This is my first post here, and I have read some really good advice. So I was wondering if any of you guys have had this happen or heard of it happening to anyone else. I bought my 04 crossfire a few months back and I have noticed that there was ALOT of wind noise coming from my drivers side window. But today while I was driving my car down the freeway I heard a loud BANG and my whole drivers side window exploded in on me!! I was in the fast lane so there was no car close to me on that side! I went to the dealer to see if that would be covered under warranty but they all looked at me like I was lying! So has anyone heard of this happening???

 

I don't think the wind would do that, sounds more like someone threw something or a bb gun or something

 

The wind noise is a common thing with these cars there are TSBs to fix it.

 

If it was up to high and caught on the roof it is possible that it wedged it to much and caused it to snap.Mine used to go to high before I had it fixed.

 

I thought about the bb gun thing but Im not sure because there was a wide shoulder and then 5 lanes of opposite traffic, so the bb would have to miss all those cars and hit my window. And I dont think a rock would be able to come at me from the side either! I really dont understand how it happened! The worst thing about it, isnt the broken window, but there are guages and scratches all the way down the side of my car from the glass!!

 

It could have been a rock or something tossed up by car or truck from the opposite traffic.

 

Yeah I dont know, I know that Im just gonna have to eat this whole thing or have my insurance take care of it.

 

I tend to believe it could have been the window was misaligned, which could led to the window having to much pressure on the tempered glass. the door windows on the crossfires are very easily miss adjusted and it seems that most crossfire techs don't take the time to do it correctly. I talk from my own experiences with Chrysler techs.

 

FYI: Tempered glass has been known to explode "spontaneously"; it's a rare, but regular occurrence.

When the surface tension of tempered gass is interrupted, it shatters to a million pieces. That's why it can't be cut post tempering. The sidelite glass may have had a chip on the edge (or on the surface) anywhere - including on the inside part in the door - and the constant flexing and buffeting of the wind could have made the glass' tempering surface tension fail at the chipped or damaged point. At that instant moment the whole piece just shattered. The tempering surface tension thickness is thinned out - if chipped - at that location. The chipping could have occurred at any time from the tempering process during shipping, crating, (mis)handling and installation.

 

Just have your insurance take care of it. There's no proof as to how it broke, it just did so your insurance sould cover it if you have full coverage.

 

Yeah I called my insurance just now, they are gonna take care of it. Thanks for all the quick replies!!

 

What's a TSB? Mine does the same thing and I would like to get it fixed.

 

TSB = Technical Service Bulletin. It is a memo from the manufacturer addressing problems.

 

You can find some of the TSBs herehttp://www.crossfirecommunity.net/De...aspx?tabid=247

 

I forgot, you can find them here to along with more helpful info.https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ad.php?t=13875

 

I had the same thing happen once to the back window of one of the vehicles my office owns. I thought someone was shooting a gun. I ultimately went to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) website, found some other references to exploding windows and discussed it with my dealer who originally said he wouldn't handle it as a warranty claim. I told him that I didn't think it was typical for windows to explode for no good reason and that I'd be complaining to Chrysler and the NHTSA. At my urging, he reluctantly called his Chrysler service rep - and they immediately picked up the cost, no questions at all. I think he was surprised by this, but based on what I'd read I wasn't.

In thinking about it later, I theorize that the "exploding" part has something to do with the laminated layers of material that make up the "safety glass" in an auto window. The multiple layers are mated together, and bent at angles. It's reasonable to see that there could be some induced stress that ultimately breaks in a violent manner.

Your insurance shouldn't have to pick up the cost. First off, if it happened like mine it is a defective window, and second, it raises your insurance rates in the process. Check out the NTHSA site. I think you'll find enough to take to your dealer and complain. Chrysler should pick up the cost.

Oh BTW, when this happened to me, the vehicle in question had over 100k miles, and was 5 or 6 years old.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2004-...em290200969733

 

FYI: Rear window is not lami glass, it's only bent/tempered. Front windshield is lami, but it's not tempered, because upon breakage it'd crack into a million peces, completely obscuring vision. (The PVB interlayer would hold it in place though). If you read my previous post here, there is a likely explanation for "spontaneus" breakage of tempered glass.

 

It did break into a ton of little square or rectangular pieces.