2015 Honda Odyssey

I WAS TRAVELING DOWN AN INTERSTATE AT 70MPH, WHEN THE SUNROOF SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODED. THERE WAS NOTHING ABOVE ME, EXCEPT FOR THE SKY, AND NO VEHICLES IN FRONT OR BEHIND ME. IT WAS APPROXIMATELY 75 DEGREES ON A CLEAR SUMMER DAY. SOUNDED LIKE AN EXPLOSION WHEN IT OCCURRED. TOOK THE VEHICLE INTO THE DEALER, AND THEY CONTACTED THE REP FOR WARRANTY CLAIMS, AND DENIED MY CLAIM, STATING THAT IT WAS CAUSED BY IMPACT. HAD THE REP CALL ME AND HE WAS ABSOLUTELY UNWILLING TO WORK WITH ME AT ALL. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT IT IS "PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET AN IMPACT BREAK ON THE TOP OF A CAR". ADDITIONALLY, A ME PROFESSOR AT UC BERKELEY CALCULATED THAT A ROCK LOFTED INTO THE AIR BY A VEHICLE TIRE WOULD REACH A HEIGHT OF 10-15 FEET AND WOULD HAVE TO COME DOWN AT 70-80 MPH TO BREAK THE SUNROOF. "THERE IS NOT A CHANCE IN THE WORLD THAT AN UNINTENTIONAL ROCK THAT IS LOFTED BY A VEHICLE WOULD EVER BREAK A SUNROOF PANEL. THE MAXIMUM VELOCITY OF A ROCK COMING DOWN WOULD BE 25 MPH, WELL SHORT OF THE 70 MPH". JUST LIKE THE OTHER COMPLAINTS ON HERE ABOUT THIS ISSUE, THE GLASS WAS BOWED OUT ON THE SUNROOF, LIKE AN EXPLOSION, AND THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE SUNROOF SLIDING VISOR THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT TO SEE IF SOMETHING REALLY DID IMPACT THE SUNROOF CAUSING IT TO BREAK. HONDA HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY UNWILLING TO ADMIT THAT THIS IS AN ISSUE, AND THEY CLAIM THEY'VE NEVER HEARD ABOUT THIS HAPPENING BEFORE. A SIMPLE INTERNET SEARCH FINDS NUMEROUS ISSUES OF SUNROOFS EXPLODING ON NEWER MODEL VEHICLES.

WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY ON AN 80 DEGREE SUNNY DAY AN EXPLOSION SOUND ABOVE MY HEAD. OPENED MOON ROOF VISOR AND GLASS WAS SHATTERED. STOPPED AND LOOKED AT THE DAMAGE. LOOKED LIKE SOMETHING PUSHED IT OUT VS BEING HIT BY ANYTHING. THERE WAS AN 8" HOLE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE AND ALL THE SHARDS OF GLASS AROUND IT POINTED UP. NOTHING HIT US AS BOTH MY WIFE AND I WHERE PAYING ATTENTION AND NO BANG LIKE A ROCK OR DEBRIS MAKES WHEN HITTING THE WINDSHIELD.

WAS DRIVING ~70MPH ON FREEWAY NEAR ORLANDO, FL. HEARD A STRANGE LOUD NOISE AND GLASS BREAKING, THEN LOT OF ROAD NOISE. UPON STOPPING TO CHECK WHAT HAPPENED, REALIZED SUNROOF GLASS HAD SHATTERED AND HAD A LARGE HOLE IN IT - IT APPEARED TO BE BOWED UP/OUTWARD. LUCKILY THE INNER COVER WAS CLOSED SO NO GLASS ENTERED THE VEHICLE. DID NOT HEAR ANY IMPACT NOISE WHEN IT HAPPENED AND THERE ARE NO VISIBLE SCRATCHES, DENTS OR OTHER EVIDENCE OF ANY IMPACT AROUND SUNROOF WHICH LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THIS IS A FAULT OF SOME KIND [IN GLASS OR OTHERWISE]. THE SUNROOF SITS ALMOST FLAT AND THE PROBABILITY OF IT BEING STRUCK BY ANYTHING MUST BE EXTREMELY SMALL. IF BY SOME MIRACLE IT IS ACTUALLY STRUCK BY SOMETHING, WOULD HAVE TO BE ONLY A GLANCING IMPACT AND I BELIEVE SHOULD NOT SHATTER AND DISINTEGRATE LIKE IT DID. SEEING AS THERE ARE ALREADY OTHER 3 REPORTS OF SIMILAR OCCURRENCES ALREADY REGISTERED WITH NHTSA SPECIFICALLY FOR 2015 MODEL, PLUS A COUPLE OF OTHER REPORTS MENTIONED IN FORUMS ONLINE, I THINK THIS NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED BEFORE SOMEONE GETS SERIOUSLY HURT AS A CONSEQUENCE. MY CONCERN IS HONDA DEALER IMMEDIATELY DECIDED IT WAS EXTERNAL ISSUE AND SHOULD BE INSURANCE CLAIM. IF THIS IS STANDARD PRACTICE, IT COULD MEAN OTHER OCCURRENCES OF THIS HAPPENING MIGHT NOT BE GETTING REPORTED TO AMERICAN HONDA AND SO THEY ARE UNAWARE OF A POTENTIALLY SERIOUS PROBLEM.

I WAS DRIVING 65 M/H WHEN I HEAR A "SMALL EXPLOSION", WASN'T SURE WHERE THE NOISE CAME FROM. AFTER THAT I SEE SOME SOLID MATERIAL FLYING FROM THE FRONT OF THE CAR ALL THE WAY TO THE BACK. I PARKED THE CAR ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY AND WHEN I LOOK ON TOP OF THE ROOF I SAW THE MOONROOF BROKE AND NOTICED THE HOLE WAS COMING FROM BOTTOM UP. THERE WERE NOT OTHER VEHICLES ON THE ROAD ELIMINATING THE POSSIBILITY OF ROAD DEBRIS OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT COULD MAKE ME THINK THAT THIS WAS AN INCIDENT OTHER THAN FACTORY ISSUE (PRESSURIZATION) I'M ALMOST 8 MONTHS PREGNANT AND THE ATTENTION I GOT FROM HONDA SERVICE DEPARTMENT IN MORGAN HILL IS REALLY DISAPPOINTING THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A SERIOUS ISSUE IF I DIDN'T HAVE THE COVER IN PLACE TO PROTECT ME TO GET GLASS ON ME!. I FOUND SIMILAR CASES REPORTED TO THE NHTSA FOR THE SAME CAR AND MODEL. THIS NEEDS TO BE TAKING SERIOUSLY BY AMERICAN HONDA.

THE HEADREST FOR THE DRIVER'S SEAT IS MY PROBLEM. I HAVE TO LEAN MY HEAD FORWARD TO KEEP THE HEADREST FROM PUSHING MY HEAD FORWARD. THIS IS CAUSING ME TO HAVE NECK AND SHOULDER PAIN. I TRIED LEANING THE DRIVER'S SEAT BACK BUT THEN I HAD NO SUPPORT FOR MY BACK AND THAT CAUSED ME TO HAVE NECK AND SHOULDER PAIN. I NEED A HEADREST THAT I CAN ADJUST TO GO BACK FURTHER. ALSO, THE HEADRESTS ON THE 3RD ROW GO UP SO HIGH THAT VISIBILITY OUT OF THE BACK WINDOW IS OBSCURED AND I FOUND THAT I COULD ONLY USE MY SIDE VIEW MIRRORS.

WE WERE DRIVING DOWN A MAIN ROAD SPEED APPROX 45MPH, IT WAS 90-94 DEGREES OUT SO AC WAS ON AND IT WAS A SEVERE RAIN STORM. WE HAD JUST LEFT THE HIGHWAY AND WERE ON A MAIN ROAD HIGHLY TRAVELED. WE NOTICED IT WAS WARM IN THE CAR AND THE AC WAS BLOWING HOT. ALL THE SUDDEN IT WAS FOGGING THE WINDOWS ON THE INSIDE. WE HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER IN THE MIDDLE OF A STORM BECAUSE WE COULD NOT SEE AND WITH THE DEFROSTER ON IT WAS FOGGING THE WINDOW WORSE. WE HAD OUR 2 CHILDREN IN THE BACK OF THE VAN WHO WERE SCARED OUT OF THEIR WITS WE WOULD BE REAR ENDED DURING THE STORM. WE MANAGED TO FIND A TOWEL WIPE THE WINDOW AND PULL INTO A TIRE/OIL CHANGE PLACE UP THE ROAD. THEY CHECKED THE CAR AND SAID DUE TO THE RAIN THE AC CONDENSOR STOPPED WORKING AND WE HAD AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE THEY COULD NOT FIX. WE WOULD NEED THE DEALER IN THE MORNING. WHEN WE WOKE IN THE AM THE VAN HAD DRIED AND THE AC WORKED AGAIN WE RETURNED HOME AND TOOK TO OUR LOCAL DEALER WITH AN APPT 07/03/15 WHO ADVISED US SINCE IT WORKS NOW THEIR IS NOTHING WE CAN DO. WE LIVE IN A STATE THAT RAINS DAILY AND ARE AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR IN THE RAIN NOW. DEALER STATES IT IS NOT COVERED UNDER LEMON LAW AS IT WAS NOT LIFE THREATENING, LACK OF VISIBILTY TO US IS LIFE THREATENING. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS.

WE EMBARKED ON AN 8806 MILE, 22 DAY ROAD TRIP THROUGH THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST TO THE MIDWEST WITH OUR NEW 2015 HONDA ODYSSEY EX. DRIVING WAS DONE DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS ONLY WITH THE HEADLIGHTS ON AND INSTRUMENT CLUSTER LIGHTS AS HIGH AS THEY COULD BE SET. ALL WINDOWS ARE TINTED. 21 OF THE DAYS WERE BRIGHT AND SUNNY. WE COULD NOT SEE THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER DISPLAY ON BRIGHT DAYS. NEITHER THE SPEEDOMETER OR THE TACHOMETER WERE READABLE. MY WIFE MONITORED OUR SPEED WITH A GARMIN GPS. THIS CLUSTER HAS WHITE NUMERALS AND A PALE GREY BACKGROUND. THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW WHICH MAKES OPERATION UNSAFE ON BRIGHT DAYS.