Driving along the freeway in winter conditions I used the rear defroster for the back window, this caused the back glass to explode loudly, shattering glass onto belongings, animals and the road behind us. This caused drivers behind us to act evasively and myself as well making a winter driving condition more dangerous, not to mention the spray of glass that reached the back seats of my car with passengers. This has been well documented by other drivers and been acknowledged by Toyota in letters and technician bulletins for replacement of the windows, there are no warning lamps, it just goes from working correctly to exploding.

- Lindon, UT, USA

Parked at a stop light and the rear windshield shattered.

- Little Elm, TX, USA

During use of my rear window defroster, the rear window popped and shattered into the interior of the car.

- Cypress, TX, USA

My rear window shattered after using the defroster. Once I got out of my car after parking it in my job's garage it busted on it's own. I found out that this has happened to many 4th generation 4runner owners but Toyota won't recall or extend the warranty for this issue any longer. Now I have to either never use my rear defroster again while living in Colorado or risk it shattering again and hurting passengers in my car. I would have never bought the vehicle if I had knowledge of such a dangerous issue.

- Aurora, CO, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota 4runner. After the rear window defroster was activated, the rear hatch glass exploded. The contact was informed that the warranty period expired on April 30, 2018. The vehicle was repaired by kalispell Toyota (located at 2845 U.S. 93 S, kalispell, mt 59901, (406) 755-6060). The manufacturer was contacted regarding the warranty extension for similar failures with the vehicle and the contact was informed that no assistance would be offered. The approximate failure mileage was 118,000. Updated 12/13/18

- Libby, MT, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota 4runner. The contact stated that the vehicle emitted an abnormal burning odor. In addition, the rear window spontaneously shattered. There were no smoke or flames present. The vehicle was taken to the contact's residence. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: 1709181574. The manufacturer stated that they would send out technicians. The failure mileage was approximately 130,989.

- St.Johns, FL, USA