GM Reviewing Safety of Panoramic Sunroofs

Many cars are, unfortunately, released with safety issues and even serious defects. When problems arise on a new vehicle that you have purchased, you should contact a Los Angeles lemon law attorney to get help understanding your options.

The types of safety issues that vehicles experience can affect all parts of the car. For example, Consumer Reports recently published an article indicating that General Motors is conducting an internal review of safety issues associated with panoramic sunroofs in some of the car maker's vehicles.

GM was spurred into conducting the investigation in response to an independent investigation that Consumer Reports had conducted which detailed hundreds of incidents in which these sunroofs shattered with no warning.

GM Conducts Investigation Into Shattering Panoramic Sunroofs

Consumer Reports published their report on exploding panoramic sunroofs after discovering that a federal database tracking consumer complaints found there were 900 incidents of sunroofs randomly shattering. This occurred on 38 different models of vehicles. GM was not the only car company whose sunroofs were experiencing problems. The issue spans a total of 35 different vehicle brands.

Many of the problems that have occurred have happened recently. In fact, 70 percent of the incidents of sunroofs shattering have been in the past six years. This is the period of time in which larger panoramic sunroofs started to increase in popularity.  Unfortunately, Consumer Reports indicates that the official database of complaints likely underestimates the scale of the problem since the majority of people who experience issues with their vehicles do not actually go to the trouble of officially filing complaints.

After Consumer Reports published their expose showing the problems with the sunroofs, the policy and mobilization arm, Consumers Union, reached out to 18 different auto makers as well as to industry trade groups and members of congress. Consumers Union requested that action be taken to address the safety issue with panoramic sunroofs and to address the potential dangers.

General Motors was the first auto maker to respond and to indicate that it would be conducting an investigation. However, GM is not the automaker whose sunroofs were most likely to have problems. The Consumer Reports investigation revealed that Kia and Hyundai vehicles were most likely to have experienced sunroof failure, and that the rate of roof failure on these models of vehicles exceeded their market share. GM's rate of shattering sunroofs was just a small fraction of the problems found with various models of Kia and Hyundai vehicles.

Consumer Reports safety advocates believe that all automakers with sunroofs that fail should take action, including ordering a recall if they have a pattern of shattering incidents. Safety Advocates also believe that the auto industry should establish stronger safety standards for sunroofs and that regulators should expand their investigations of sunroof shattering problems because there is sufficient evidence to suggest a widespread issue.

Consumers deserve to be protected by strong safety regulations to ensure unsafe vehicles don't make their way to the roads. Drivers who experience problems with their vehicles are also entitled to take advantage of consumer protection laws and should contact a Los Angeles lemon law attorney to determine what their options are for pursuing a legal remedy.