I have a 2007 328 and I was driving down the highway and my sunroof exploded. Luckily I had the sun protector pulled closed or else I would have been covered in glass.
once I got home I googled Bmw exploding sunroofs and was horrified to see pages of complaints about this very problem.
This morning I went to my dealer and at first the service rep said he had seen this problem before and it would be covered by warranty. Later in the afternoon he phoned to say BMW Canada had decided not to warrant it and I was on my own.
#1 I think that this is a flaw in the design of these roofs and should either be fixed or taken off the market. Someone is going to get hurt.
#2 the fact I was told by the service rep that it would be covered by warranty then told he was over ruled by Bmw canada causes me great displeasure with my rep. He even went as far as to say he has seen a couple of these same claims and they were covered by warranty. Then once he was told by BMW that they would not cover it his story changed to the other cars had less then 1000 kms on them and it was done more as a good will gesture. Well guess what my car only has 9000kms where is my good will. On one hand they claim responsibility then on the other take it back based upon milage.
Has anyone else heard of exploding sunroofs?

Stone hit it possibly? I just don't see how they just blow up.

Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
if you can prove it spontaneously exploded. Good luck. I mean what next, sue when a windshield shatters :confused.

Over tempered glass can "shatter" by itself. My GFs Beetle had the rear window just shatter one night, and they replaced it. I'm not sure I think this glass is curved enough, but I think if you call and talk to BMW they should work with you...but you are in Canada so I don't know how they do things there.

but you are in Canada so I don't know how they do things there.
just like the US, but much slower :D.

if you can prove it spontaneously exploded. Good luck. I mean what next, sue when a windshield shatters :confused.

When dozens of people have identical problems, it's not just a fluke. :rolleyes And it isn't the windshield, it's the sunroof. I've never heard of sunroof glass exploding. It's likely very rare ... except when there are defects in the manufacturing process.

When dozens of people have identical problems, it's not just a fluke. :rolleyes And it isn't the windshield, it's the sunroof. I've never heard of sunroof glass exploding. It's likely very rare ... except when there are defects in the manufacturing process.
I never said it can't happen, just saying it is hard to make a case out of it and offered another possibility. I agree he should try to talk to BMW directly, just call them and discuss and see what happens.

If BMW doesnt cover it just follow a truck take down the number and call the company and tell them that a rock flew out of one of their dump trucks and broke the sunroof.

First time I heard of it happening I thought it was a fluke, but the frequency with which is seems to be happening is surprising me. Here's a multi-page thread on E90Post with some victims: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67304

just like the US, but much slower :D.

"Yea, Canada's like a loft apartment above a really great party." - Robin Williams

The pictures of these exploding glass shatter bombs are all the same. A distinct three sided "rectangle" protruding above the rest of the shattered remains. It definitely looks like a manufacture defect in the glass to me.

When dozens of people have identical problems, it's not just a fluke. :rolleyes

SO BASED ON THAT STATEMENT, EERY FLAT TIRE SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY?

JUST BECAUSE THE GLASS SHATTERED DOESN'T MEAN IT WAS A FLUKE. SHOW ME SOME PROOF THAT THE GLASS EXPLODED DUE TO POOR DESIGN, AND THEN YOU HAVE SOMETHING.

IF IT WAS A ROCK THAT CAUSED THE DAMAGE, WHICH IS VERY HIGHLY POSSIBLE, THEN CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY. THAT WOULD BE COLLISION DAMAGE.

/THREAD

It's very common for a company to deny design problems while they examine why it's happening. It could be that all of these were in very cold temps and the heat from inside caused it to shatter (windshields did this for a while, or there usually is a warning to let the defroster heat up with it on not just send hot air to a frozen window).

But it could be that there was a a bad batch of glass...and because 10 people out of 23,000 cars has had it happen doesn't mean anything. Think of the percentages of failure before looking at a forum with a group of problems.

It's a stone hit. I have a couple of nasty pits in my sunroof from stones. Luckily, they didn't cause the glass explosion I've read so much about. Yet.

I've got to go with stone/rock as well. I googled "exploding sunroof" and forums from Infiniti and others came up, not just BMW. I had a chunk of road seemingly come out of the sky and land on my hood in my new Mustang Cobra 10 years ago. I nearly needed a change of shorts. lol. Basically, I figured out that a dumptruck which was several cars up from me must have hit a large bump and ejected it straight up in the air.

If BMW doesnt cover it just follow a truck take down the number and call the company and tell them that a rock flew out of one of their dump trucks and broke the sunroof.So insurance fraud is the answer? Great plan.

If BMW doesnt cover it just follow a truck take down the number and call the company and tell them that a rock flew out of one of their dump trucks and broke the sunroof.

Dude. No. :lightning

So insurance fraud is the answer? Great plan.

NO, BUT HE CAN STILL FILE UNDER HIS OWN POLICY......

NO, BUT HE CAN STILL FILE UNDER HIS OWN POLICY......

I realize you're posting remotely or whatever, but those caps are really getting irritating.

I can think of nothing physically different about this car compared to the SUV I drove previously that would explain it, but I have to say my car sure does seem to be a magnet for rocks. Today I got hit by a big one seemingly out of nowhere - no other vehicles even close by.

Meteorite maybe? :-)

Or maybe our roads are just disintegrating into rubble faster than they did last year.

I think you don't care in an old car and will drive through a meteor shower, and when you get something nice you notice every little thing. I did notice that since I use the car pool lane that there are more chips on the left side, which is closer to the barrier...where all the rocks are being collected and kicked up.