| Issue ID | 1372344 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10979655 |
| Manufacurer | Subaru of America, Inc. |
| Brand | SUBARU |
| Model | OUTBACK |
| Model Year | 2016 |
| File date | 14/04/17 |
| Component | VISIBILITY/WIPER |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | While driving down an open road going about 45mph with no trees and no other vehicles around us, our sunroof exploded. I say exploded because we thought we had been shot. It was a very loud pop and then we were instantly covered in glass. Like almost the entire sunroof was now in pieces and inside the car. I actually googled "exploding sunroof" because we knew we didn't hit anything. There are literally pages of accounts of this happening and there are numerous manufacturers listed as having this problem. Anyway, subaru did replace it and we did not have to file a claim with our insurance but we could have been seriously injured if we were going any faster. The prevailing theory is that in order the save weight on the affected vehicles, the frame of the sunroof isn't rigid enough allowing the glass to move too much which causes the spontaneous explosion. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 20000 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | ALPHARETTA, GA |
| VIN pattern | 4S4BSENC7G3XXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 45 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |