Shattered rear window

rabman5

Senior member
 Orchard Lake, MI
This is not about my Z4, my other car, 2008 Ford Edge. Three weeks old.

In July 2008, my wife began working for a new company with a connection to Ford motor Co. Now she gets full employee discount on new Ford cars, so she wanted a Ford Edge as our utility vehicle (my winter car) so she can trade her X5 for a smaller car. We picked up the Edge September 30th. (very good price btw)

October 22, I drove to work at 8:00 am. At 9:20 I was going to visit another office and saw the rear window was shattered. There didn't seem to be a point of impact, just uniform shattered glass. I took pictures and called the dealer, assuming they would see the obvious, faulty glass probably reacting to the cold temperature, and repair under warranty. By the way, this was the first morning since I owned the car the temperature was below freezing. The car was stored in my garage overnight.

The dealer refused to even see it. I spoke with the manager who said this cannot happen without impact and was not covered at all. Reluctantly I had the window repaired as I needed the car for a weekend getaway that same week.

A few days later, my security director called me to his office and showed me the surveillance tape of my window spontaneously shattering at exactly 8:09 am. i contacted the dealer who said it didn't matter that i had proof, it wasn't covered. I sent an email to Ford Customer Care.

Any glass experts out there? Couldn't this happen if the glass was faulty?
 
Just saw something like this on the Discovery Channel this past week. They took a shatter proof glass that they said was the same as glass made for car windows. After taping around the sides, as if it were held in place by the rubber seal of your car, they took a small nail, placed the tip along one one taped side, and gave it a tap with a hammer; the entire glass spider webbed instantly.

Makes me wonder if a small object wasn't between the rubber seal and the glass of your car. The sun hits the window, it expands ever so slightly, and the object creates enough pressure upon the glass edge to create the fracture. The tap with the hammer was quite light, I would think a small piece of metal or glass would replicate the demonstration.
 
It's actually rather a common failing, especially with rear windows and in cold weather. They have 99% of the time had a minor stone or grit impact within an inch of the edge. The glass is structural and prestressed so it 'pops' at anytime.

I had an old Vauxhall. moved it off the road where it had been parked as as I went over the slightest change of gradient into the drive it shattered into a thousand pieces.

Sometime putting the rear heater on in cold weather is enough to make them go
 
I think it speaks volumes about why Ford is in trouble! The biggest question is not what happened to the window, but why did they refuse to even talk to you about it. Sacrificing customer service for the price of a windshield is not away to earn customisers. Compare that to a situation I had with my 03 Honda Pilot, 25k out of warranty my transmission failed,they never even blinked, replaced it at no charge.
 
DRL1950 said:
I think it speaks volumes about why Ford is in trouble! The biggest question is not what happened to the window, but why did they refuse to even talk to you about it. Sacrificing customer service for the price of a windshield is not away to earn customisers. Compare that to a situation I had with my 03 Honda Pilot, 25k out of warranty my transmission failed,they never even blinked, replaced it at no charge.

I totally agree. My dealership never blinked when I told them my top motor had been making an odd sound and working slow for two months prior to failure; which occured about six weeks out of warranty; just replaced it at no charge. The cost was far more than just a windshield, I'm sure.

The last time I bought a new Ford was in 1982, it came with a 24k warranty. The tranny went out at 19k and was making the exact same sound at 24k. They refused to even look at it as it had not failed. Traded the car the following week for a Vette with the idea in mind that I would not be doing business with Ford anymore. My ex, however, bought a 1996, against my wishes; the tranny failed on that minivan at 85K after 3.5 years.

Poor service and poor products. And the Dems want to bail out a company that has spent years digging themselves into their hole. You read what you sow; RIP Ford.
 
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