2006 Toyota 4runner Wipers & Visibility Problems

While driving with the rear defrost on, you heard a loud noise from the back of your 4Runner and discovered the rear hatch window had completely shattered for no apparent reason. The glass remained in the window frame but is close to falling out. This happened suddenly with no warning signs beforehand.

Your 4Runner's rear window suddenly shattered and exploded while driving, shortly after you cleared snow from the car. Glass could have scattered into the backseat where your child was sitting. Toyota has apparently been aware of this issue in the past, as they offered extended warranty coverage on this part through 2018. The repair will likely involve replacing the rear window glass and checking for any defects in the window assembly.

The rear window shattered spontaneously while the rear defroster was on. There was no impact to the window and no prior chips/scratches. The tint held the shattered window together, but without the tint glass would have gone flying inside and outside the vehicle, putting passengers and cars traveling behind at risk. No warnings or issues were present for the rear window or defroster system prior to incident. The problem has been inspected by Toyota of Orlando. This problem is known to Toyota under their enhanced warranty program ZG7, but they refuse to cover the repair because the date to experience the shattering rear window has passed. There are numerous other cases reported of this issue. Toyota of Orlando confirmed this would fall under their ZG7 program, had the window shattered and brought to a dealer prior to 4/30/2018.

The rear window shattered and is not available for inspection because it's in a million pieces. There is now broken glass all inside the vehicle and on the ground. The car was inspected at the dealership, but not insurance. There was no warning leading up to the incident. The defroster for the rear window was on due to weather. The loud bang and sound of glass falling is how I was aware of the failure.

Rear window breakage: A few minutes after turning on the rear window defogger while parked, a smell of hot electronics was noticed. Thinking the smell was coming from the vent/engine compartment, I turned the vehicle off and inspected under the engine hood for the source. No damage or smell was detected. I turned the vehicle back on with the defroster on, and shortly after, the entire rear window shattered. No foreign objects indicating impact damage were found in the glass wreckage.

TURNED THE REAR DEFROSTER ON AND SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING. TURNED OFF THE DEFROSTER AND THEN COUPLE MINUTES LATER, REAR WINDOW EXPLODED AND TOTALLY BROKE. DID THIS LEAVING MY NEIGHBORHOOD SO ONLY GOING ABOUT 20 MPH. IT WAS ABOUT 53 DEGREES AND RAINY.

WHEN USING THE REAR DEFROSTER IN THE COLD, THE REAR HATCH WINDOW SHATTERED. COMMON ISSUE AND TOYOTA DOES KNOW ABOUT IT BUT ONLY OFFERED 1 YEAR ENHANCED WARRANTY. WARRANTY IS NOW EXPIRED AND TOYOTA WILL NOT COVER THIS SAFETY HAZARD AS MY CAR IS EQUIPPED WITH 3RD ROW SEATING.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 TOYOTA 4RUNNER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE DEFROSTER WAS IN USE, THE REAR WINDOW EXPLODED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT AN EXTENDED WARRANTY WAS ISSUED FOR THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 151,707. *LN*JB

REAR WINDOW SPONTANEOUSLY SHATTERED WITH LOUD POP IN AN ALARMING FASHION WHILE DRIVING DOWN FREEWAY WITH DEFOGGER ON. APPEARS TO BE ISSUE COVERED IN TOYOTA T-SB-0189-17.

REAR WINDOW EXPLODES AND SHATTERS SENDING GLASS PIECES AND RAZOR SHARP TINY GLASS SHARDS THROUGHOUT THE BACK COMPARTMENT WITH SOME PIECES MAKING IT TO THE BACK SEAT. SUSPECTED CAUSE IS RELATED TO USE OF THE REAR WINDOW DEFOGGER. OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING 75 MPH ON A HIGHWAY IN RAINY WEATHER. OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE AROUND 40F INSIDE TEMPERATURE AROUND 70F. LETTER TO TOYOTA ALONG WITH REPAIR INVOICES ARE ATTACHED TO THIS COMPLAINT.

I TURNED ON THE REAR DEFROST IN MY DRIVEWAY. AFTER ABOUT 1 MINUTE, I STARTED TO SMELL A SLIGHT BURNING SMELL. AS SOON AS I SMELLED IT, THE REAR GLASS SHATTERED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. I WAS TURNING ONTO HIGHWAY 70 FROM BRIDGEWAY DRIVE IN COOKEVILLE, TN. THE WINDOW SHATTERED COMPLETELY ON HIGHWAY 70 IN FRONT OF MIKE'S MARKET AT ABOUT 7:20 AM ON MY WAY TO WORK. TOYOTA PROVIDED EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE FOR THIS EXACT ISSUE BUT ONLY THROUGH APRIL 2018. I CALLED TOYOTA TO LET THEM KNOW BUT THEY DO NOT EXTEND COVERAGE EVEN ONE DAY PAST THE WARRANTY COVERAGE PERIOD EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A DEFECT ACCORDING TO TOYOTA. THE PROGRAM IS WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM ZG7

THIS COMPLAINT IS IN REGARDS TO A 2006 TOYOTA 4RUNNER VEHICLE ID # MILEAGE IS 150.000.THE TOYOTA WAS PURCHASED THIS YEAR FROM ROYAL PALM TOYOTA OF FLORIDA ADDRESS: 9205 SOUTHERN BLVD, ROYAL PALM BEACH, FL 33411. THE VEHICLE WAS IN EXCELLENT SHAPE. THE PROBLEM IS THAT ON 11/23/2016 THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN ARE DRIVE WITH THE ENGINE WAS JUST TURNED OFF FOR ABOUT 5 MINS AT THAT TIME MY DAUGHTER WAS STILL IN THE IN THE SUV WHEN THE REAR WINDOW SHATTERED COMPLETELY.FOR NO APPARENT REASON.WE REPORTED TO ARE INSURANCE COMPANY WAS ADVISE OF A REPAIR COMPANY PLEASE SEE FILE.AND I HAVE REPORTED TO TOYOTA OFFICE IN TEXAS REPORT NUMBER# THANK YOU PRODUCT_OR_SERVICE: 08/01/2016 ORDER_NUMBER: [XXX] ACCOUNT_NUMBER: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

DRIVING APPROX 40 MPH TOWARDS HOME AND REAR WINDOW EXPLODED, SHATTERED GLASS ALL OVER. IT SOUNDED LIKE AN M80 IN THE BACK OF MY TRUCK. HAD WINDOW REPAIR GUYS COME AND THEY SHOWED ME DEFROSTER CONNECTORS WERE BURNT OUT. I DID HAVE DEFROSTER SETTING ON AT THE TIME OF INCIDENT. I CALLED TOYOTA BUT THEY WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO ASSIST. MY CONCERN WAS IF MY DOGS WERE IN THE BACK, AS WE USUALLY TAKE THEM TO THE PARK, THEY COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED. I DID HAVE A MAJOR ANXIETY ATTACK. IF THIS HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY IT COULD HAVE EASILY CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. *TR

FRONT WINDSHIELD ON MY 2006 TOYOTA 4RUNNER HAS CRACKED TWICE FOR NO APPARENT REASON. THIS IS EXPENSIVE AND UNSAFE. I HAVE SEEN SCATTERED INTERNET REPORTS OF 4RUNNER OWNERS REPORTING THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR

2006 TOYOTA 4RUNNER: VISION PROBLEM EXISTS WHEN VIEWING LIGHTS, I.E. HEADLIGHTS, STREET LIGHTS, TRAFFIC LIGHTS, ETC. THROUGH WINDSHIELD. ALL LIGHTS HAVE A DOUBLE, OR GHOST, IMAGE THAT EXISTS ABOVE THE ACTUAL LIGHT SOURCE. THIS PROBLEM EXISTS ALL OF THE TIME, BUT IS MUCH MORE NOTICEABLE AT NIGHT WITH A DARK BACKGROUND. I HAVE HAD NO SUCCESS RESOLVING THIS PROBLEM WITH THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP OR THE DISTRICT SERVICE MANAGER. THE WINDSHIELD HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE AND ALL THREE WINDSHIELDS (ORIGINAL AND TWO REPLACEMENTS) EXHIBIT THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE ALSO INSPECTED APPROXIMATELY 10 TO 12 OTHER 2006 AND 2007 TOYOTA 4RUNNERS AND ALL OF THESE VEHICLES EXHIBIT THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR

EXPERIENCING DOUBLE VISION IN WINDSHIELD OF 2006 TOYOTA 4RUNNER DURING NIGHTTIME DRIVING. *JB

OPTICAL SAFETY PROBLEM WHEN LOOKING THROUGH THE FRONT WINDSHIELD OF MY 2006 TOYOTA 4 RUNNER: ANY INCREASED LIGHT SITUATION, @ NIGHT OR DURING THE DAY, PROVIDES A DOUBLE VISION OF THE LIGHT SOURCE THAT APPEARS ABOVE THE SOURCE ~ 8 TO 10 FEET @ ~ 1 MILE AWAY. AS THE VEHICLE GETS CLOSER TO THE SOURCE IT CONVERGES DOWNWARD TOWARD THE LIGHT SOURCE UNTIL IT REACHES THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE WHEN IT ALMOST MERGES COMPLETELY. THIS ACTION ACTUALLY CAUSES ME TO BECOME NAUSEATED WHILE DRIVING PRACTICALLY ANY DISTANCE CAUSING AN UNSAFE OPTICAL VIEW DISTRACTING ME WHILE I'M DRIVING TAKING MY ATTENTION TO THE DOUBLE VISION CONDITIONS. AT TIMES IT IS ALMOST HYPNOTIZING. I HAVE DOCUMENTED THIS COMPLAINT 3 OR 4 TIMES TO THE DEALER AND ONCE TO THE HOME OFFICE VIA EMAIL TO NO AVAIL. I'VE BEEN TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT THIS CONDITION IS COMMON ON THIS MODEL YET THEY WILL NOT REPLACE THE WINDSHIELD AS IT IS SEEN AS NOT A PROBLEM TO BE REPLACEABLE. NO PERSONAL ACCIDENT HAS OCCURRED YET DUE TO THIS CONDITION. MAYBE OTHER OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PHENOMENON. *NM

DOUBLE VISION IN WINDSHIELD WHEN NIGHT DRIVING. *NM