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Hyundai Shattering Panoramic Sunroofs Class Action Overview:
- Who: An Alberta judge certified a Class of Hyundai drivers in a class action lawsuit.
- What: The lawsuit stems from panoramic sunroofs that shatter spontaneously due to an alleged defect.
- Where: The claim was filed in Alberta, Canada.
A class action lawsuit alleging that Hyundai fails to warn drivers about a defect that causes sunroofs in some of its vehicles to spontaneously shatter has been certified by an Alberta judge.
Associate Chief Justice J.D. Rooke certified the class action lawsuit that was filed by Hyundai owner Robert Engen, who alleges that the company has broken state and federal consumer protection laws in regards to the alleged defect in the panoramic sunroofs.
Engen says in the claim that when designing and promoting the panoramic sunroofs, Hyundai failed to meet engineering and manufacturing challenges, resulting in sunroofs being installed that are susceptible to spontaneous shattering.
Hyundai Knew of Panoramic Sunroof Defect
Hyundai knew that the sunroofs were shattering as early as mid-2012, he alleges, but failed to disclose that the sunroofs endanger drivers. He adds that the company either intentionally or negligently made false representations about the sunroofs and provided certain warranties when selling the vehicles – then went on to breach those warranties5.
He alleges that Hyundai breached the Sale of Goods Act and the Consumer Protection Act.
Hyundai argued that it could not have breached either act in relation to the drivers because there is no privity of contract between the company and drivers, the only privity of contract is between the drivers and individual Hyundai authorized dealers. However, Rooke rejected that argument and said the company did act as the seller of the goods to the drivers.
According to the class action lawsuit, there are hundreds of reported instances of the panoramic sunroofs shattering, and there are scientific reasons for the modes of failure.
“This is not an isolated issue which affected Engen, there are hundreds of other reported instances in evidence.”
Rooke also ruled there appeared to be evidence of a common defect across the Class.
This is not the first class action Hyundai has faced over the panoramic sunroofs. In 2019 the company reached a settlement with drivers, whereby Class Members could trade their vehicle in for a Hyundai without a sunroof, and claim an additional $1,000. Those who decided to sell their Hyundai and replace it with a non-Hyundai vehicle, could claim up to $600.
Have you ever driven a Hyundai with a panoramic sunroof? Tell us your experience in the comments section below!
The plaintiff is represented by Gavin Price, Kajal Ervin and Charlotte Stokes.
The Hyundai Panoramic Sunroofs Class Action Lawsuit is Eagan v. Hyundai Auto Canada Corp., Case No. 1601 17138 in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta.
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94 thoughts onHyundai Shattering Panoramic Sunroof Class Action Certified by Judge
I have a 2021 Elantra Hybrid, it is not a panoramic sunroof, just a regular sunroof. It exploded on me last night for no reason. Does anyone know if this class action suit covers regular sunroofs? Also, I’m in the U.S., not Canada. Does this matter? Thanks.
October 15 2021 My fiancé was driving her 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe to work from Parksville to Nanaimo BC in a merging lane 11 deg Celsius no overpass doing 70km hr and boom it exploded glass is everywhere she had glass all in her hair and clothes no reason no vehicle in front of her she called Hyundai there answer was something must of hit it we are totally discusted in there customers service ! Time for a new car
My fiancé was driving to work from Parksville to Nanaimo BC in a merging lane 11 deg Celsius no overpass doing 70km hr and boom it exploded glass is everywhere she had glass all in her hair and clothes no reason no vehicle in front of her she called Hyundai there answer was something must of hit it we are totally discusted in there customers service ! Time for a new car
We have a 2013 Hyundai Elantra with the panoramic sunroof. We drove it to Palm Spring in 2018 for a winter vacation and while driving on the highway in Palm Springs the sunroof portion of the glass imploded into the car. NO one was injured although these people in the back seat were covered in glass. We had to return to our Airbnb with the glass all over the car and of course no way to cut down the wind noise from the open area on the roof.
As the car was still on warranty (5 years) I called the dealer in Winnipeg and was told there was nothing they could do without seeing the car. I contacted my insurance and they said I could make a claim but again I needed to get the car back to Winnipeg. Of course I could not drive it all the way back to Winnipeg in March with no sunroof so I called the Hyundai dealer in Palm Springs. They basically handled it as a warranty claim and got it repaired. We were without the car for 4 days but at least we had a sunroof for the drive home.
Subsequent to the repair and my return to Winnipeg I discovered that the dealership in Palm Springs had not got all the glass out of the areas around the sunroof and so there is still some glass in the headliner towards the front. I asked about this at the Winnipeg dealership and again they could do nothing and I would need to take it back to the Palm Springs dealership that did the work.
Last note is that the implosion of the sunroof was quite startling. We were not sure what happened at first and we all thought that we had been shot at or something before realizing the roof was gone and there was glass all over the place.
Could you please advise how did you get Hyundai to cover the repair/replacement under warranty? Because they refused to acknowledge/help in my case, so I’m wondering what did you say/do to get their cooperation?
Thank you!
I have a 2012 sonata that is a LEMON. How is this company still in business. My car had the engine replaced luckily because some owners are still fighting with this company about 2011 and 2012 sonatas engines that just die out. I almost had a 5 car accident when I was making a turn at a light and the car just died and two cars swerved around me as the car drifted to the shoulder of the road. I am 63 years old and had more recalls then every car I ever had combined. But dont worry hyundai will say well we will send you a nice letter and 150 DOLLARS saying we are not at fault who is? I will tell you who is our government for letting pieces of crap into the united states. But dont worry I heard they are bringing the yugo back. Good luck hyundai owners
2017 Hyadundibhave this sunroof is it covered under this lawsuit
On November 18/19, I was driving my 2019 Hyundai Sante Fe XL with 4,200 kms(2,500 miles) on US Interstate 75 in southern Michigan when the sunroof
exploded. There were no vehicles near my vehicle and no overpasses when the explosion happened. Road conditions were not an issue. Hyundai Canada customer service were NO help at all.
Also, I called the dealer(Thornhill Hyundai in the Toronto area) and left a message to try and help me in this case. Nobody returned my call!
It was an awful experience with the explosion and the thousands of shattered glass pieces that were overwhelming. Approaching 2 years, pieces of glass are still being found in the vehicle. Also, I am paranoid about this happening again when I drive the vehicle.
Hyundai Canada should accommodate existing customers but that word is not part of their vocabulary. Keep away from their products. Hopefully, the judicial process will come through for me if I can outlive Hyundai’s denial that their workmanship was okay. It’s all about marketing and selling, selling and more selling with NO consideration for their poor workmanship.
The ”big boys” at Hyundai should wake up and accept production problems and treat the customer properly. So the shareholders will earn 2 cents less, who cares if you want the customer back.
The replacement of the sunroof is a separate issue as the US Hyundai dealer I went to did not have a clue on what to do and accordingly I used the services of an auto glass replacement center.
I have the panaramic sunroof in my 2017 Santa Fe and have not had any problem with it yet, although I do not use it very often.
I took my 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe into a Hyundai dealership today. The glass panel between my windshield and panoramic sunroof is shattered. I was told that the lawsuit did not cover that part. How can I find information to determine if this is true?
Just took my 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe in to a Hyundai. The glass panel between windshield and panoramic sunroof is shattered. They said it wasn’t covered under that lawsuit. I see it as part of that sunroof. How or who can I get in contact to find out?