WARRIOR, Ala. (WBRC) – Imagine driving down the road and your sunroof or moonroof randomly shatters or explodes. It happened recently to a woman in Warrior on her brand-new car. We found out this is happening around the country, and it leads to safety concerns.
Deborah Pugatch was only a couple miles from home with her son when she heard a loud boom while driving on I-65.
“I was like what in the world. Let me get over. I must have blown a tire,” Pugatch said.
Turns out that boom was her moonroof shattering. As soon as she pulled into her garage, she kept hearing a crackling noise. She sent us video of glass cracking on the back moonroof on her brand new Hyundai Palisade.
“When I saw it cracking… I was like oh my gosh, I can’t believe this,” Pugatch said.
Luckily the moonroof’s shade was closed and no one got hurt, but scary nonetheless.
“My second thought was oh my gosh, what if one of the kids would have been in the back seat, what if it had fallen on them? What if glass would have gotten in the eyes of one of the kids or cut?”
She took her vehicle to the dealership the next day.
“The service manager that I worked with said I’ve been here for two years and I’ve seen this probably 20 times. He knew exactly what had happened,” Pugatch said.
Sunroofs and moonroofs shattering, in some cases exploding without warning, have been happening around the country for years.
According to reports, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received thousands of complaints over the past 5 years.
NHTSA also investigated the issue for seven years beginning in 2014. More than 4,000 complaints were reported by at least 13 auto makers including Hyundai, Kia, Ford, Audi, and others.
The investigation closed in 2021 without determining a cause but found “spontaneous sunroof glass shattering is not an uncommon occurrence” and did not “identify sufficient evidence of a safety-related defect.” The investigation also found there were no significant injuries.
“They decided they simply didn’t have enough evidence to order a company to do a recall,” Michael Brooks, Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety said.
The Center for Auto Safety is the nation’s leading independent nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to car safety. Brooks feels the sunroof issue is still a safety concern despite the data.
“People respond to these types of situations in very different ways. The chances of distraction or the fear that would put someone in the moment could lead them to make a bad driving decision that could cause a crash,” Brooks said.
Brooks tells WBRC the NHTSA investigation also found the rate of sunroofs exploding or shattering was declining over time.
“Presumably the industry was getting better at making the glass for those that was subject to less failures over time, but obviously it’s still happening,” Brooks said.
Pugatch says every time she gets in her car, she thinks about her moonroof.
“I will not drive with either of these open,” Pugatch said.
With her SUV still under warranty, Hyundai took care of everything.
Pugatch was hoping to do a buyback but was told her car doesn’t qualify. She’s appealing the process through the Better Business Bureau’s Auto Line which works with consumers on these type issues. She’s hoping NHTSA will take another look too.
“There definitely is still a problem and it’s definitely a safety issue. I’m just thankful that we were in the front seat…if my glass would have fallen in like I have seen in other reports there is a danger to it. There is a safety hazard. There is a problem,” Pugatch said.
Hyundai sent us this statement:
“The safety of our customers is Hyundai’s number one priority. In the event of a safety-related defect identified in any of our vehicles, Hyundai acts swiftly and efficiently to recall and fix the problem for affected customers. Hyundai has commissioned multiple studies to analyze instances of sunroof breakage. Those studies have found no inherent defect within the sunroofs and the only confirmed cause of damage to the glass panels of sunroofs has been related to foreign object impact. Hyundai has identified no other safety-related defects and has issued no other safety-related recalls on its sunroofs since the reports of late last year. Hyundai continues to monitor this issue and if a product defect is identified we will take action to ensure the safety of our customers.
In this particular matter, per Alabama law, the customer does not qualify for a buy back.”
NHTSA encourages the public to report any safety concerns to the agency at nhtsa.gov or by calling the Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236.
NHTSA also sent us this statement:
“Collecting and analyzing data plays a critical part in NHTSA’s investigative process and guides the agency’s approach to determining safety risk. If the data reflects an unreasonable risk to safety, NHTSA will act immediately.”
WBRC also found at least one other case in the Birmingham area in 2021 where a sunroof exploded on a Nissan. Luckily, there were no injuries.
Get news alerts in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our email newsletter here.
Copyright 2025 WBRC. All rights reserved.

source