Cold weather road trip glass shattered

[Charlie88]

I was on a 230 mile road trip today, the temperature was 3f outside and was expecting range to be my main worry of the day but instead it was my right rear door window spontaneously shattering as we were driving on the highway. Managed to fashion a semi cover for it using the dog seat cover hooked over the shirt hanger thing and propping it up between the rear seat and the front door. Managed to get to my destination but can’t get it in due to Christmas for repair so having to drive it the 230 miles back home on Monday before I can get it fixed. Nothing appeared to hit it and and far as I’m aware there were no cracks or chips in the window. Not sure if it was the cold from the outside combined with the heat on the inside that did it but if so slightly worrying for the other windows. Anyone else seen or heard anything like this before?

 

[RichAZ/CapeCod]

Had a driver side rear window blow out on a Ford Explorer. 1992 or so, during preparation for a hurricane (Bob?). I was standing outside of the parked car, as was my lieutenant and another officer. Just blew out. Weird.

Rich

 

[android04]

It's very rare, but tempered glass windows sometimes have a tiny imperfection that will cause them to spontaneously shatter. It can happen at any temperature, but the temperature differential between the inside and outside of your car probably contributed to pushing it over the edge. I wouldn't worry about any of your other windows having the same defect because you are probably more likely to win a lottery than another window shattering.

 

[YotaMD]

I just had the rear passenger side window shatter on my 2018 Model S. ~40F outside, 5 minutes into my journey. I heard a few crack sounds and then BAM the whole window ejected itself from the car at 75mph. It was a bizarre experience. Worst part: Warranty expired Dec 24 at midnight and this happened Dec 27. Service Center is booked full for 2 weeks.

I'm hoping they'll offer up a loaner. It's winter in Colorado. Not exactly a usable car in cold temps or rain/snow.

 

[terraform]

Same happened to me, except entire rear liftgate window. Spontaneous explosion. It was about 33-degrees F outside. Car was parked and I had the defrost on blast for about 15 minutes. Hope this is a one-off thing, as @android04 mentioned and not due to living in cold regions.