04 RL Sunroof glass Shattered????
 

My mother was driving my Dad's RL last week and as she was driving down the road, she hears a pop, and looks up and the sunroof glass had shattered. Acura charged my parents $800 to replace it!!! Parents are in their 60s, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they were doing anything they weren't supposed to be. This is a lease car with 10K miles on it. Anyone else ever heard of this happening and if so, what was the remedy? Whole family has had Acura products only for the past 10 years, so this is just stunning. Acura said it not covered by warranty. I could understand if it was the windshield, but the sunroof? Come on. What say you fine folks?

From what you said, it sounds llike some kind of a defect to me. Was the moonroof tilted or was it shut completely? Was it intact (i.e. was it still in "one" piece) or did it come raining down into the cockpit? If it was "intact" does it look like it was hit by something? I have never heard of such a thing; but I would fight them as if it were defective.

What about your insurance? How high is the deductible? Most states have a claim limit of ~$1000, below which your rates can not be raised. Good luck.

Roof was closed. Folks are not into all the gadgets, so I dont know that in the 14 months they have owned it that it has ever been opened except when I have driven. Because of the factory tint on the roof, it keeps the glass intact when it shatters so it shattered, but none came raining down into the car. Had there been no tint, I am sure it would have. Also, the sliding sun visor was closed, so it all fell onto that. Nothing hit it, it just shattered. Strangest thing I ever saw.

The most likely cause of the glass shattering is that it was hit by something. It could have been a big rock kicked up by a truck, or by vandals throwing something from an overpass, a balcony etc. Look closely at the tint holding the glass in place and you may be able to find a focal point to the cracks that indicates where it was hit. I had the same thing happen to me 15 years ago only it was my driver's side window that was suddenly blown out by a big rock from a dump truck. Repairing the sunroof should be covered by insurance as it was caused by an accident/vandalism and not mechanical issues.

Sounds to me like they had the DVD Audio stereo cranked a little too loud!!! What ever happened to conservative parents?

Mark

I agree with checking into filling it as an insurance claim. Since it was not a collision it should go towards a lower deductible such as the one you have for windshields. However since all insurance policies are different and there are different rules in different states you will have to ask your agent.