Rear Window Broken - Is this common?

oh ya. plenty i am sure. its called "break in" there are tools that allow you to break the glass with nearly no noise at all. they work very well

 

The oldest trick in the book is to disassemble a spark plug and use "parts" from it and you can shatter a window super easily with only the noise of falling glass. Unless there was a MAJOR defect this is the only thing that makes any sense... People can be stupid and break in for as little as change they see sitting around or a pair of shoes.

 

a colleague had this happen to his Yaris a year or so ago. It was parked out front at the office and when we reviewed the CCTV, no one had gone near it, the rear window just shattered. Think it was a defect in the glass or fitting.

Brian

 

One way to tell, did the glass explode inward, or outward. If inward, then probably someone did it for you. Outward, then it's probably a defect in the glass, etc.

 

That is very strange. I have only heard of this happening on fixed windows (i.e. the rear glass). I guess if it is installed with enough tension on it something could break it more easily.

 

Tempered glass is used in car windows because it is stronger than non-tempered glass, however it can shatter seemingly without cause. It can also shatter from malicious actions, of course. Tempered glass has lots of internal stress; one part pulling one way, another part pulling the other way. However, this stress is balanced so that it all evens out across the whole pane, and the glass doesn't collapse on itself. A tiny amount of damage, like a chip, can cause it to shatter weeks later though, as these stresses get imbalanced.

 

I once witnessed auto glass spontaneously shatter in the heat. Long long ago, my family and others soaking in a motel pool, heard glass shatter on a car parked very close, and looked up to see no one near the car. The car owner, who had parked there before we went into the pool, came out soon after and was in disbelief. But it was the hottest day of the summer so far, and the glass bits from the front passenger scattered outwards. While stray object impact (bullet / slingshot / rock / aircraft debris) could not be ruled out, there was no evidence pointing to that.

But your case was under much milder conditions. Is that any chance of prior impact damage, or any small pit visible along the crack path?

 

Sorry to crash on and necropost but it happened today as I was loading my car and found this part here. it is mid 50s moderate humidity cloudy no breeze. had just been on that side of the car and found no defects, and literally then slammed the liftgate a little too hard perhaps and the air pressure burst the window outward. looked around inside and no angle as it is on street next to my small apartment/house so had to be internal! granted my 2005 has 263k but that was a first that I had heard of.

 

also, look inside for a lead pellet or BBs.

 

If this breaks because of defective workmanship will Toyota cover this repair?

Edit:

Even if it is 2 years old?

 

Yes

 

and rocks and dropped aircraft parts.