Another lawsuit alleging the back glass on certain Honda vehicles spontaneously shatters has been filed – this time, in Canada.
An anonymous plaintiff, represented by the Lex Group, applied to file a class action lawsuit in the Montreal, Quebec, District Court on July 16. The suit alleges that the rear glass systems on 2019-2023 Acura RDX, 2023-2024 Honda CR-V and 2023-2024 Honda HR-V vehicles contain a defect that causes the glass to shatter spontaneously.
Those alleged defects include a faulty defroster system that overheats portions of the glass on the Acura RDX and Honda HR-V models. The filing says that the “precise mechanical trigger” for the Honda CR-V’s glass breakage is “unknown to the plaintiff.”
Several Honda models have been named in a Canadian lawsuit over allegedly spontaneously shattering back glass.
According to the lawsuit, Honda was aware of these models’ alleged flaws that cause the glass to shatter and continued to sell the vehicles.
“[Honda] has still not yet addressed the defect’s root causes, it does not currently have a remedy or fix to address the defect properly, and has not bought back the subject vehicles from the class members and plaintiff.”
The legal filing includes examples of Honda service bulletins acknowledging the flaw in some models and instructing dealerships to replace the glass as needed and reimburse customers who had already paid for repairs out of pocket. The filing cites news articles and customer complaint forums that address the alleged defect and references a lawsuit filed in the United States in 2023 over the same issue.
The Canadian filing specifically references an anonymous tip quoted in the U.S. suit, which allegedly details Honda’s knowledge of the claimed defect. The tip came from an anonymous source who allegedly worked at a Honda assembly plant in Ohio. She source says that when he heard of two instances of shattered glass, he had originally attributed them to vandalism.
“I quickly changed my mind when a rear glass exploded while a unit was idling inside the plant,” the anonymous informant’s statement reads. “This issue got real in a hurry.”
The factory worker describes how the quality control department allegedly tested the rear glass of the remaining models at the property by striking them with a rubber mallet to see whether they broke.
“[The glass shattering] was such a huge problem that Honda changed safety protocol and started requiring the assembly associates to wear extra PPE [such as] face shields or goggles while installing,” the alleged employee writes.
The Canadian suit claims that the alleged defect poses a safety risk to owners and drivers.
“A rear window that suddenly shatters may startle the driver and cause a loss of vehicle control, which, at higher speeds or in traffic, could have serious consequences,” the lawsuit filing says, adding that sharp glass shards could also injure people in or around the vehicle.
The filing says that, despite Honda’s alleged knowledge of the flaw and the safety risks, the automaker “refused to issue a formal recall to address these serious and very hazardous defects,” instead issuing service bulletins about the issue.
The lawsuit asks the judge to order Honda to formally recall the vehicles in question, annul any sales or lease contracts for the vehicles and compensate the plaintiff and the class for various damages.
