NHTSA Complaint #11588817 — 2015 HYUNDAI SANTA FE

While driving, there was a very loud pop, following by the sound of glass shattering. I was unable to tell which window was broken since it was dark outside (early morning before sunrise), but I could hear wind coming into the car. I pulled over and inspected my car, and that is when I noticed that the middle portion of the panoramic sunroof was completely shattered. Fortunately, the inside cover was closed, otherwise the glass would have fallen on top of my head & covered me in broken glass from the sunroof, as well as the front and rear seat passengers. I am grateful that my children were not in the car with me when this occurred. My safety was at risk 1), due to the loud pop/explosion sound which startled me & caused me to swerve while driving. 2) the shattered glass falling from the sunroof onto my head and the rest of my person, as well as any passengers, could have caused serious injury especially if glass had fallen into the eye of anyone inside of the vehicle, especially the driver. This could have endangered others by causing me to collide with another motorist on the roadway. Prior to the shattered sunroof, there were no warning signs to indicate anything like this would happen. No warning lamps, no visible defects, issues, or other symptoms of failure were present before this occurred. The issue of exploding sunroofs has been a well-known issue with Hyundai vehicles with panoramic sunroofs and resulted in a recall for some models of Hyundai. I contacted a local dealership after my incident, and he was aware of the unexpected shattering of the sunroofs, but advised that my vehicle was out of warranty, and that my model year was not included in the recall group, and therefore it was not covered for the incident. There are many online forums that discuss this issue for various Hyundai vehicles in the USA & Canada, including class action lawsuits regarding the issue. Photos taken of the damage for insurance claim. Stress marks seen in photos.