PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Several owners of 2021-2025 Nissan Rogue SUVs say their rear windshields have suddenly shattered without warning.
Mark Leedom said his wife heard a loud bang before discovering the back glass had blown out.
“It just sounded like a loud boom, like almost like a gunshot, I guess, went off,” he said. “The glass just exploded everywhere.”
The incident happened the morning of September 2, when his wife FaceTimed him in a panic to show the shattered rear windshield of their 2023 Rogue.
“You can see the pieces still falling off. I’d never seen anything like that before,” he said.
Ed English, who owns a 2023 Rogue in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, said he experienced the same issue while clearing snow from his vehicle last month.
“I’m thinking what happened?” he said.
He said a gaping hole was left where the rear windshield had been.
“It shattered into pieces,” recalled English
He said a repair company immediately recognized the problem.
“They said, you have a Nissan Rogue?” he recalled.
Leedom and English are among dozens of Rogue owners nationwide reporting similar failures, often sharing photos and experiences in online forums.
Many write that they’ve been left with scattered glass and costly repair bills.
Consumer attorney Ben Johns of Shub Johnson Holbrook in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, said his firm filed a class action lawsuit this month on behalf of two New York consumers.
“These vehicles are defective. Namely, the rear view windshield is spontaneously shattering and cracking,” Johns said. “This is a critical component of the car.”
Johns said photos submitted by owners show the extent of the damage.
“They were driving and it made a pop, like a gunshot sound,” he said.
The lawsuit alleges Nissan used “thin, tempered Soda-lime glass” in 2021-2025 Rogues that contains manufacturing defects and is “substandard, dangerous, and inadequate.”
According to the complaint, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has received 118 complaints involving shattered rear windshields in 2023-2025 Rogue models.
Johns said Nissan has not taken responsibility, leaving many owners to pay insurance deductibles or cover repairs themselves.
“Nissan was well aware of this, and the volume of complaints, I think, bears that out,” he said.
Leedom said his dealership ultimately resolved his repair costs, but English said he paid $500 out of pocket. For him, the experience raised safety concerns.
“It’s scary because we have two young kids. And if that happens while our kids are in the car, it would be very, very bad,” he said.
A Nissan spokesperson declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.