Rear hatch tail light glass cover stressed cracked!

This morning I uncovered my car and found the entire piece of glass on the lower part of the rear hatch (that covers the tail lights) was stressed fractured from top to bottom, tip to tip, and crumbled to the touch. Anybody else seen their rear glass crumble? And, no, it was not impacted or bumped into. It is backed into a corner slot and kept covered when I'm not using it. It was a hot weekend, but not that hot.

wow....that needs some investagation to what causes it to crack!

The only other one I've read about was caused by a scratch caused by a truck moving out of a parking space. The panel didn't shatter for hours afterwards, though. It only had a small scratch on it prior. Tempered glass is very strong, but it cannot tolerate scratches - it can literally explode.

I sent pictures of the rear to my local dealer. Later in the evening they called back and told me BMW agreed to replace the glass. I suspect that I may have been the first but I think I won't be the last.

Sucks to leave it sitting awaiting new glass.... it's my daily driver. I've had it for almost 5 months and I have almost 5,000 miles on her. And I haven't paid for a mile yet! (We have a lot of free chargers around town and my work gave me an outlet too! )

Location?

I live in St. Petersburg FL

Thanks, could you post a photo of the issue?

I haven't heard of this happening previously. Maybe the car was bumped at some point while parked without you being aware of it.

Sure. How do I post a photo on this blog?

MikeBrace said:

Sure. How do I post a photo on this blog?

Click to expand...

You could use Flickr/Photobucket/Imgur or any other photo sharing site, then post the link here.

A tap on the glass probably isn't enough to cause it to shatter. Of course, if it is hard enough, certainly. Something sharp that scratched it may not cause it to shatter immediately, but as thermal or mechanical stresses are applied, that can trigger it.

One time, very long ago, I had a car parked facing east overnight. It was a VERY cold night, and the mirror mount was black. The very clear sky in the morning with the sun hitting the windshield (not tempered in the USA), the entire mirror assembly was sitting on the dash with a puck of glass still stuck to it! The thermal stresses just caused it to fracture the glass! More modern attachment methods tend to use a somewhat flexible adhesive...that one used a type of super glue. The glass panels on the i3 are glued in place.

Ok, here's a few photos (if they show up at all). The one with the cover on is where I typically park her at night; she has her own spot where they set up an outlet for me. As you can see she is [always] backed in with no chance of getting 'bumped' into by another vehicle. The other two are the damage found. Note the close up of the left tail light showing the glass poppng out just prior to it crumbling.

[URL=http://s300.photobucket.com/us...aynebrace/i3 back end 3_zpspdhxng1w.jpg[/img][/url]

[URL=http://s300.photobucket.com/us...mwaynebrace/i3 back end_zpsajb6lrau.jpg[/img][/url]

[URL=http://s300.photobucket.com/us...aynebrace/i3 back end 1_zpssp3bosii.jpg[/img][/url]

Well that sucks. Did you get a quote yet? Covered by insurance?

Actually, the dealer ran the photos I sent them by BMW and they said they would replace it under warrenty.

Glad the dealers been helpful. I was concerned about this glass from the start and wonder why they used such a relatively fragile material?

It's not fragile if it's tempered properly. Looks like this piece of glass was 'ill-tempered' before it left the factory. :lol:

MikeS said:

I was concerned about this glass from the start and wonder why they used such a relatively fragile material?

Click to expand...

I agree, especially since BMW was so concerned about the i3's weight. Glass is considerably heavier than the thermoplastic used for all other exterior panels. Tempered glass handles blunt force impacts well but is quite fragile when scratched.

When this glass panel breaks, I believe the entire rear hatch must be replaced including the undamaged glass window, tail lights, etc. Seems like a poor design.

I'll find out soon enough what has to be replaced. according to the dealer they are just getting a new glass panel...