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JLUR rear tailgate glass exploded on a freeway

Rubicon_LA

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Had one of the scariest moments of my life last night. Driving on a freeway with my son in the back seat. The rear glass got foggy, so I turned the defroster on. My defrost cable was very poorly soldered, and almost falling off. I addressed this common issue a few times when was taking my Jeep for services before, and the dealership always promised to order me a new glass but never did. So a few seconds later after turning on the defrost we both feel a strong burning smell and in my mirror I saw a smog coming in from the spot where defrost cable barely touches the glass. Turned off the defrost immediately and less than ten seconds later a loudest BUM and my rear glass blows in pieces in the middle of freeway speed moving, leaving the tailgate glass shocks hanging in the air. My immediate fear was how bad did my son get injured in the back seat. Fortunately he didn't seem to have visible injures but got scared as hell.
So the question is now how do I go about it to have Jeep service be responsible for the explosion and finally replace my rear glass and how long would it take?
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Rhinebeck01

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@Rubicon_LA

Before you call or deal with the Dealership Service Department, again ...... you should call the Dedicated Jeep Customer Care number and have them open a case for you.

Make this call ASAP, .....then, you will have FCA involved in handling this matter.. They can also speed up the repair process... the time it takes to get new glass and do the fix...

Dealer's tend to be more on their "A" game lets say, when FCA is involved...

Dedicated Jeep Customer Care: Ph. 1-866-362-2146
 

Fonzilla85

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First, glad the little one was not hurt. This is the first time I’ve heard of this happening but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened before. Maybe others on the forum can chime in.
Your best bet is to contact the dealership, explain to them in detail what you saw, smelt and heard. I.e. I saw a loose defrost cable, I then smelt and observed smoke coming from the cable connection, fearing for my son and my safety I shut off the defrost off, seconds later I heard a loud shatter,etc. If you’ve already had the issue (defrost cable) documented, also let them know that.
Being that they are a dealership, they may try to pull out all the stops, but if you can articulate the above info properly, they may just fix it.
Best of luck.
 

Rhinebeck01

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Great. Thank you so much for the number and advise. Will call them now.
Do not get nasty or go on a rant with the Rep.... be calm and polite...
Just explain what happened and how the dealer did not replace the glass, etc...

They will have the dealer replace the window... and clean up the mess...

By the way, this same exploding window thing after defroster repair has been reported numerous times here on the forum over the last 3 years...
 

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Tsalvador

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@Rubicon_LA

Before you call or deal with the Dealership Service Department, again ...... you should call the Dedicated Jeep Customer Care number and have them open a case for you.

Make this call ASAP, .....then, you will have FCA involved in handling this matter.. They can also speed up the repair process... the time it takes to get new glass and do the fix...

Dealer's tend to be more on their "A" game lets say, when FCA is involved...

Dedicated Jeep Customer Care: Ph. 1-866-362-2146
that says it all. Jeep, FCA or whatever they call themselves are a joke.There is nothing short of ongoing quality issues on these things and while for most it’s a passionI just can’t wrap my mind around them. It’s just beyond belief that to get a basic service done this has to be escalated to the factory x 000’s and bam - how do they want a loyal customer base?
They haven’t learned by now - no wonder Koreans and others sell more than they do!
 

PepperE

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Late last year on 2020 Rubicon - opened a case with Jeep Cares. Dealership was nice, but couldn’t/wouldn’t do anything without approval. Once approved, it took two or three weeks for glass to arrive.
 

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Gurk

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Had one of the scariest moments of my life last night. Driving on a freeway with my son in the back seat. The rear glass got foggy, so I turned the defroster on. My defrost cable was very poorly soldered, and almost falling off. I addressed this common issue a few times when was taking my Jeep for services before, and the dealership always promised to order me a new glass but never did. So a few seconds later after turning on the defrost we both feel a strong burning smell and in my mirror I saw a smog coming in from the spot where defrost cable barely touches the glass. Turned off the defrost immediately and less than ten seconds later a loudest BUM and my rear glass blows in pieces in the middle of freeway speed moving, leaving the tailgate glass shocks hanging in the air. My immediate fear was how bad did my son get injured in the back seat. Fortunately he didn't seem to have visible injures but got scared as hell.
So the question is now how do I go about it to have Jeep service be responsible for the explosion and finally replace my rear glass and how long would it take?
Glad Jr wasn't hurt and it sounds like with Rhinebeck and Fonzilla's guidance, you should be in good shape.

I have to say that I'm wondering if Jeep being part of this conglomerate has resulted in QC declining or improving?
 

93civEJ1

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for that one video...are you sure someone in the passing truck didnt do something when passing?
 
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Rubicon_LA

Rubicon_LA

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Long story short, Jeep Customer Care opened the case, but they are not been any more help at all. Dealership said the earliest they can just look at the truck and examine the cause is in a week. Mopar extended warranty said that my most expensive Maximum Care plan most likely will not cover the cost, unless the dealership admits it's factory defect (of barely soldered defrost wire) that caused the explosion.
Seriously, I'm so disappointed and clueless. My window got exploded in the middle of the freeway, creating one of the most dangerous situations on the road due to known factory issue of very poorly soldered cable, and Jeep refuses to help with the problem. I wish I had a lawyer to sue them on this thing.😡
 

JimLee

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Long story short, Jeep Customer Care opened the case, but they are not been any more help at all. Dealership said the earliest they can just look at the truck and examine the cause is in a week. Mopar extended warranty said that my most expensive Maximum Care plan most likely will not cover the cost, unless the dealership admits it's factory defect (of barely soldered defrost wire) that caused the explosion.
Seriously, I'm so disappointed and clueless. My window got exploded in the middle of the freeway, creating one of the most dangerous situations on the road due to known factory issue of very poorly soldered cable, and Jeep refuses to help with the problem. I wish I had a lawyer to sue them on this thing.😡
Make sure you report this incident https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/#:~:text=If you need assistance with,800-424-9153).
Jeep has to be forced into action, they aren't going to do it on their own.
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