2021 Toyota Highlander

We were driving across the Texas panhandle at the posted speed limit of 75 mph. It was about noon, the outside temperature was about 60 fahrenheit & there was a cross wind of about 30 mph. There were no vehicles in front of me & the closest approaching vehicle was a good half mile away. No vehicles had recently driven past us from the approaching lane. There was a sudden explosion above us & through the 1-2" gap in the motorized retractable sunshade of our moonroof, I could see broken glass. Through that gap, some glass fragments fell in on us. I pulled over to stop, got out & inspected the roof, & the front glass panel was completely shattered & 75% gone. Many of the fragments were on the sunshade & I removed those. Going at about 40 mph we went to the closest small town where a mechanic removed some residual loose glass, vacuumed as much off the shade as he could, & patched the hole with cardboard held in place by duct tape so we could get home for a repair. If the shade had not been almost closed, we would have been showered with glass with risk of bodily & eye injury.

Driving back from lunch with a friend we heard a pop and loud shattering sound as my sunroof glass exploded for no apparent reason. I called the dealer where I purchased the car 40 days ago with every extended warranty that I could. Toyota denied the claim stating that there was not any bulletins stating material defect and that the glass was not part of any warranty and I will have to file an insurance claim.

While slowing and braking to stops (approximately less than 20 mph), the vehicle will lurch/lunge forward. It feels like you took your foot off the brake pedal but you did not. This occurs randomly. It does not happen every time. There are no warning lamps, messages, etc., prior to or during this issue. The vehicle has ~39000 miles. This has been occurring for at least 20000 miles. Risk: If this occurs when close to pedestrians, other vehicles, intersections, etc., it could result in an impact. The dealer could not reproduce but did find online message forums that reported the same issue.

I have a 2021 Toyota Highlander XLE with a panoramic sunroof. on 5/11/2022 I was driving on the road when I heard an extremely loud explosion. I looked around and didn't see any damage, then I pulled off the road to discover that the sunroof had exploded. I called the dealership and they referred me to Safelite. Safelite took my information and called me back 2 days later to inform me that they don't stock the part I have to go to the dealer. I booked an appointment with the dealer (Sheehy), I took the vehicle in, they inspected, and I was told by Sheehy that "they've never heard of such a thing" and they were going to call the manufacturer to see if they will approve my repair under warranty. They called me back about a week later to say my claim for repair costs was denied due to, in their words "outside influences". There were no rocks, debris, etc. found that could have contributed to the moonroof shattering. Fortunately, I had the shades pulled otherwise I would have been covered in broken glass. There was no damage to the shade to indicate an object fell on it. After a quick google search, I saw that other SUV owners had experienced this same phenomenon and were told the same thing- outside influences caused this. Toyota should inform consumers about this issue and fix it no questions asked when this happens rather than try to brush it under the carpet especially when the vehicle is still under warranty. This presents a road safety issue as flying glass could get injure other people.