NHTSA Complaint #11557971 — 2020 RAM 1500

On Thursday 16NOV2024 I noticed the rear sliding window on my 20' Ram had shattered on the drivers side section. The sticker on the back was damaged and appeared burnt. The weather that morning had been 35 degrees and partly cloudy. When I remote started the vehicle at 0700HRS, the rear defrost came on automatically. I drove about 10-15 minutes to work and parked. I returned to my vehicle approximately 10 minutes later and noticed a burning odor but thought it was due to a woodstove used nearby. Later in the day coworkers noticed the sticker was burned. I thought it may be intentional or due to the rear defrost system since the part that is wired and transitions to the heating grid is right under the sticker. We reviewed security footage from when I parked to when it was discovered and noone went near the vehicle. I suspected the defroster had an issue. I stopped at the dealer, my warranty was expired and I have glass coverage but I wanted to make them aware of the issue. The dealer glass rep took photos and said she'd never seen anything like it but would talk to engineers about it. The following day I received a call saying that she showed engineers the damage and was told that the system doesn't have enough voltage or heat to cause that damage and they wouldn't help. I wasn't looking for money, I have full glass/no deductible. I had the glass replaced the following Monday and asked them to save the parts I suspected of failing. I have photos of the part that appears to have failed and overheated causing the damage. I have a concern that worst case, if something had been behind the headrest up against it and the vehicle was in a structure that a fire could have occurred. I followed up with my photos and concerns but never heard back from the dealer. Noone has expressed an interest in seeing the failed part in question and I still have them in my posssesion.