NHTSA Complaint #10702163 — 2013 HYUNDAI SANTA FE

THE PANORAMIC SUNROOF ON MY 2013 HYUNDAI SANTA FE EXPLODED, SENDING GLASS SHARDS EVERYWHERE. IT SOUNDED LIKE A SHOTGUN WENT OFF INSIDE THE VEHICLE. FORTUNATELY, THE INSIDE ROOF COVER WAS CLOSED, SO MOST OF THE SHATTERED GLASS WAS SENT ONTO THE ROADWAY, INSTEAD OF INSIDE THE VEHICLE. INTERNET INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. EXPLODING SUNROOFS ON HYUNDAI VEHICLES, INCLUDING THE SANTA FE AND VELOSTER, HAVE OCCURRED IN THE PAST. TO ME, THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. NOT ONLY BECAUSE GLASS COULD BE BLOWN WITH SIGNIFICANT FORCE THROUGHOUT THE VEHICLE, BUT BECAUSE IF IT HAPPENED AT HIGHWAY SPEED, IT MIGHT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE DUE TO SHOCK OF THE EXPLOSION AND GLASS BEING SHOT EVERYWHERE. SINCE THIS IS A RECURRING PROBLEM WITH HYUNDAI, THERE NEEDS TO BE A PERMANENT FIX APPLIED TO ANY VEHICLE THAT HAS EXPERIENCED THIS SUNROOF PROBLEM WHEN IT IS REPAIRED. TO SIMPLY REPLACE THE BROKEN SUNROOF WITH AN IDENTICALLY FLAWED SUNROOF DOES NOTHING TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE DURING SUBSEQUENT ROAD DRIVING. I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS VEHICLE IS SAFE TO DRIVE WITHOUT THIS PERMANENT FIX. *TR