rear window exploded
 

I have a 2001 escape. Last year at this time my rear window blew out for no reason, and today it happened again. It was about 5 degrees here in NY this AM, and it was not parked in the garage over night. My question is my rear window defrost. When I turn my truck off, if I don't turn the defrostoff manually it is automatically on when I start the truck again. Could this have anything to do with the window shattering? I can't figure this out, thank goodness I have glass coverage.

RE: rear window exploded
 

took the escape in for the new rear window replacement, they said theright top hinge was corroded and broke, and the undue pressure on the window could have blew it out. The window is covered by insurance but the hinge is 45.00. Could have been worse.

RE: rear window exploded
 

Thanks for the update...

RE: rear window exploded
 

Wow, that is crazy. Glad they were able to see the problem and fixed at a minimal cost to you.

RE: rear window exploded
 

I am glad to have found this on here. I just woke up this morning to my back window of my 2005 escape being totally shattered. I did not know how this happened. We checked the truck carefully to see if some kid threw something into the window, and did not see anything. I was going to call the police and report this, seeing how it is around Christmas. My truck is still under warranty and I plan on taking it to the dealer first thing on Monday. This is something that needs to be addressed and even a possible recall if you ask me. So if there are anymore people out there who this has happened to, please contact Ford so that we may help others who this might happen to in the future.

RE: rear window exploded
 

PS by the way, I have never had a problem with the rear defrost turning on when I start my truck. Or being left on I should say.

Mystery
 

Hi, just googled exploding rear window and found your thread. My rear window exploded while my car was sitting in our garage. It hasn't been driven at all for a couple of days and it is night so not very hot. Nothing touched or is anywhere near the car. It is a BF Falcon XR8. I am in Australia so the circumstances are a little different to you guys but quite mysterious all the same. I will be contacting Ford to see what their response is. :)

Wierd!! My 2006 escape rear window exploded also!
 

I came out to get in my car the night before and my rear window was shattered and at first I thought someone was trying to get in it, but I had parcels in there and also my purse was left on my passenger seat and nothing was touched! and we live in the country. Just before Chrstmas! urgghh. I now have to call my insurance company, I just got off the phone with Ford and they said no recalls and that more less you can't beleieve everything you read on the internet.( I told him of all the reports here on this page) FORD SHOULD COVER THE COST OF THESE INCIDENCES BECAUSE IT IS ONLY RIGHT. WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING FOR THIS TO HAPPEN IT IS A DEFECT IN THE VEHICLE!!!

Deb,

Good Luck with the dealer, however if they (locally) do not step up, you might elevate this to a district manager. Gosh, forget about everthing you read on the internet, check out the glass in the rear of the vehicle.....

Please report back with their/your resolution.

Have a great Sunday & Merry Christmas,

Gary

2007 Escape Hybrid Rear Window Exploded Too
 

Last night we were sitting at a traffic light. The vehicle was warmed up and it was raining. Suddenly we hear a loud noise like a gunshot and find that the back window shattered and exploded out. The hinges that held the rear window in place fell out, the rear wiper housing stayed in the door at least. The front windshield got a hairline crack that runs from the driver's side to the passenger side but didn't shatter or break. Very weird. I think that this vehicle had defective glass put in. Made a claim on my auto insurance under comprehensive. Hopefully the replacement glass and hinges will hold for the lifetime of this car.

I've had many Ford vehicles, but this is the first one that I've owned that has had "quirks". The service brake light comes on randomly. I've had to replace all 4 brakes and rotors because they were down to bare metal with only 31,000 miles on the car.

Love my car and how it drives but I have some concerns as to the safety and reliability of it. Will it last as long as the car loan?

Rear Window Explodes
 

My 2002 Escape had its second rear window explosion this morning. Two years ago it exploded in a parking lot at 30 degrees a half hour I arrived at work without using the rear window defroster. I woke up this morning to a more violent exposion with glass scattering 6 feet from the Escape. It was last driven yesterday morning. The car was parked outside and I live in the country so there was definitely not anything or one involved other than the car. Is there a fix for this or a recall?

05 Ford Escape Rear Window Exploded
 

1-26-10. The rear window of my 05 Ford Escape exploded. I believe the problem is the rear defrost system. There is a burn hole on it. While parked at the WaWa, the glass exploded shattering the entire glass out the back of the vehicle. I made a police report. The officer said that this was not the first report he has taken regarding the explosion of the rear window on the Escape.

Rear Window Exploded Update
 

Just wanted to let everyone know what we have found out. Took my Escape to a Geico body shop because I decided to make a claim on my comprehensive. If the cost was less than the deductible, then we would just pay it but I had a feeling that this could be expensive. Especially since my front windshield needed replacing too due to a crack that ran on the bottom from the driver's side to the passenger's side. It wound up costing $1,500 so I'm glad we went the insurance route.

They had told us that they were having trouble getting the rear windshield so my husband, who used to work for Ford, called around and got the number of the glass company to see where we could get the glass. The regional manager of the glass company said that this is a fairly common issue with SUVs because that back window is subjected to a lot of trauma by opening and closing with the trunk or on it's own. That is the main reason that these windows explode. Given the proper circumstances (temperature, hinge issues, rear defroster, and opening and closing) the window will explode. I had 2 Ford mini-vans before the Escape and never had this happen with any of those. Now the window didn't open separately from the trunk, but the rear window was attached to the hatch. I used my trunk extensively with those vans. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to the day this rear window explodes again. Hopefully, it won't happen while I still own the car.

Rear Window Exploded Update
 

I would like to encourage everyone that has this issue with their car window to file a report with http://www.safercar.gov/.

The more complaints they receive, the more likely it is that they will investigate this situation and if necessary recall the glass on our vehicles. If there is a recall, we could possibly be reimbursed for the money we have paid to have our windows replaced. We have all been very lucky that no one was hurt from the shattering glass. I hesitate to think about what would have happened if I were driving at a high speed when the window blew out. The explosion could have spooked me into losing control of my vehicle and the flying glass could have caused people driving behind me to have an accident. Most of us have been fortunate that the car was either stopped at a light or parked when the windows exploded. Others might not be so lucky.

Please file a complaint. http://www.safercar.gov/

Rear window explosion
 

I was driving on the highway at 50 mph when my rear window "imploded". This is a 2006 Ford Escape. I say imploded because it sent glass flying all the way to the front windshield. I nearly crashed. Ford Motor Company customer service person in Detroit denied any problem with the rear windows. My local Ford dealership was even less helpful. The quoted cost was $1,200.00 for repair. I looked online and found out that thousands of people have had this happen. I decided to keep plastic over the hole until I can sell. I have owned 9 (nine) new Ford trucks and SUV's, but this one is my last. The company has a problem with these rear windows and will not admit it or help. My insurance would not cover the replacement because there was no reason given. It was not an accident or an act of nature. Without a reason; there is not reason except faulty glass or a defrost wiring problem, no claim!

2010 Ford Escape window exploded yesterday
 

Yesterday I was "booby-trapped" by exploding rear liftgate glass on my 2010 Escape rental car from Dollar. There are a number of reported instances of exploding glass on the internet. The general experience is that the user is blamed, even though it seems to have something to due with temperature stresses on the glass / use of defogger, etc. In my case, the presumable cause was that the rear liftgate glass was unlatched when I opened and then closed the liftgate. On the impact of closing, the glass exploded. (The car was "cold" (parked overnight) / 60 degree ambient air temperature, fair / clear weather. etc.; nothing touched the glass as the gate was closed; so many of the potential contributing factors described by others did not apply in my case.) I have been opening and closing car windows and doors for most of my 53 years, and have never damaged a vehicle by doing so. I suspect there is a combination of factors that can make these windows into mini-bombs waiting to go off: the force comes from compressed gas inside the rods that support the glass when its open. With little mechanical leverage (shallow angle), these must support a surprisingly heavy wiper motor assembly that is attached to the glass (you only can tell how heavy it really is after the glass explodes and it is dangling in front of you). I suspect that some of the panes must have defects or weaknesses in them, since this does not happen to everyone. Still, the very fact that it happened to me under these circumstances tells me that either a serious design or material defect was present in my rental vehicle.

2003 Windstar Rear Window Shattered
 

Has anyone gotten any compensation from Ford? I don't have a warranty as the vehicle has over 100K miles.

I have roughly a 40 minute drive to work. It was a cold day and drove with the heat on and the roads were fine after a snow the night before, but there was no snow left on the vehicle. I came out at the end of the day to find the rear window missing about six-eight square inches of the window missing and shards of glass below in the snow. The glass appeared to have been hit from the inside, but I think it exploded from within. I'd had no trouble with the rear defogger or wiper. I found out that a co-worker noticed it at lunch, so sometime between 8:00 am and 1:00 pm this happened. No one saw anything.

2007 Escape XLT 3.0L V6 Rear Window Explosion
 

I'm sorry to say that I've got another instance to report.

I had a cold start on a sunny day that was about -2 Celsius. Defroster was on for a few minutes before stopping for gas. As I pulled out of the gas station I probably got up to 40 or 50 km/h (on a smooth road) when I was shocked to hear the explosion. The driver behind me slammed on his brakes, but thankfully did not have an accident.

It cost $450 to have replaced - thankfully not as much as some of the others here.

I sure hope it doesn't happen again!

My new 2010's rear windshield just shattered when I closed my back door today. Warranty department is saying they will not cover it. Thank goodness my insurance has a habit of going after companies that don't cover good products...mine just told me they were in this case being that the Ford is new.

NHTSA is investigating the problem
 

The National Highway Transportation Safety Admin. is looking into this issue; I was contacted after I filed a complaint at their web site. They asked for photos, etc. which I sent.

Omg
 

I have never owned a ford before but really liked the looks of the Ford Escape, bought her in January 2011. April 06 2011, took my team (4) to Salmon Arm Bc from Vernon B.C., loved driving her, we reached our destination, I parked, lifted the liftgate to get my purse, closed it and the back window just exploded. I stood in shock at the damage to my beautiful car, then I started to cry, realizing that this could have happened when my team was inside... I had it towed to the Ford dealership in Salmon Arm, pathetic, they said it had nothing to do with Ford and that I would have to go thru ICBC...
Not a chance, so they put this disgusting white plastic over it and I headed home...went to my Ford dealership, I kid you not, in 10 minutes, I had explained the situation, they ordered the window took the disgusting plastic off my beautiful vehicle and put on clear collision plastic...

I was ready for a fight but so relieved that it was taken care of...!!! but alittle worried after reading some of the forum that this might happen again...although anything is better the neon I was driving!

rear window
 

Finally! Our 2006 Ford Escape rear window exploded a while back too. I had wondered if the defrost had not gone off when shutting off the ignition. I am hoping it will never happen again. Thankfully, I had gotten out and gone in to my workplace before it happened. I guess the sound was horrendous.
Imagine if someone was standing behind it or if someone had children in the car at the time it happens.

2009 Lincoln MKX rear window shattered
 

Yeslterday (9/7/12) the rear window of my MKX shattered while it was sitting in the garage. I had just returned from doing errands, and it had been sitting in the garage for less than 15 min.

2009 Ford Escape Rear Window Explosion
 

An hour and a half ago I was out Christmas shopping. When I got home I parked my '09 Escape on the road, with the engine off while I went to shovel a bit of snow out of my driveway. After about 15 minutes I heard a bang and my rear window was gone! It was tinted but the glass is even blacker now. Has anyone had any success with remuneration from Ford? Thanx, Chuck.

Escape rear window
 

While driving home from a vendor in NJ, I had some boxes of material in the back of my 2012 Ford Escape which I had to have for work the next day. On the PA NE extension on the turnpike I had just passed the 2 miles to Lansdale exit sign, when the entire back window of the car exploded. Upon arriving home I got out of the car to find that the window had actually imploded with glass all over the inside of the car. If not for the boxes I had in the back who knows how far the glass would have gone. I had problems with the rear window leaking water and took it to the dealership and they "fixed" it. It leaked again in about a month just not as much, and continued to leak whenever it rained very hard. I wonder if the leaking water found it's way between the sheets of glass and shorted out the heating elements for the defroster, or into the control panel shorting out the elements. I took it to the dealership immediately and asked if this was a known problem and if it's covered by the extended warranty. They said no to both and said that it was most likely hit by a rock. I asked how a rock could hit the back window when the car was going 70mph forward. They just shook their heads and said it's possible. I had to get a rental car and truly believe that I'll end up eating this. It's my 2nd and last Ford.

This is a common problem amongst the F150's.