NHTSA complaint #11520143

Owner complaint summary

Driving N on Hwy US-24 in Redford MI near Detroit Diesel at approx 45mph on Sun morning 4/30/2023, the moonroof exploded and shattered glass fell onto driver and front seat passenger. Shattered glass also broke loose and fell to rear of vehicle, causing car behind us to avoid debris by changing lane. The sudden failure of sun/moonroof was without warning, no apparent object struck it, we were not passing under a bridge. The loud boom of explosion was alarming to driver and passenger. The shade was open and we quickly closed it to stop more broken glass from falling onto us. It was raining, approximately 40-45 deg F outside, the car interior temp was 68 deg F. We made temporary repair with cardboard and emergency rain poncho to close opening in roof. We proceeded home at 30-40mph. I collected broken glass by hand, then vacuumed all interior surfaces thoroughly; found no foreign object that could have struck glass. We contacted dealer Monday reporting problem. Dealer stated Honda unlikely to cover glass under warranty claim. Dealer stated there was no recall, technical bulletin or product update concerning sun/moonroofs spontaneously exploding. Dealer did contact Honda and replacement was made under warranty as 'goodwill.' We are happy Honda covered cost of replacement, but did not acknowledge any material defect, workmanship or safety issue. Vehicle is kept in garage when home and open parking lot at work; to our knowledge the roof glass panel was not compromised by any object hitting or scratching it. This is a safety issue: roof glass panels should not explode without warning and broken glass fall on driver or passengers under normal vehicle operation. The loud noise at failure is distracting to driver. Further, broken glass may fall to rear of vehicle. These glass panels' failure mode should be similar to that of front windshield where broken glass retains some integrity. Until then, consumers should be advised, shades closed and emergency closure kits issued.