Back Window Cracked Overnight

[WhtRubi]

Woke up this morning to a nice crack in my rear passenger window. 2021 JL Rubicon 2-Door, 20,000miles

Seems to be from the inside of the glass, and appears to be in the area of the center bolt for my hardtop. I've never removed the hardtop, so everything is torqued as it came from the factory. I don't carry anything in the rear, so it wasn't an impact from anything getting jostled around.

My only guess is that it got pretty cold last night (~40 degrees... It's cold for San Diego), and the change in temperature constricted the hardtop enough that it broke the glass.

Has anyone else had this problem or know what could cause this? Interested to hear your takes

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[1Evil55]

That sucks. I doubt the temps would have much effect as 40 isn't that cold, coming from Chicago. Maybe if it were your windshield I'd agree more. Just thinking that the cold air outside and the windshield getting defroster heat on inside. I have a crack on mine and was able to watch the crack grow last week from difference in outside/inside temps. Could it have come from the middle bolt? You said you've never touched them. If that were the culprit it probably would have happened a long time ago. Sorry to see it happen to you.

 

[Fitzz47]

It happened to my sons jeep. The tech who replaced the glass said he has done a few. He suggested leaving your drivers window slightly cracked when you close a door. He claimed closing the door hard made enough pressure to crack the window. It’s been ok since

 

[Bulletbill]

Woke up this morning to a nice crack in my rear passenger window. 2021 JL Rubicon 2-Door, 20,000miles

Seems to be from the inside of the glass, and appears to be in the area of the center bolt for my hardtop. I've never removed the hardtop, so everything is torqued as it came from the factory. I don't carry anything in the rear, so it wasn't an impact from anything getting jostled around.

My only guess is that it got pretty cold last night (~40 degrees... It's cold for San Diego), and the change in temperature constricted the hardtop enough that it broke the glass.

Has anyone else had this problem or know what could cause this? Interested to hear your takes

Is there anything blocking the vents in the rear? I have heard some stories of people who had tailgate tables which blocked the rear tailgate vents and it caused the jeep to over pressurize when shutting doors causing the glass to crack or break.

 

[calemasters]

Could be an irregular window bed in the fiber glass roof that caused a stress fracture at the bottom on the glass side window. When the cracked glass is removed, someone should carefully inspect the window bed at the bottom where the fracture occured.

 

[WhtRubi]

Is there anything blocking the vents in the rear? I have heard some stories of people who had tailgate tables which blocked the rear tailgate vents and it caused the jeep to over pressurize when shutting doors causing the glass to crack or break.

Nothing is blocking the rear vents. It would be strange if closing a driver's door caused the side passenger window to crack, but it's all pretty strange anyways

 

[WhtRubi]

Could be an irregular window bed in the fiber glass roof that caused a stress fracture at the bottom on the glass side window. When the cracked glass is removed, someone should carefully inspect the window bed at the bottom where the fracture occured.

Interesting. I'll have to have the tech look into it when I get the glass replaced. Probably get it done at the dealership so if it is a bad hardtop, it can be covered thru warranty. Thanks for the info!

 

[Reinen]

40 degrees isn't exactly cold, but how warm was it during the day? It's the temperature difference and how quickly it changed that matters. If it was temperature.

Here's some other things I'd check.
Insure all hard top bolts are tight. It could have cracked because the bolt near the crack is tight and others are loose allowing movement.
Is there a roof rack or bars that's only supported by the hard top? Maybe too much weight up there?

All the other responses are also possible causes of the crack. It could be many things, gotta check them all.

 

[calemasters]

Interesting. I'll have to have the tech look into it when I get the glass replaced. Probably get it done at the dealership so if it is a bad hardtop, it can be covered thru warranty. Thanks for the info!

Some dealers replace glass while others sublet to a local glass shop.

 

[WhtRubi]

40 degrees isn't exactly cold, but how warm was it during the day? It's the temperature difference and how quickly it changed that matters. If it was temperature.

Here's some other things I'd check.
Insure all hard top bolts are tight. It could have cracked because the bolt near the crack is tight and others are loose allowing movement.
Is there a roof rack or bars that's only supported by the hard top? Maybe too much weight up there?

All the other responses are also possible causes of the crack. It could be many things, gotta check them all.

No roof rack or other mods on the hardtop... The only thing close is a hardshell locking tire cover which weighs next to nothing, so I don't think weight would be the cause. I'll have to check the bolts, I honestly haven't touched them since I've never removed the hardtop.

 

[WhtRubi]

Some dealers replace glass while others sublet to a local glass shop.

Understood, but I like keeping all maintenance records in one place. IMO it helps with resale value and allows for tracking of chronic issues

 

[Bill_P]

Understood, but I like keeping all maintenance records in one place. IMO it helps with resale value and allows for tracking of chronic issues

That and if you take it to Safelite or somewhere on your own dime, it gives the dealer an out to say that whatever damage was caused by them and it isn't covered under warranty. If the dealer contracts them, the dealer is still responsible.

 

[WhtRubi]

That and if you take it to Safelite or somewhere on your own dime, it gives the dealer an out to say that whatever damage was caused by them and it isn't covered under warranty. If the dealer contracts them, the dealer is still responsible.

Absolutely! Plus Safelight will in all likelihood use non-OEM glass, vioding whatever warranty there would otherwise be

 

[jaymz]

That’s odd. I always assumed that the side glass was tempered. Tempered glass doesn’t crack like that.

 

[Bback58]

Normal temperature change isn't going to crack your glass. Once there is a crack, then it can.

I didn't think a side window would crack - I thought they were tempered glass and if something happened they would just shatter.

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