This is the second time the rear windshield has shattered. It happened last year and at first I thought it was hit by something but no. The car was parked at work and it happened to be in view of one of the security cameras, it just shattered.

After reading the other complaints I am sure today happened due to the rear defroster being on, but last time the car was parked and off. I had used the defroster on the way to work so it is possible there was a cold air shock that triggered it.

The glass was replaced by Autolite who offers a lifetime warranty, so it won't cost be any cash, just a couple of wasted hours. Luckily today is a clear dry day. I'm sad to hear the neither Sunrise Chevy (in my neighborhood) nor Chevrolet offered any real help.

Next time I'll buy a Toyota or Honda.

Wednesday, January 18th, 2017 – 9:30PM

I was in my car (2012 Chevy Sonic), about to head out to work. I called my husband to tell him something before driving off and BAM! My back window exploded. At first, I thought it was an act of violence, a heavy rock or branch – but after thoroughly looking through the car, we didn’t find anything. Luckily, my husband was off of work that night, so I was able to take his car to work; I parked my car in the garage and left to work. That night, I was so shaken up – it was a traumatizing experience. So many thoughts ran through my head:

“What would’ve happened if this happened minutes later, while I was on the highway?” “What would’ve happened if my two-year-old was sitting in her car seat?”

I was very sad/upset but so thankful that I was safe. I did some research online and it so happens that this is actually very common and there have been complaints about the same exact situation. The heating mechanism that warms up the back windshield to defrost it overheats and causes the window to shatter/explode.

The following morning, I called Sunrise Chevrolet in Glendale Heights, IL, which was where I purchased the car from. I spoke with the salesman who I worked with (Luciano) and the only thing he suggested was to file a claim with my insurance company. I found that to be odd because why should I have to file a claim with my insurance if it had everything to do with THEIR product, which was still under warranty? I asked to speak to a manager. I was transferred to the Service Manager (Dave) who suggested I do the same (file a claim with my insurance company), so then I asked to speak to the general manager (I was transferred to Jeff), who I ended up leaving a message for – 12 days later, I still haven’t heard back from him. I called back and spoke to the salesman again and asked since my car is still under warranty, if it would be possible to get a loaner car or rental until I get to the bottom of this situation. He said he couldn’t do that. I felt so helpless. I ended up getting the window replaced myself the same day because I didn’t have any other options, considering I had to go to work in the evening.

I ended up calling back the following day since I didn’t hear back from anyone and was told to contact GM directly. I went ahead and did that – spoke to a lovely lady (Khaleah) over the phone and she said she would open up a case and try to get to the bottom of it. I sent her photos and descriptions of everything and long story short, she got back to me a few days later stating she couldn’t move forward with the investigation because the window was already repaired. (((Insert ANGRY emoji here))) I mean, what did they expect me to do? Drive around with a broken back windshield? I tried to reach out to Chevy, but they completely blew me off and now an investigation can’t be finalized because I got it fixed? At this point, I was beyond frustrated. I had to spend an additional $208 to get the window fixed on a car I purchased 3 months ago and is still under warranty and now this??? I asked if I had other options and she said I could contact customer service directly. I went ahead and did that and spoke to another lovely lady (Brenda) who tried to help me, as well, but couldn’t do much. She said she followed up with the dealership and it was basically out of their hands. She said their only suggestion was to (again) file a claim with my insurance company and take it from there.

I don’t want this “complaint” to be taken the wrong way because in the process of purchasing the car, Luciano and the team and Sunrise Chevrolet were amazing! They did everything in their power to get us the best deal within out budget and they were a lovely group of people to work with. I just feel as though they were great for a sale, but now as a customer who needs a little help with an issue, I felt completely brushed off. I feel like they could’ve done a little more. I want to feel safe in the car I drive. I don’t want to worry about my window exploding again. I want to be sure my daughter is safe in the back seat.

To be honest, I do not feel safe driving my 2012 Chevy Sonic after this incident. Every time I turn on the car, I worry about the window shattering once again and it’s something I did not sign up for. I wish I would’ve thoroughly checked reviews and complaints because if I would’ve seen the forums out there about this particular incident, I would not have purchased this car. After this experience with horrible customer service from Sunrise Chevrolet, I will never do business with them ever again. It saddens me because I am not this type of person. I am a nice, honest, woman and I work very hard for what I have. I feel as though this particular issue should be a recall, considering there are so many complains out there regarding the same situation. I just thank God that my daughter was not in the car because she could’ve truly gotten injured with all that heavy glass shattering all over the place.

I also thank God this didn’t happen while I was on the highway, on my way to work, in the middle of the night. I was not reaching out to Chevy/GM to try to pull a “fast one” or try to be slick. I was just trying to make a valid point and wanted this issue to be taken care of. I’ve only had the car for 3 months and it’s still under warranty. You should’ve done something else for me – the least you could’ve done was reimburse me for repairing the window on a car that’s still under warranty. Overall, I’m just thankful to be okay. I hope that no one else experiences what I experienced and that anyone with a 2012 Chevy Sonic drives safely and knows of the possibility of their window shattering.