Exploding windows

[SV8VY]

Was driving to Canberra yesterday in the early morning and decided to pull in to one of those rest areas to have a short break and a piss.
The rest area was off the road maybe 40 meters or so and no one around.The van was stopped and engine off.
I was eating my yoghurt and hands or arms no where near the drivers window when all of a sudden BANG :shock: and the side drivers shattered!
It was held together by the tinting and was wound halve way down.
I thought I was being shot at so I started the Ford Transit van and gunned it out and down the freeway for a couple of minutes.
I then pulled over and investigated thinking I will ring the cops but couldn't find a bullet hole.
Maybe it was a kamikaze bird? :bash: :lol:
Do you guys think it could be the warmer air in the the cabin and the cold outside?
I didnt have the heater on ,only had the dial on warm but no air fan.
I got back to Sydney and rang around and the best price was $295 :eek: for a frigging side window! Bloody Fords!
Made in South Africa and you cant get an aftermarket one.
The windscreens you can and are only around $160.I was told try not to get the rear little windows broken as they are around $550 -$600 each! Im I driving a merc :confused:
Anyone else had the windows blow up like this in a remote area while stationary and nothing around?
Maybe I should contact CSI :lol:

[Merlin]

Sounds like a job for http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/

[Blown 454 AWD]

I have seen this happen to a couple of cars over the years, not the side window though, only the windscreen.

Usually happens if the window has a hard wack at some time, like a stone hitting the windscreen.

The cars I saw this happen to were in a locked and sealed garage and the explosion of the screen must have been hugh as most of the glass landed up the rear parcel shelf.

Looked like it had been whacked by a large shovel at a full swing.

Windscreen man said he had seen it allot, the tension from a previous stone hit, appears to release later.

Very trippy stuff

[Glenn@Autowerks]

That does sound very strange :eek:

Is there anyway a rock was flicked sideways by a passing vehicle ?

I was driving last year with the misses in the passenger seat, there was a guy mowing the lawn on the other side of the road, my window was down. Suddenly a rock went past my face and hit the misses in the head (only small) I thought that was strange too, it missed me :lol: :lol: :lol:

[SV8VY]

That does sound very strange :eek:

Is there anyway a rock was flicked sideways by a passing vehicle ?

I was driving last year with the misses in the passenger seat, there was a guy mowing the lawn on the other side of the road, my window was down. Suddenly a rock went past my face and hit the misses in the head (only small) I thought that was strange too, it missed me :lol: :lol: :lol:
There was no way a rock would have hit as not only was the rest stop about 40 meters from the road but you actually had to drive around a little in between trees to get there.
Re your missis:maybe too much wishful thinking on your side....mind powers :lol:

[seldo]

I've seen it several times. I believe it's called thermal shock....

[Blown Monaro]

Stinking hot summers day, aircon on driving down from the hills I had the drivers side window blow in on me, 96 Hilux dual cab. Certainly got my attention at the time. Reckon it was a combination of pressure and temperature differential from inside the cab to outside.

Was picking glass outta me ear for a few days :eek:

[XsPwr2W8]

This happened to my VS on a verry hot day, I was washing the car when the rear window exploded into small peices :eek: . This must have been thermal shock, and was a @$#$% to clean up!

[XLR8 V8]

.... not only was the rest stop about 40 meters from the road but you actually had to drive around a little in between trees to get there.



Maybe it was an angry Drop Bear? :confused:

[Glenn@Autowerks]

Saturday night and a drop bear = fun :lol:

[who_me_?]

While a couple of weeks old and parked outside my office, my BMW X5's rear window broke. It was fine a hour or two before but when I went to reverse I saw a broken mess. No explanation discovered but it was about $1k (insurance claim !) No one hit it - I think ? - weird...

[SV8VY]

Still unsolved hey?
I put this one away for the X files....maybe that bear hey ;)

[keepleft]

I recall 'something somewhere' a year or few ago about an ingredient in affected glass that sometimes allows this.

http://www2.abc.net.au/science/k2/stn-archive1/posts/topic20020.shtm

[HSVREDSLED]

Years ago I took my gf who ended up being my wife camping. As we slowed to turn off the road, the rear window exploded. No cars around, no nothing. Car was an 84 Telstar.

We spent the next 2 days finding shards of glass everywhere, sleeping bags, food. Couldnt have been too bad a trip..she still married me!!

[sikhabib]

A couple of months ago i was doing a job in a unit at darlinghurst. I went upstairs and scoped out the job and went back to the van to get some tools (would have been gone for like 5min) when i noticed my window had also exploded :mad:

Im not sure what made the window explode but the explosion was so big that it must have blown my wallet away and all the coins in the ashtry cause i couldnt them it after that

Unless my wallet spontainously combusted?? Maybe i should speak to scully and molder about it :D

[HRT Stroker]

The glass used in automotive windows is toughened glass. Basically its just normal everyday glass that is heated up (really hot) then quickly cooled, similar to tempering steel.

The result is glass that has energy stored under pressure (thats what gives the glass its strength) and like most things under stress/pressure sometimes they just give way!

It is common at the start or end of winter (when you can have large and quick variances in temperature) for this to occur - I am involved in the flat glass industry and have heard many a report of "we were just sitting down watching the Telly when the glass in our sliding door just exploded!!"

An extract from the Office of Fair Trading in NSW:



Toughened or tempered glass is commonly used in the manufacture of products such as stove tops and hobs, cookware, tableware and shower screens.

It is made by a process of heating glass to a molten state at about 600 degrees Celsius followed by sudden chilling by compressed air. This cooling process causes the surface to contract rapidly, forming a rigid outer layer around the glass rendering it much stronger than conventional glass and far more resistant to impact stress and temperature change.

Toughened glass can break Recently the Office of Fair Trading has been made aware of incidents involving shower screen doors that have collapsed.
A break in a shower screen can occur when a small chip or weakening in the hard outer layer of the glass disturbs its surface tension causing it to burst inwards or implode. This can occur without warning.



As a wise and great man once said: Shit Happens!!!!!

Hope this helps quash the assasination attempt theories!!! :lol: :lol:

[XsPwr2W8]

Verry intresting, you learn something every day. Thanks HRT

[XLR8 V8]

The glass used in automotive windows is toughened glass. Basically its just normal everyday glass that is heated up (really hot) then quickly cooled, similar to tempering steel.

The result is glass that has energy stored under pressure (thats what gives the glass its strength) and like most things under stress/pressure sometimes they just give way!

It is common at the start or end of winter (when you can have large and quick variances in temperature) for this to occur - I am involved in the flat glass industry and have heard many a report of "we were just sitting down watching the Telly when the glass in our sliding door just exploded!!"

An extract from the Office of Fair Trading in NSW:



Toughened or tempered glass is commonly used in the manufacture of products such as stove tops and hobs, cookware, tableware and shower screens.

It is made by a process of heating glass to a molten state at about 600 degrees Celsius followed by sudden chilling by compressed air. This cooling process causes the surface to contract rapidly, forming a rigid outer layer around the glass rendering it much stronger than conventional glass and far more resistant to impact stress and temperature change.

Toughened glass can break Recently the Office of Fair Trading has been made aware of incidents involving shower screen doors that have collapsed.
A break in a shower screen can occur when a small chip or weakening in the hard outer layer of the glass disturbs its surface tension causing it to burst inwards or implode. This can occur without warning.



As a wise and great man once said: Shit Happens!!!!!

Hope this helps quash the assasination attempt theories!!! :lol: :lol:

Tempered Schmempered .... well all know it was the Drop Bear marking it's territory

[Plan B]

Tempered Schmempered .... well all know it was the Drop Bear marking it's territory

They’re not usually that gentle.... :)

Drop Bears are wild and ruthless killers... :mad: They don't just throw stones at glass houses like that. If it really was a Drop Bear, I’d consider yourself very, very lucky… :eek:

[highlander_69r]

lol drop bears , i had my rear window do the same on my last ss initially i thought someone had thrown somethin at it but there was no impact marks and the guy that replaced it said he had never heard of it b4

[xshore]

Crap, I think I will wear sunnies more now. Don't like the idea of front windscreen exploding at 100km/hr.

[The Griff]

Years ago, the drivers side window of my VN Calais implode whilst it was parked in the garage at home. Come down to go to work in the morning and the driver's seat is covered in glass. The was no evidence of anything hitting the window - it just happened. I have also heard of the rear window going in a VR when the rear window demister was switch on.

[highlander_69r]

mine was a vs and the demister was on when it exploded the tint held it all in place but a right pain in the ass to fix

[SV8VY]

mine was a vs and the demister was on when it exploded the tint held it all in place but a right pain in the ass to fix
The guy that fixed my side window said all his cars have the rear demisters disconnected!