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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 2013 Elantra gt I was driving on the highway yesterday (January 3 2022) no cars around, no over passes , and there was no sounds of something being wrong and the roads were perfect and all of a sudden the first panel of the panoramic sunroof exploded I was covered and everything in the car was covered with glass
I have a 2021 VW Tiguan and experienced the same thing. I was driving down the highway yesterday (Jan 2nd 2022) and the back sunroof panel exploded out of nowhere with my dog in the back seat. It appears it’s not just Hyundai with this problem. I have an appointment to bring it in tomorrow morning and will have updates as to how they handle it.
2021 Santa Fe Caligraphy. Sunroof just exploded. No other vehicles around. Everyone heading to the eye doctor now to see if any of the showering glass ended up in our eyes. That’s all I care about. The service tech said he sees these all the time. Has submitted over 100 claims to Hyundai. Hasn’t had one approved. Says that they claim it was weakened by a rock and later explodes because of the damage. I guess that’s possible. But it would be nice if they covered it at least for the first few years.
Just experienced the shattering of our 2017 Sante Fe moonroof driving down the highway at 90km with our grandchildren and daughter in the back seat. This was terrifying for all of us. No reason for this to happen. We will start with a phone call to the dealership and proceed from there. Not what I want to be doing 4 days before Christmas!
I can top everyone….I bought a 2022 Santa Fe and drove it once. Got in the car to drive it for the second time. As soon as I closed the door the sunroof shattered with glass coming on myself and my husband. Because it is a weekend i have to wait until Monday for their results but Ideal Hyndai in Frederick Md said it is not their fault and would not cover a rental car. This car has 61 miles on it…repeat 61 miles driven. They also won’t pay for a rental car. Since i need a car for work it is costing me $480 to rent a SUV for 3 days since the car rentals have so few cars. Even if they fix it I will never feel comfortable in this car.
2013 Santa Fe Sport – sunroof shattered today.
I was just driving home from work and exiting the highway and my sunroof exploded. Just as everyone else has described ‘like a gunshot went off’. I have a 2017 Santé Fe. I want to know if it is covered/ entitled to anything from Hyundai. This is obviously far to common to be a coincidence.
My sunroof on my 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe XL exploded today while I was driving on a highway in Arizona. No truck in front of me, no overpass. No warning, just a big explosion sound. No glass in the car, but 85-90% of the first glass panel is gone – the glass chips must have scattered on the highway and surrounding – and the rest of that front panel is cracked all over but somehow holding together. I exited the highway and drove home on the frontage roads at a much lower speed.
I live in Northern Ontario. I have a 2020 Tucson and just last week the front part of the moonroof shattered. I have no idea why this happened but I do know nothing hit my vehicle. I brought it to my Hyundai dealer and they are submitting a claim to Hyundai Canada. I’ll know in a few days if it’s covered, but after reading all theses comments i am not very confident on what the result will be. I also am wondering if this is part of the class action lawsuit as I feel it should be. It did shatter for no apparent reason. I guess this time i feel lucky it wasn’t the entire moonroof that shattered. I will say I’m very nervous about driving this vehicle now and will never open the moonroof. The young man had said he had seen this on a few other Hyundai vehicles but would not say if Hyundai covered it or not.
Hi.. i have a2020 tucson.. and the same thing happened.. what was the outcome?
I have a 2022 Tuscan and this just happened
My 2012 veloster panoramic sunroof recently exploded for no apparent reason. This resulted in minor cuts to my rather bald head and will cost around $5,00 to repair due the track being damaged. It will also take around a month to get the needed parts.