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Woke up this morning to find my rear windshield spontaneously shattered!

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Not sure when exactly it happened, some time between 11pm and 7am. It was 33-deg F outside and I had turned on the defrost at around 6:45am, where my Long range MY was parked. As you can see, there is ice from the previous days snow storm (not sure if it’s related to the breakage). You’ll also notice a giant hole in the middle, and the edges of the glass are also broken. Not sure which happened first. There is no sign or any objects or water inside the trunk to signify any kind of forceful break from a rock or icicle.

I’ve already scheduled a service center apt. Unfortunately, the earliest date was two-weeks from now! Tesla is being vague as to whether they will cover it. I mean it was spontaneous and could be due to manufacturer misalignment, no gap space? I also reported it to my insurance who said they will only cover up to a certain amount (basically whatever Safelite would’ve charged). But I just hope I’m not responsible for the remainder—especially if this is a normal thing for living in cold regions.

I guess my questions are:

1) Any ideas on how this could have happened?
2) Any ideas on how to protect it from weather until my service date (in 2 weeks)?
3) Will my Tesla warranty cover it (I’m under 50k miles and only owned it for 3 months)?

Edit: sentry mode was turned on, yet there was no recording -- hence the "spontaneous".

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  • Informative
Reactions: dbldwn02
All that breaking around the edge is odd. Did someone try to steal your glass?

 
  • Informative
Reactions: chobra
All that breaking around the edge is odd. Did someone try to steal your glass?


Seems like it! But sentry mode would've caught that.

The edge breakage is odd. I was thinking the ice around the edges expanded into the gaps and force the whole thing to explode.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: jeremymc7
Wow that's crazy. Did you find any foreign objects inside? If it aint vandalism, I wonder if the glass and frame have tight tolerances where a significant expansion or contraction could result in stress on glass. I hope they look at it as a potential defect.
 
Wow that's crazy. Did you find any foreign objects inside? If it aint vandalism, I wonder if the glass and frame have tight tolerances where a significant expansion or contraction could result in stress on glass. I hope they look at it as a potential defect.
No signs of vandalism. Sentry mode was on. I doubt it’s due to expansion-contraction, after all the Y is considered an off-road vehicle, so the glass should be able to handle all kinds of bending annd forces etc.

After some research I found that it’s rare but not uncommon for tempered glass to spontaneously shatter due to potential manufacturing impurity (look up nickel sulfide in tempered glass).

I hope that Tesla sees it the same way and covers the damage, as I’ve only owned the car for 3 months!
 
Yes, some people say tint can cause which is BS. Easier for you to get Tesla to cover though without tint maybe...
Tint can cause shattering.

At least I don’t think it was tinted (there was a prior owner). If it was, it would’ve at least held the pieces of glass together. Instead it was shattered to bits.

Don’t really see why anyone would tint that, they’re pretty dark to begin with, right?
 
This happened to me a few months ago on my drivers side window on my mslr. Was sitting at a stop light stopped with nobody around me and the window literally just shattered randomly. My wife and I were both pretty shocked. Looked all around to see what could of caused it (road debris from traffic etc) but we were literally sitting at the intersection alone with no other cars around. Of course Tesla didn’t cover it. I didn’t expect they would. Lately I have been hearing about this same thing happening to a lot of people now though. Must be some cheap glass Tesla is sourcing or something in the manufacturing process.
 
At least I don’t think it was tinted (there was a prior owner). If it was, it would’ve at least held the pieces of glass together. Instead it was shattered to bits.

Don’t really see why anyone would tint that, they’re pretty dark to begin with, right?
Heat in cabin would be reason hehe. LOL and well Darker is better with those dumb lifted trucks with illegal HIDs riding behind.
 
Not sure when exactly it happened, some time between 11pm and 7am. It was 33-deg F outside and I had turned on the defrost at around 6:45am, where my Long range MY was parked. As you can see, there is ice from the previous days snow storm (not sure if it’s related to the breakage). You’ll also notice a giant hole in the middle, and the edges of the glass are also broken. Not sure which happened first. There is no sign or any objects or water inside the trunk to signify any kind of forceful break from a rock or icicle.

I’ve already scheduled a service center apt. Unfortunately, the earliest date was two-weeks from now! Tesla is being vague as to whether they will cover it. I mean it was spontaneous and could be due to manufacturer misalignment, no gap space? I also reported it to my insurance who said they will only cover up to a certain amount (basically whatever Safelite would’ve charged). But I just hope I’m not responsible for the remainder—especially if this is a normal thing for living in cold regions.

I guess my questions are:

1) Any ideas on how this could have happened?
2) Any ideas on how to protect it from weather until my service date (in 2 weeks)?
3) Will my Tesla warranty cover it (I’m under 50k miles and only owned it for 3 months)?

Edit: sentry mode was turned on, yet there was no recording -- hence the "spontaneous".

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Same exact thing happened to me this morning. Did Tesla cover for it under warranty? Thanks
 
The invoice in the app showed $2300 for the estimate. I only have the car for 10 days with 180 miles on it. Really unfortunate. I have an appointment tomorrow morning and will keep you posted. Thanks
Where do you live? Cold climate? Did it snow or ice the night before? Did you have the defrost on? Wonder if it was the same cause as mine.

You shouldn’t have to pay it—it’s probably a manufacturer defect ultimately. My app initially showed an estimate, for that much, but then a few days before they removed it for whatever reason. If they don’t waive it, feel free to mention my case.
 
The invoice in the app showed $2300 for the estimate. I only have the car for 10 days with 180 miles on it. Really unfortunate. I have an appointment tomorrow morning and will keep you posted. Thanks
Where do you live? Cold climate? Did it snow or ice the night before? Did you have the defrost on? Wonder if it was the same cause as mine.

You shouldn’t have to pay it—it’s probably a manufacturer defect ultimately. My app initially showed an estimate, for that much, but then a few days before they removed it for whatever reason. If they don’t waive it, feel free to mention my case.
I’m in Washington state. May I ask what city and the dealership you have your done at? Thanks