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A day after Global News reported on a Toronto man’s frightening experience on a highway where his Hyundai sunroof suddenly shattered, other vehicle owners say they have experienced the same thing.
“It sounded like a gunshot, an explosion — I was showered in glass,” said Mark Barsoum, describing what happened to him on the way to work on Highway 427 in Toronto recently.
“It looks like someone dropped a bowling ball on my car.”
READ MORE: Driver speaks out after Hyundai sunroof shatters
But Barsoum’s 2017 Hyundai Tucson wasn’t struck by an object: the sunroof ruptured without any external force or warning, cascading broken glass into the car and streaming it into the path of cars following behind.
Hyundai is the defendant in class-action lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada, arising from similar complaints. To date, none of the claims have been proven in court. However, other Hyundai drivers said they’ve recently had an experience similar to Barsoum’s.
“I was trying to lane-change — that’s when I heard the sound of an explosion in the car,” said Fartash Rezaei, a freelance photographer in Calgary, describing what happened when he was driving on March 23 at 7 a.m. on Deerfoot Trail, a major artery through the city.
His dash-cam recorded the sound of the glass shattering. Fortunately, a curtain was drawn under the sun-roof at the time. Rezaei, who was travelling alone in the 2013 Hyundai Elantra, was not injured.
“They need to do something about this,” he said, adding he’s concerned what could have happened had a child been in the car at the time.
When Rezaei called two Hyundai dealerships afterward seeking help, he said he was told the auto maker would not cover the cost of replacement.
WATCH: Transport Canada reveals number of complaints regarding shattered sunroofs on vehicles (Oct. 24, 2017)
He said he called Hyundai Canada and was given similar information: because there was no recall, he would have to pay for the repairs himself.
“I feel like they don’t care about us,” said Dave Aston, another Calgary resident who was driving at 100 km/h when the glass on his 2016 Genesis shattered into pieces.
He said he was forced to foot the $1,200 repair and will have to pay more to repair damage to paint on his trunk.
“We feel like they’ve completely dropped the ball on this warranty,” Aston told Global News.
Meanwhile, Hyundai continues to maintain its vehicles are safe.
“Hyundai stands behind the quality of our products and this is demonstrated through our long-standing and industry-leading five-year warranty that has benefited many Canadian consumers and continues to be a significant statement of confidence in the quality and safety of our vehicles,” the company said in a written statement.
“We invite customers to contact us directly and provide us with more information.”
As of late 2017, Transport Canada said it received at least 61 complaints about shattered sunroofs involving Hyundai vehicles.
In late 2018, the government regulator deactivated an investigation into claims involving the Hyundai Santa Fe, finding no evidence of a defect. However, Transport Canada did not offer an opinion on breaking glass on other Hyundai models.
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