I was driving my 2009 Subaru Legacy sedan on a rural highway on my usual daily commute to work. It was December 18, 2019 in Montana, so cold, but not unusually cold, and it was sunny. I was driving for about 50 minutes, and was probably going around 65-70mph, when I heard a loud noise above me like an explosion. I looked up and saw an oblong, somewhat rectangular, hole in my sunroof that was probably around 8-9 inches long and probably about 4 inches wide at its widest. The rest of the sunroof was also shattered, though still intact. Looking at the sunroof from outside, however, the shattering was less evident. I immediately looked ahead of me to see whether there was a truck or something from which something could have flown off and hit my sunroof. There was a passenger car that was maybe around 100 feet ahead of me, and then, ahead of that car, there was a logging truck (carrying tree logs), that was probably at least an 1/8 mile ahead of me. I did not see anything fly towards the car before the sunroof shattered. There was little glass in the car, and I pulled over and could find no evidence of any foreign object inside the car. I exited the car and looked at the sunroof. The glass around the hole in the sunroof gave an appearance of the impact coming from inside the car as the glass around the hole was puffed mildly, but distinctly, outward toward the sky. I saw no external evidence of an impact by a foreign object. The sunroof hole was also somewhat underneath one of the cross-bars of my car-top kayak rack, so even though the hole looked like a direct impact (even if it had been caused from above), it appeared as though the kayak rack cross-bar would have deflected any foreign object if it had come from above. I exited the car and retraced my path along the highway, looking for any foreign objects on the road, shoulder or ditch. I saw nothing.

- Missoula, MT, USA

I was driving on a local highway at around 55 mph which is just under the posted 65 mph limit. Suddenly the hood opens and slams into the windshield. It scared the heck out of me, but I was able to maintain control and pull over despite the surrounding traffic. It could have been a lot worse. Once safely on the side of the road, I sat for a few minutes before getting out since I was shaken a bit. I then checked on the damage. The windshield cracked in several places and the hood sustained multiple dents. I was able to re-latch the hood and drove home slowly for fear that it might happen again. I contacted Subaru customer service to inform of the incident and inquire if there was any type of recall or report on hoods releasing while driving. The rep stated there were no recalls or reports at that time. I had already made an appointment at my local Subaru dealer for brake lie corrosion and computer system recalls. The rep suggested that I mention this to the service department and have them check on the hood latch. If it is determined to be a factory defect, then Subaru may be able to make the repairs. I would like to know if anyone out there has experienced a similar mishap whether an older or newer model. This is a real concern since it could result in serious injury or worse.

- New Windsor, NY, USA