Class Action Filed Over Exploding Sunroofs in Honda, Acura Vehicles

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A proposed class action claims the sunroofs and moonroofs in certain Honda and Acura vehicles are prone to “suddenly explode” and can cause broken glass to fall onto a vehicle’s occupants.

According to the 40-page 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.”

“Drivers of Class Vehicles have reported sunroof explosions causing shards of glass to fly through their vehicles, sometimes while driving at high speeds,” the case reads. “The loud explosion and flying glass distract drivers and create a hazard to the people in the Class Vehicles and those around them.”

Defendant American Honda Motor Co., Inc. has allegedly refused to cover repairs to damaged sunroofs or otherwise remedy the problem, according to the case, and instead maintains in many cases that the glass was shattered by an object such as a rock or gravel.

The lawsuit argues that Honda has known “for many years” of the sunroofs’ propensity to shatter yet has failed to warn consumers prior to their purchase or lease of the affected vehicles. The case claims drivers would not have purchased or leased their Hondas or Acuras, or would have paid “substantially less,” had they known of the apparent sunroof defect.

The complaint explains 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 case says some automakers instead manufacture sunroofs using laminated glass, which is made from two or more panes of glass joined together by a layer of plastic and tends to hold its form when broken.

Honda’s use of thin tempered glass for its sunroofs is “substandard, dangerous, and inadequate” given the material’s propensity to shatter or explode, the lawsuit alleges. According to the complaint, Honda has attempted to improve its vehicles’ fuel efficiency by using thinner glass for sunroofs. The automaker has failed, however, to ensure that the glass will be able to withstand “typical and foreseeable structural forces” that could compromise the glass and cause the sunroofs to explode, the case contests.

The lawsuit claims Honda has known about the alleged defect in its sunroofs as early as 1995. Per the case, over 800 complaints of exploding sunroofs have been reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration between 1995 and 2017. Moreover, the suit says automakers have for years been subject to scrutiny over the shattering sunroof problem, with a 2017 Consumer Reports investigation sparking a U.S. Senate probe into the issue.

Nevertheless, Honda has allegedly refused to warn consumers about its vehicles’ sunroofs’ propensity to shatter or provide an adequate remedy.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the U.S. who purchased or leased a 2015 to 2021 Honda or Acura vehicle equipped with a sunroof or moonroof made with tempered glass. Also proposed in the suit are state-specific subclasses for those who purchased or leased their vehicles in Missouri, Washington or Florida.

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