Busted back window

[Jellygladiator]

My parents had this happen to a glass fireplace panel (gas fireplace). Middle of summer, 20 year old house. no fire going, BOOM. Glass everywhere.

Looks like it was one hell of a party

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[Jellygladiator]

Sorry to hear about this. Before purchasing the gladiator, we rented a Jeep sport on a drive through upstate NY, and up to Montreal. Had the freedom tops out and a small rock flew in and hit my 8 yr old son in the back seat. We had no idea where it came from. Fortunately, it wasn't moving very fast and he was fine, but it was kinda scary. I've had it happen to me on motorcycles too, where a stone just seems to come out of the clear blue sky. I'm sure these must be kicked up by other vehicles which may be out of sight a the time of impact.

Jeep gladiator sport... New York...Fellas I think we found out culprit lmao...

 

[arosen1997]

So would opening the back "port hole" when the front tops are off help this air pressure thing? Or not?

I had a JK that one day the side glass in my hard top just shattered and was pushed out. I notice when I drive with windows in a certain Position I’ll start to hear buffering kind of a thud sound then I’ll open a window and it goes away. I think it is creating some type of vortex inside and causing pressure to build. Maybe we have some scientist on here could answer

It's a byproduct of the windshield and shape of the front of the vehicle. There really isn't anything you can do about it, opening the back window wouldnt really do anything about it.
Here's my little notepad scribble that sort of shows what happens.

 

[redrider]

The climate controls also play into this. Is the system set for recirculation or fresh air? Open a window a smidge and with a smoke source near the opening, drive a ways using both settings. Fresh air in creates a positive pressure forcing the smoke out. At higher speeds, the window on my 150 will tilt outward 1/16 inch or so when set to fresh.

 

[anavrinIV]

It's a byproduct of the windshield and shape of the front of the vehicle. There really isn't anything you can do about it, opening the back window wouldnt really do anything about it.
Here's my little notepad scribble that sort of shows what happens.

NERD ALERT!

That's a good explanation but I think it may be even more than that. With just the freedom panels off there shouldn't be much wrapping into the cab - due to the sharp transition to the roof there will be a much taller boundary layer. Instead it will flow over the top and, like any pickup, create a high pressure area just behind the cab and in the bed, including vorticies and turbulent air curling off the (also sharp) transition from the roof. Combine that with a low pressure area in the cab as fast moving air creates a venturi effect over the freedom top opening.....sucking anything in through the back is inevitable if something is coming that way.

The glass shattering is the bigger conundrum here IMO, but that could be any number of things. A tiny sharp rock will create a chip that can then explode. There could have been damage there already and the pressure difference caused the shattering - look up a video of tempered glass shattering and it doesn't take much to blow the windows apart once they sustain any kind of minor damage. This is much safer than plate glass sending daggers all over the place but also makes a huge mess

 

[Jeepnoob34]

NERD ALERT!

That's a good explanation but I think it may be even more than that. With just the freedom panels off there shouldn't be much wrapping into the cab - due to the sharp transition to the roof there will be a much taller boundary layer. Instead it will flow over the top and, like any pickup, create a high pressure area just behind the cab and in the bed, including vorticies and turbulent air curling off the (also sharp) transition from the roof. Combine that with a low pressure area in the cab as fast moving air creates a venturi effect over the freedom top opening.....sucking anything in through the back is inevitable if something is coming that way.

The glass shattering is the bigger conundrum here IMO, but that could be any number of things. A tiny sharp rock will create a chip that can then explode. There could have been damage there already and the pressure difference caused the shattering - look up a video of tempered glass shattering and it doesn't take much to blow the windows apart once they sustain any kind of minor damage. This is much safer than plate glass sending daggers all over the place but also makes a huge mess

Jeep totally naked, gave minimal forward air in rear seat. Jeep top off with sunshade and no doors gives a little forward air. Top off, sunshade on, doors on gives A LOT of forward air. This was observed easily by my 7 yr old daughters hair. The last combo had her hair blowing straight forward. Just like if she had stuck her head above the roof while looking backwards at speed. I have 3 daughters and they all put their hair in pony tails before riding with me while top is off.

 

[RIPLER]

It's funny you guys are talking about objects coming into the cabin while driving, me and the wife were just talking about this the other day. Since I've had my Gladiator I've been hit by more objects than I can count. Just the other day I had something fly in and hit me in the neck and it ended up between my seatbelt and my neck and bit me. I'm allergic to certain bees and I had no idea what it was that bit me so I popped a few Benadryl just in case.

 

[redrider]

Bees sting, flies bite. Low tolerance here also for stings. Sooner or later, every one hits their personal "reaction threshold" That is what the doctor told me and his name was not Donald.

 

[HogsWellThatEndsWell]

Not AC/DC loud, more like Baby Shark loud.

Under rated Quote! - Aggies will surprise you every once in a while

 

[Pmeserkhani]

Hi everyone,

Today I was driving with the freedom panels off and all of a sudden the middle piece of the back window exploded. I was just driving at about 50-55. This should not have happened. My wife, dog, and I were both covered in glass with multiple shards of glass in our skin.

Has this happened to anyone? I feel like this is a manufacture problem. This is a serious safety concern for me and my family.

Had the same issue. Hopefully enough people actually report their issue so jeep can fix it. Was driving down the highway with the freedom panels off when the back sliding glass exploded out of nowhere. No rocks or anything. Just blew up. At the time I was less than 12,000 miles. Also I found that the back glass is leaking water due to a poor seal against the body.
My bed rack was solid at the time and did not come in contact with the back glass. Hypothetically even if it had it would have contacted the surrounding glass. Not the recessed sliding piece.

 

[JeepGRael]

Had the same issue. Hopefully enough people actually report their issue so jeep can fix it. Was driving down the highway with the freedom panels off when the back sliding glass exploded out of nowhere. No rocks or anything. Just blew up. At the time I was less than 12,000 miles. Also I found that the back glass is leaking water due to a poor seal against the body.
My bed rack was solid at the time and did not come in contact with the back glass. Even if it had it would have brown the surrounding glass. Not the recessed sliding piece.

I contacted Chrysler and let them know what happened. I had to meet an investigator at the dealership too. Chrysler sent me 2000 bucks to pay for the replacement and the inconvenience.

 

[Pmeserkhani]

I contacted Chrysler and let them know what happened. I had to meet an investigator at the dealership too. Chrysler sent me 2000 bucks to pay for the replacement and the inconvenience.

Thank you I’ll definitely let them know. If this is common enough they should issue a recall!

 

[mstrav73]

what MPH were you guys traveling and did you both have the t-tops off?

 

[JeepGRael]

what MPH were you guys traveling and did you both have the t-tops off?

I was going 65 and the freedom tops were off.

 

[Pmeserkhani]

I was going 65 and the freedom tops were off.

I was going about 55 with both panels off

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