Cuyahoga Falls Man Speaks Out About 'Exploding Sunroof'

Dave Frankowski's wasn't sure what was going on when his sunroof shattered without warning, raining glass all over him as he sat in his driver's seat.

"The noise was so incredibly loud that I didn't even realize at first I was covered in glass," Frankowski wrote in an email to North Canton Patch. "I would say a gunshot is probably the best way to describe it."

The Cuyahoga Falls resident had taken his car to the repair shop 12 times to take care of a noise coming from the sunroof. Each time, the workers would make a repair, but the noise would return.

Frankowski had just left the dealership Jan. 7 for another repair when the tempered glass shattered. He didn't know then that his 2012 Hyundai Sonata wasn't the only car that's experienced a sudden shattered sunroof.

According to a recent Channel 3 News story, drivers have filed complaints involving other makes and models of vehicles, including BMW, Cadillac, Volkswagen, Volvo, Kia and Ford.

Frankowski suffered a scrape in his ear when trying to remove a piece of glass, but it could have been much worse if he were driving at a high rate of speed when the sunroof shattered.

"I am thankful that didn't happen," he said. "I was just so upset because Hyundai was aware of this issue for months, and didn't care until there was a liability issue on their hands. They put me off for months with the noise, but bought back the car 45 minutes after the incident occurred."

News Channel 3 reported that Hyundai recalled nearly 20,000 Velosters after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received 11 complaints of sunroofs shattering. The cause? NHTSA says the panoramic sunroof assembly may have been weakened during factory installation.

Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the sunroof and replace it if necessary, reports WKYC. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's recall number is No. 108.