WATCH: Transport Canada data reveals a sharp increase in the number of complaints about shattering vehicle sunroofs.
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Shayla Lovic and her husband, from Brampton Ont., were driving to a doctor’s appointment for their then three-month-old daughter on a quiet February morning this year when they heard what sounded like “an explosion.”
The roof of their 2016 Volkswagen Jetta had just shattered into tiny pieces. When Lovic, still confused about what had happened, turned to the rear passenger seat, she saw her infant daughter covered in glass, the 26-year old marketing manager recently recalled in an interview with Global News.
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“At that point, I freaked out.”
The baby was unharmed, it turned out, but the sunroof shattering caused the car, which was traveling on Highway 427, to swerve. Thankfully it was around midday and there were no other vehicles around, she said.
Lovic’s story, which made news at the time, isn’t the first of its kind – or even the first to have made it to the media. Global News has reported on a number of such cases, including, most recently, that of Jim Ashe, a Calgary realtor, who in 2015 also got a scare from a loud noise while driving and pulled over to find the sunroof of his Buick shattered.
WATCH: An increasing number of drivers has been calling for an investigation into exploding sunroofs, Tony Tighe reports.
But instances of shattering sunroofs are becoming more and more common on Canada’s roads, according to data provided to Global News by Transport Canada.
The number of such complaints went from zero in 2007 to over 110 in 2016. The tally as of Oct. 16 of this year stood at 103 incidents.
Transport Canada has recorded 351 complaints about shattering sunroofs since the year 2000. Here are the affected car brands and models:
Brand # of Complaints Model # of Complaints
HYUNDAI 61 SANTA FE (HYUNDAI) 37
NISSAN 49 MURANO (NISSAN) 19
BMW 32 3 SERIES (BMW) 13
FORD 29 SORENTO (KIA) 10
TOYOTA 27 MAZDA3 (MAZDA) 9
KIA 17 RAV4 (TOYOTA) 9
MAZDA 15 ROGUE (NISSAN) 9
VOLKSWAGEN 15 FOCUS (FORD) 8
HONDA 14 EDGE (FORD) 6
JEEP 9 ELANTRA (HYUNDAI) 6
ACURA 8 PATHFINDER (NISSAN) 6
CHEVROLET 8 VENZA (TOYOTA) 6
DODGE 7 X5 (BMW) 6
MERCEDES-BENZ 7 CHEROKEE (JEEP) 5
INFINITI 6 CR-V (HONDA) 5
BUICK 5 ESCAPE (FORD) 5
CADILLAC 5 JETTA (VOLKSWAGEN) 5
CHRYSLER 5 JUKE (NISSAN) 5
MITSUBISHI 4 SONATA (HYUNDAI) 5
SUBARU 4 TIGUAN (VOLKSWAGEN) 5
VOLVO 4 VELOSTER (HYUNDAI) 5
AUDI 3 300 (CHRYSLER) 4
LEXUS 3 1 SERIES (BMW) 4
LINCOLN 3 ACCORD (HONDA) 4
GMC 2 C-CLASS (MERCEDES-BENZ) 4
MINI 2 COROLLA (TOYOTA) 4
RAM 2 F150 (FORD) 4
FIAT 1 GOLF (VOLKSWAGEN) 4
JAGUAR 1 GRAND CHEROKEE (JEEP) 4
OLDSMOBILE 1 HIGHLANDER (TOYOTA) 4
PONTIAC 1 MDX (ACURA) 4
SMART 1 OPTIMA (KIA) 4
Total (Oct 16, 2017) 351 SRX (CADILLAC) 4
ALTIMA (NISSAN) 3
CIVIC (HONDA) 3
CX-9 (MAZDA) 3
ENCLAVE (BUICK) 3
FRONTIER (NISSAN) 3
IMPREZA (SUBARU) 3
JOURNEY (DODGE) 3
South of the border, Americans have filed over 850 complaints about shattering sunroofs with the U.S. federal government between 1995 and September of 2017, according to Consumer Reports.
Why are sunroofs ‘exploding?’
When sunroofs break they are meant to shatter into very small pieces for safety reasons, Global News heard from Chris Davies, head of research and development at Belron, the world’s leading vehicle glass repair company, which owns Canada’s Speedy Glass and Lebeau Vitres d’autos, among others.
Barring manufacturing defects, the glass isn’t sharp and the pieces are small, so the greater danger might come from the “fright factor” to drivers, who could potentially lose control of the vehicle, said Davies.
READ MORE: Saskatoon woman pushes for vehicle recall after sunroof shatters
What generally causes the glass to shatter is accidental damage, said Davies. A rock or even something as small as a pebble hitting the glass can cause it to shatter, especially if the glass has already been subjected to significant stress.
Indeed,
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