US safety regulators probe Scion moonroof failures
Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:14pm ET

DETROIT, July 11 (Reuters) - U.S. auto safety regulators said on Tuesday they had begun an investigation of whether the glass moonroof in the Scion tC is prone to shatter, risking passenger injury in the sport coupe made by Toyota Motor Corp..

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)said it had received nine reports from consumers, who said the glass in the moonroof had shattered, raining fragments down on the passenger seating area in some cases.

In one case, a person reported being cut by the falling glass, NHTSA said.

The investigation remains preliminary. Before considering whether to order a recall, the U.S. safety agency would have to upgrade its investigation to an engineering review.

A spokeswoman for Toyota said the automaker was cooperating with NHTSA in its probe.

The problems were not the first with the glass roof on the tC, part of Toyota's Scion line-up aimed at younger drivers.

Toyota said in October it would notify 72,000 tC owners that the wind deflector on the moonroof of the vehicles may shatter if hit by road debris at highway speeds.

The tC is equipped with a glass wind deflector, which tilts upward when the moonroof is opened. In some cases, pieces of the glass may fall on the occupants and cause injury, Toyota had said in October.