Lawsuit Claims 2023 Honda HR-V Sold with Defective Rear Windshield Prone to Shatter ‘For No Reason At All’

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A proposed class action alleges Honda has knowingly sold the 2023 HR-V with a defective rear windshield that is prone to shatter “for no reason at all,” often while a vehicle is parked. 

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The 69-page lawsuit says that at least 100 drivers have reported online or to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that the rear windshield of their Honda HR-V, a compact crossover SUV, shattered spontaneously. The case, filed by six plaintiffs in Pennsylvania federal court on October 27, claims that the shattering is so powerful that drivers have compared the sound to a “loud popping noise,” followed by “a rain of glass falling on the occupants of the vehicle,” sometimes while driving at highway speeds. 

The case blames the alleged defect on either Honda’s decision to manufacture the rear windshields at issue with materials “not sufficiently strong and durable” to withstand normal driving conditions or a deficiency in the vehicles’ structure.

According to the complaint, Honda has refused to repair or replace the defective HR-V back windshields under warranty, leaving owners and lessees to pay hundreds or thousands out of pocket—often $1,000 or more—to repair the problem. Per the suit, Honda has known about the back windshield issue yet failed to recall affected vehicles or offer customers suitable repairs or replacements free of charge. 

Further, although Honda in May 2023 alerted dealerships that it is “searching for certain 2023 HR-Vs with a customer complaint of rear windshield shattering,” purportedly so as to understand the cause of the problem, the automaker has not issued any bulletins or instructions to dealers regarding the back windshields’ propensity to shatter, the lawsuit states. 

The filing stresses that the alleged Honda HR-V back windshield defect poses a serious safety hazard to drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

“[I]n the event a vehicle is involved in a collision, an intact rear windshield assists in transferring the force of an impact down to the vehicle’s structure, which reduces the effect of the impact felt inside the vehicle and helps protect the passengers,” the suit adds. “However, where a vehicle’s rear windshield is shattered, the vehicle occupants are at greater risk of sustaining injuries.” 

Further, the suit says, the rear windshield is a vital piece of a vehicle’s safety restraint system, which also includes the airbags and seatbelts. In such a system, each individual component relies on the others to function properly, the filing emphasizes. 

“Thus, if there is a compromise or weakness in just one aspect of the network, the likelihood of other parts not working properly is increased,” the case asserts. “All components of a vehicle’s safety restraint system are designed to work together to keep vehicle occupants within the relative safety of the passenger compartment during collision or rollover.” 

Consumers would not have bought or leased the 2023 Honda HR-V had they known about the rear windshield defect, the lawsuit contends. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all consumers or entities in the United States who are current or former owners or lessees of a 2023 Honda HR-V. 

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