Symptom explainer · every vehicle on the site
Sunroof shatters
Most reported: 2015 Ford Edge with 29 reports. Across the 82 model years on this site with at least five, owners filed 605.
- 605owner reports
- 82model years affected
- 29,000median miles
- 1involved a crash
- 1involved a fire
Owners in this group describe a sudden bang overhead, usually on the highway, and then a glass roof panel crazed into pieces or falling into the cabin. Some say plainly that nothing hit it. The dispute that follows is over the cause: a stone from the road, or the glass itself.
Which cars report it most · By model · When it happens · What it is and what to do
The 25 vehicles with the most reports
Each row is one model year. The bar is its count of sunroof reports; the share is how much of that car's complaint file this problem takes up. Bigger sellers draw more reports, so read the share alongside the count. Red dots mark crashes and fires in these reports; amber marks a recall on the same system.
- 1294% of its complaints55k mi
- 2182% of its complaints21k mi
- 32023 Hyundai Palisaderecall185% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 42022 Hyundai Palisaderecall165% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 5141% of its complaints45k mi
- 62020 Hyundai Santa Ferecall147% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 7133% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 8121% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 9111% of its complaints58k mi
- 10113% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 11113% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 12104% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 1393% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 1491% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 152021 Hyundai Palisaderecall92% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 1681% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 1782% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 1882% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 1980% of its complaints13k mi
- 2081% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 2182% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 2271% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 232014 Kia Cadenzarecall77% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 2472% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 252015 Honda Odyssey1 crash73% of its complaintsfew mileages
By model, every year together
The 12 models with the most reports. Each chip is a model year; the darker chip is its worst year.
When it happens
361 of the 605 reports state a mileage. The middle half fall between 11,000 and 56,000 miles; the median is 29,000. Each column is a 20,000-mile band.
Reports by model year
Every report of sunroof, grouped by the model year of the car. 1 involved a crash and 1 a fire. 36 people were hurt.
What owners describe
Share of the 605 reports that use each phrase. One report can use several.
What got replaced
Reports that name the part, across every vehicle.
What it is and what to do
It's a small group, about 600 complaints across the vehicles on this site, spread thinly enough that only one vehicle year has enough reports for its own sheet. Around six in ten mention the highway, four in ten a bang or an explosion, and a quarter glass falling inside. Nearly four in ten mention a rock, debris or an impact. Owners give a median of about 28,000 miles, so many of these cars are fairly new.
NHTSA has looked at this before. Its 2012 investigation PE12-027 into 2012 Hyundai Velosters found panoramic roofs shattering, 15 of them while driving, with minor cuts from the falling glass. It ended in recall 12V-568, after Hyundai traced the damage to a faulty switch on a factory robot, which let the machine press against the glass during installation and weaken it. The case shows why "a rock did it" isn't the only possible answer. A separate Hyundai recall, 16V-726, covered 2015 and 2016 Sonatas whose panoramic panel could come loose from the car because of a bonding issue.
If the glass breaks while you're driving, slow down and pull over where it's safe, then check whether anyone was cut. Get the opening covered before driving on at speed.
Evidence matters here more than usual. Photograph the roof from outside before anything is cleaned up, including close shots showing where the break started and whether there's any impact mark. Keep a few of the pieces if you can. Write down the speed, road and weather.
Run the VIN through NHTSA's recall lookup. If a warranty claim is denied because of debris, the FTC's advice is to put the complaint in writing to the manufacturer, by certified mail with a return receipt, and to report an unresolved dispute to your state attorney general or the FTC. Filing a complaint with NHTSA adds your case to the pattern it screens for investigations.
Sources
- NHTSA investigation PE12-027, panoramic sunroof breakage, 2012 Hyundai Veloster (NHTSA investigation file)
- NHTSA recall 12V-568, Hyundai Veloster panoramic sunroof
- NHTSA recall 16V-726, Hyundai Sonata panoramic sunroof
- Check for recalls and report a safety problem, NHTSA
- Warranties, FTC Consumer Advice
- Complaint counts, mileages and phrase shares: NHTSA complaint files as tallied on this site
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints on the 1,040 vehicle model years that have a page here, grouped by the word patterns described on the method page. A vehicle needs five matching reports to be counted in this ranking. Checked Sep 27, 2026. All problem explainers.