Shattered rear windshield

Most likely it'll come out of your pocket, unless there's witness or camera that someone vandalized your car.
Highly doubt that the glass shop can be held accountable.

When you get a new rear windshield find a new place to get it installed.

@mer1ion can shed some light on this.

Yes as in the article glass can shatter spontaneously, it's typically sunroofs it happens to but can happen to backlights as well. This is why some people say not to tint sunroofs but it's doubtful the film does anything to promote such shatters. If anything the window film may protect you against shards that may otherwise fall into the vehicle.

Anwyay nothing really here you can do, whether it's vandalism/robbery, or an actual "spontaneous shatter", the result is the same and the backlight needs to be replaced. No one is to blame unless you have surveillance cam footage of vandals/robbers, and even then you'll know what happened but will probably never catch them. It's true the glass may have been slightly out of spec, perhaps slightly larger than OEM, or could have had a chipped edge or whatever but in the end it's all the same and no way to prove anything really. You'll have to get insurance involved unless you want to pay out of pocket, and perhaps go to a different glass shop this time.

ES_Revenge wrote: ↑ Yes as in the article glass can shatter spontaneously, it's typically sunroofs it happens to but can happen to backlights as well. This is why some people say not to tint sunroofs but it's doubtful the film does anything to promote such shatters. If anything the window film may protect you against shards that may otherwise fall into the vehicle.

Anwyay nothing really here you can do, whether it's vandalism/robbery, or an actual "spontaneous shatter", the result is the same and the backlight needs to be replaced. No one is to blame unless you have surveillance cam footage of vandals/robbers, and even then you'll know what happened but will probably never catch them. It's true the glass may have been slightly out of spec, perhaps slightly larger than OEM, or could have had a chipped edge or whatever but in the end it's all the same and no way to prove anything really. You'll have to get insurance involved unless you want to pay out of pocket, and perhaps go to a different glass shop this time.

what is a "backlight" is it the same as a rear windshield?. I would assume a backlight is a rear tail light.

xxxray wrote: ↑ what is a "backlight" is it the same as a rear windshield?. I would assume a backlight is a rear tail light.

Backlight is the common/correct term for a "rear windshield", yes. The rear isn't really shielding from wind per se, given you're usually not driving in reverse

ES_Revenge wrote: ↑ Backlight is the common/correct term for a "rear windshield", yes. The rear isn't really shielding from wind per se, given you're usually not driving in reverse

But there is no light.. it is just a window.....wierd.....must be British

The fact that some wires weren't heating is the key here. I once had a rear window shatter due to uneven heating from the defroster. I know this because the defroster connection was replaced. There's a good chance this happened to you too. Mine exploded while I was heating, but it's possible that yours did while it was cooling. I was lucky that I had it tinted so it actually stayed in place for a few days until I had it replaced. I know the defroster connection was the issue because I could see the cracks radiating from there.

xxxray wrote: ↑ what is a "backlight" is it the same as a rear windshield?. I would assume a backlight is a rear tail light.

Probably because it's the hole in the back that lets light in.

xxxray wrote: ↑ But there is no light.. it is just a window.....wierd.....must be British

LOL the light is the light it lets in as engineered said I don't think it's British per se, I've seen it used a lot on American sites/publications too.

engineered wrote: ↑ The fact that some wires weren't heating is the key here. I once had a rear window shatter due to uneven heating from the defroster. I know this because the defroster connection was replaced. There's a good chance this happened to you too. Mine exploded while I was heating, but it's possible that yours did while it was cooling.

That's a possibility, but what I took from the OP is they did eventually replace the glass with the non-working grid lines, presumably with one where all were working.

Gonna be a tough case to make OP, even if it may have shattered due to a flaw in the glass / wiring.

I suspect you will end up paying.

x2. You can't prove that it wasn't vandalized or accidentally broken unless you have actual video.

vkizzle wrote: ↑ @mer1ion can shed some light on this.

Not much for me to say here. Everyone has pretty much covered every possible situation

mer1ion wrote: ↑ Not much for me to say here. Everyone has pretty much covered every possible situation

Lol, do you think it's more related to a bad install, versus defective glass?

vkizzle wrote: ↑ Lol, do you think it's more related to a bad install, versus defective glass?

It's hard to say without seeing it. On one hand, it could be a bad install(possibly wrong urethane) or even a ill fitting glass. It could also be from the glass overheating. When the glass goes from one extreme to the other, it can shatter. Or maybe someone just vandalized it.

Does the rear glass have any struts or wiper motor attached to it?
If yes, then it can be improper installation, undertorque/overtorque of the strut or wiper brackets, bolts/nuts coming loose due to resuing old hardware, missing hardware (plastic spacers), improper torque procedure of the hinges.

ES_Revenge wrote: ↑ That's a possibility, but what I took from the OP is they did eventually replace the glass with the non-working grid lines, presumably with one where all were working.

In that case then it could be a result of seating the glass wrong, which caused it to warp as the temps changed.
However, in my case, the lines were working, but there was a bad connection where the wires plug into the glass, so that area overheated. Since OP's glass was replaced again, it's possible that there was also a bad connection where it plugs in.

billford wrote: ↑ Does the rear glass have any struts or wiper motor attached to it?
If yes, then it can be improper installation, undertorque/overtorque of the strut or wiper brackets, bolts/nuts coming loose due to resuing old hardware, missing hardware (plastic spacers), improper torque procedure of the hinges.

Hi, OP here. Thanks for all your thoughts as I really don't know anything about backlights (learned a new term), im/proper installation, torque, hardware, etc. To give a bit more information, all the grid wires were working the last time I had the defrost on, but that was weeks, if not a month or more, ago. So there wouldn't be any sudden changes in the temperature ... ? There is a motorized wiper attached to the back. Another thing: the breakage is such that there is an irregular-shaped jagged hole about 6"w x 12"h on the left side of the glass, and the entire backlight is completely shattered, with a large crack on the right and glass chips falling off the bottom left and right corners.

Should I pursue faulty installation with the glass shop? I have a feeling they will deny and I won't be able to prove anything. Worth a try or just go through insurance?