Nissan Sunroof Exploded Like a Shotgun Blast: Lawsuit

February 24, 2018 — If your Nissan sunroof exploded and you think you're alone, apparently you aren't as plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit claim the exact same thing happened to them.

According to the plaintiffs, Nissan panoramic sunroofs spontaneously explode and Nissan refuses to repair, replace or compensate customers even when the vehicles are under warranty.

The lawsuit says Nissan has offered panoramic sunroofs as optional upgrades in the following vehicles named in the class-action lawsuit:

2008-present Nissan Altima
2011-present Nissan Juke
2008-present Nissan Maxima
2009-present Nissan Murano
2008-present Nissan Pathfinder
2008-present Nissan Rogue
2008-present Nissan Sentra

At a price of about $1,000 to purchase or repair, the plaintiffs claim the sunroofs exploded because Nissan used tempered and thinner glass, ceramic enamels and too much pressure during installation.

At least 105 Nissan owners have complained to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about sunroofs that exploded and sent shards of glass flying around the cabins, in some cases causing injuries to the occupants. The plaintiffs say Nissan must have known about the sunroofs because of customer complaints, yet the automaker failed to take action or help customers.

Plaintiff Sherida Johnson says she purchased a used 2016 Nissan Maxima with a panoramic sunroof that exploded while she was driving to work. Johnson says a Nissan dealer refused to pay to replace the sunroof even though the vehicle was within the three-year or 36,000-mile warranty.

Ms. Johnson says she paid about $185 of her own money after the insurance covered the remaining amount.

Another plaintiff, Subrina Seenarain, says she purchased a used 2014 Nissan Maxima with a panoramic sunroof that blew out while she was driving, and she too was told by a Nissan representative the damage was not covered by her warranty.

According to the lawsuit, Seenarain paid over $1,000 to repair the sunroof damage, something Nissan should have freely covered.

The sunroofs are allegedly made with tempered glass that is too thin to handle the stress placed upon the sunroofs even though the thin glass decreases weight and therefore helps with fuel economy. The plaintiffs also claim Nissan uses a ceramic enamel that is applied before the glass is tempered, allegedly causing the glass to weaken.

Both plaintiffs claim they are scared of driving their vehicles because of the trauma caused by the exploding sunroofs.

In Nissan's motion to dismiss, the automaker told the judge the sunroofs aren't covered by the warranties because glass breakage incidents aren't included.

Judge William H. Orrick ruled the lawsuit will continue but not as the plaintiffs intended. Judge Orrick dismissed certain claims, namely five claims related to specific states, but the majority of claims will proceed.

Alleged violations of consumer protection, express warranty and fraud claims were dismissed for Colorado consumers, while implied warranty and fraud claims were dismissed for Illinois consumers. Multiple claims survived Nissan's motion to dismiss, and the judge told the plaintiffs they could amend two of the dismissed claims.

Nissan is also in court for a different proposed class-action lawsuit filed after sunroofs allegedly exploded, but the lawsuit includes Nissan and Infiniti owners and lessees in California only. The case, Horne v Nissan, was transferred from the Solano County Superior Court to the Northern District Court of California on February 6, 2018.

CarComplaints.com has complaints about the models named in the Nissan exploding sunroof lawsuit: