NHTSA Complaint #11692759 — 2015 ACURA RDX

The sunroof of the vehicle spontaneously shattered while driver was driving on I-5 South in Orange County, California. Driver’s safety was compromised due to the potential for glass to have entered the vehicle while vehicle was in motion. The safety of other motorists on the road was also compromised, as pieces of glass appear to have flown off the sunroof into traffic. The sudden shattering was also extremely loud and startling, which was also a safety hazard because driver could have panicked and lost control of vehicle. After calling to report the incident to Acura, owner was advised the vehicle’s sunroof has not been recalled nor is it under an extended warranty, despite evidence of a class action lawsuit against American Honda Motor Co., Inc. for related incidents in 2015 to 2021 vehicles. Per the lawsuit, which is a case out of California, the alleged defect in 2015 to 2021 model year Honda and Acura vehicles, referred to in the complaint as the “class vehicles,” puts drivers and their passengers in “serious danger,” as the sunroof explosions can cause “shards of glass to fly through their vehicles, sometimes while driving at high speeds,” and “the loud explosion and flying glass distract drivers and create a hazard to the people in the Class Vehicles and those around them.” The complaint alleges that the sunroofs in Honda and Acura vehicles are made with tempered glass that, because of the pressure created during the tempering process, has been known to “explode suddenly” if the outer layer is compromised. The lawsuit also claims Honda’s use of thin tempered glass for its sunroofs is “substandard, dangerous, and inadequate” given the material’s propensity to shatter or explode.