‘Like a Gunshot’: Toyota RAV4 Panoramic Sunroofs Can Spontaneously Shatter, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action says certain 2021 model year Toyota RAV4s are equipped with panoramic sunroofs that can spontaneously shatter or explode. 

The 50-page case alleges the panoramic sunroofs, wider and longer than traditional sunroofs, are defective due to deficiencies in materials, manufacturing processes and/or the overall structure of the 2021 RAV4. According to the lawsuit, a panoramic sunroof can shatter or explode with such force that drivers have compared it to the sound of a gunshot, an event followed by a rain of glass shards onto vehicle occupants. 

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The filing says Toyota has so far refused to repair or replace problematic panoramic sunroofs under warranty, leaving drivers, including those who recently took possession of their RAV4, to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars out of pocket to fix their vehicles. 

According to the complaint, replacement sunroofs provided by Toyota are also defective and have required some drivers to “replace the replacements which themselves exploded.” 

The lawsuit accuses Toyota of failing to “meet the associated manufacturing challenges” that exist as a result of the panoramic sunroofs’ larger size, which requires them to be made with larger plates of glass. Per the case, a 2021 RAV4 equipped with a panoramic sunroof commands a price nearly $10,000 over the cost of the base model. 

“Had Plaintiffs and the Class Members known about the Glass Roof Defect, they would not have purchased the Class Vehicles or would have paid substantially less,” the suit states. 

Despite possessing knowledge of the panoramic sunroof problem, Toyota has not recalled affected RAV4 vehicles, issued service bulletins to dealerships or offered suitable repairs or replacements free of charge, the filing says. 

A panoramic sunroof is made of large glass plates that attach to tracks set within a frame attached to the vehicle, the suit explains. Per the case, Toyota makes its panoramic sunroofs with tempered glass, which separates into small pieces once broken, via a process that creates an outer layer of compression that is “shrink-wrapped” around the middle of the glass. If this outer layer is compromised, the lawsuit says, the entire piece of glass can “shatter[] explosively.” 

A key engineering challenge for Toyota when manufacturing tempered panoramic sunroof glass is fastening the glass to the vehicle tightly enough to sufficiently reduce road and wind noise and prevent the roof from being susceptible to leaking rainwater, the filing says. In particular, the challenge is that the panoramic sunroof is a structural part of the vehicle, and the exertion of such pressure to secure it to the car, combined with the flexing of the vehicle’s body and ordinary vibrations from driving, stresses and weakens the glass, the complaint relays. 

In the 2021 RAV4, the lawsuit says, the glass used for the panoramic sunroof “cannot withstand the pressures and flexing” that the frame and vehicle demand, which can cause the glass to suddenly shatter. 

“Dozens if not hundreds of purchasers and lessees of the Class Vehicles have experienced the Glass Roof Defect,” the case alleges, calling the problem “widespread.” 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons or entities in the United States who are current or former owners and/or lessees of a 2021 Toyota RAV4. 

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