Hi ppl

Ive just had a very strange experience, & im a unsure what to do about it, so im wondering if anybody had this happen to them or could shed some light.

Right, I traveled about 3 miles to a petrol station from my gf's house, on the way there i turned my rear window demister on as its quite misty here, anyhow, i filled my car up, paid for the diesel & when i was walking out, i seen my gf jump out of the car & she says to me, "the back window has exploded" so i promptly checked the rear window & to my discussed it was totaly shattered & was starting to fall in on the parcel shelf. my immediate thought was, some little gitts had put a thrown a brick or sumthing simular, but there was nothing at all on the floor around the area were the car was parked. All's i can think of that has happened is the window had expanded for some reason, causing it to shatter & i im thinking the demister has played some part in this aswell.

Has anybody else had this happen or could shed some light on this pls as im clutching at straws here.

thanks paul.

Wouldnt be the first one i'd seen pop randomly.

Realy.

Do you know were i stand in terms of getting it done under warrenty?

The rear window on my Octavia Estate did something similar when struck by a stone thrown up by a rotary lawnmower. Is it possible yours was hit by a stone or other object?

Never seen it happen on a car before, but I was stood talking to a mates Dad in their yard once, absolutely no one else around, and the back window of a nearby tractor just randomly shattered and fell out... just one of those things I reckon.

Thinking about it, with the added heat of the demister, if there was a suitable temp difference wouldn't the contraction / expansion of the glass create stress anyway? Just a minor flaw in the glass might be sufficient for this stress to cause the glass to crack and break?

This was a known issue which was covered on watch dog. I think that particular case was smart cars and was caused by the demister. I've not heard of it on a Fabia before though.

as u say im cant be 100% sure that sumthing struck it but i was parked up at the time. i ckecked it when it 1st happened & ive been back for a 2nd more thorough look + there was nothing at all were the car was parked apart from bits of glass. ive also arranged to view the cctv cameras if i need them with the garage.

im just curious what lummox said.

My dad has had a rear window shatter for no apparent reason on one of his cars (Talbot Alpine I think)

Glass is very brittle and only needs a small initial flaw to crack / shatter under a small applied stress. A demister might be able to provide enough thermal expansion to cuase that stress.

Washed my Saxo VTR one very hot sunny day. Got out the hose, turned on the hose, spayed my bonnet up to the window, crack, crack, crack.

It looked like a road map after, there was so many cracks, couldnt believe it happened, but after i thought about it and why wouldnt it, very hot and very cold do not mix.

Contacted citroen, they said bring it on and we can do a stress test on the glass, to see if it was tempered correctly. Couldnt drive it to the dealer so ended up calling Autoglass, £50 insurance excess, but sorted within 5 hours.

I had this happen on a Y reg Octy 1.4 16v The dealer reconned that the rear Heated screen didn't turn off The glass got hotter and hotter until it exploded...........Andy

ag.morley: was your octy covered by warrenty mate & if so did they replace it?

Can't say i've had this done to me, or ever even heard of it.

IIRC used to be a problem on Smarts..... was on watchdog i think..... something to do with the heating elements shorting out..... iirc

my dad had a front screen explode on him once in the summer, it was in a mini about 30 years ago. driving along and as he came to stop the thing just exploded outwards.

I'm sure this isn't the first thread - I definitely recall someone else having this happen in their Fabia.

Certainly not common, but not unheard of. Probably the result of a small manufacturing defect... I think you won't have too many problems getting it sorted under warranty.

Let us know how you get on.

ag.morley: was your octy covered by warrenty mate & if so did they replace it?

Yes replaced under warranty. Only after a lot of hassle, the dealer reconed someone had smashed it but it had exploded outwards , not inwards so it could have only been done from the inside if it had been smashed.... fix in the end...

my old 1986 passast est rear window poped when it was clovered in ice turned the rear window heater on, after about 5 min POP!

The rear window expldoded on my VRs when the heated rear window was on one day, replaced under warranty,

The Smart issue was caused by the heater elements being straight, therefore elongating when hot and causing undue pressure on the glass.

Anyone thinking of buying a Smart should check the rear screen to ensure the heating elements curve at the ends.

If they don't it is a free fix at the dealers.

Just out of interest, and a minor hijack, but do Fabia rear demisters automatically turn themselves off? If they do, mine never has...

sorry i havnt been able to reply sooner as ive got a lot on at the mo.

I phoned my local stealer & he point blank told me that its not a warrenty issue, wich i personally thought was a load of rubbish & a total lack a customer service. As ive already said, ive got a lot on at the moment, this meaning i havnt got the time to be arguing about this window, but certainly if my situation was different i most deffinetly would of. I got it done replaced from a friend of mine for a low price of

Just out of interest, and a minor hijack, but do Fabia rear demisters automatically turn themselves off? If they do, mine never has...

It says in the manual it switches off after 20minutes. I've never left mine on that long... not had the need to yet....

Schern: my mate who replaced the window told my that there is deffinetly a automatic turn off on these demisters but it wont turn the light out on your dash, i imagine it would manage what temp it goes to & will turn it on & off at will making sure it doesnt get to hot.

Don't quote me.... but i'm sure the light on my fabia switched off after 20mins. Where as our octy stays on constantly until switched of. However you are proberbally right... and i'm just getting our cars confused!! All i know is the golfs one is always on.

A few years ago, the back window of my Omega Estate 'popped' one frosty Sunday morning when I was waiting in a queue for the local dump. I probably had the HRW on and likely cause would have been temperature differential.

Replacement, again, fitted by Autoglass. Just one of those things - thats life!!