It's a very rare event... To happen to you more than once would be extremely improbable, unless there's something about your specific Mini which was the catalyst for the original failure.

Go for a drive and enjoy your sunroof. Be thankful there are lots of other things which are more likely to fail in your Mini!

 

This is downright scary, I wonder what caused it given that you were just sitting there driving and that too with the A/C on. It'll be interesting to see if they cover it and what they say for the reason for it.

 

My neighbors brand new 2010 7er did exactly the same under pretty much the same circumstances. The local BMW dealer initially denied it as an warranty item, but quickly changed his tune once threatened with a lawsuit.

 

sad that it takes these types of measures to get some decent customer service these days....

 

A member on the 1addicts forum had this happen to the moonroof on their new 1-series.

(So glad my MINI doesn't have a sunroof. Between all the rattle problems and everything else...)

 

update on my sunroof:
the dealership DID cover it under warranty, but i lost the tint that was on there as a result, so daytime driving has now become unbearable in the CA sun.....

does anyone know if there's a pre-tinted tempered glass replacement solution to the standard sunroof? i'd really like to install that instead of tinting it again.

the good thing about tinting the sunroof is that if/when it shatters, the tint is what keeps the glass from falling on the passengers, but it's also the reason why it shatters (from what i've gathered).

what to do, what to do?

 

Might try this:
http://www.amazon.com/ZippeeShade-Su.../dp/B002AK93WY

 

Great! I just had mine tinted...

 

Driving 70MPH on a 2 lane highway, no cars in sight, clear weather; my front sunroof spontaneously exploded. Windows up, sunroof closed, AC set to 74, outside temp was about 71.

The glass was pointed outward as if it exploded from the inside.

Momentum Mini's service manager, Andrew, wasn't very interested in my story. Apparently he found "no stress fractures" in the glass so it's not considered a defect. How could he find a stress fracture? It's completely shattered! Anyway, Momentum won't pay; had to file an insurance claim totaling $1130.00.

 

thank you for that! the price looks good too, but i was concerned with how it looks inside the car.....wish they had other colors available, or just one withOUT the logo....

if i'm not mistaken, it appears that the sunroof will explode WITH AND/OR WITHOUT tint, so wouldn't it be safer to tint it so that if/when it explodes, it won't fall all over our faces?

 

was your sunroof tinted?
also, you should use the examples of other "victims" of the exploding sunroof as proof that there were no stress fractures in all of these cases.

mine was covered under warranty by SOUTH BAY MINI in Torrance, CA.

good luck.