NHTSA Complaint #10437688 — 2005 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

ON 11/9/2011, WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 80 NEAR AUBURN, CA., THE REAR WINDOW ON MY 2005 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODED/SHATTERED. I TOOK IT TO A TOYOTA DEALER/BODYSHOP WHERE THEY REPLACED THE TEMPERED GLASS AT MY EXPENSE ($468). THEY CLAIMED THEY HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. TWO WEEKS LATER ON 11/28/2011, WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 80 NEAR ROCKLIN, CA., THE RIGHT REAR PASSENGER DOOR WINDOW SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODED/SHATTERED SENDING SHARDS OF GLASS INTO THE VEHICLE AND OUT. THE CAR IS GETTING REPAIRED AT MY EXPENSE ($408). TOYOTA CLAIMS THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD WORTHY OF INVESTIGATION. DURING THE SECOND INCIDENT, A PASSENGER WOULD HAVE BEEN SEVERELY INJURED HAD THEY BEEN SITTING NEXT TO THE EXPLODING GLASS. IF THE WINDOW HAD BEEN THE DRIVER-SIDE WINDOW, IT WOULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS CRASH. AS IT WAS, THE CAR BEHIND ME HAD TO TAKE EVASIVE MEASURES TO AVOID THE FLYING GLASS. THE FACT THAT THERE HAS BEEN 2 INCIDENTS WITHIN TWO WEEKS INVOLVING 2 SEPARATE OEM GLASS SUGGESTS A POSSIBLE DEFECT. *KB