL TRYING TO GET FORD TO DO THE RIGHT THING. THEY FINALLY AGREED TO PAY FOR HALF THE WHOLESALE COST OF A REPLACEMENT GLASS; I HAD IT INSTALLED PROFESSIONALLY ON 11/15/2011. *TR UPDATED 11/14/12 *CN UPDATED UPDATED 11/14/2012 *JS