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I am a basic DIYer. I am not a trained mechanic or electrician. I can follow instructions pretty well and figure out basic systems (and know my limitations), but I don’t understand what caused this beyond something in that area basically got over powered, caught fire and shattered the window. I am having someone else replace the window unit because I am not comfortable doing that myself. What I am trying to figure out is if the problem will be resolved when the unit is replaced since it includes a lot of the defogger stuff, or if I need to worry about it happening again. Obviously it isn’t a common enough problem or there’d be a lot more out there on it. But if it’s fixed, I would like to replace my fuse and have the full use of the truck again (I live in an area where the window does get frost/ice/etc on it and the defogger is handy during that time of the year). If the problem is elsewhere in the electrical/computer systems, I really don’t want to have it happen when my children are sitting there. My daughter’s head is about six inches from where the thing caught fire.

Hello All, I’ve lurked on the board for quite a while and learned a lot and done many of the suggestions/projects. I finally registered when I had this problem earlier this week. I had my rear defroster on and was sitting in a drive-thru (i.e. I know it wasn’t a flying rock) when I started to smell something burning. I thought it was the car in front of me and didn’t think much of it. I then heard a loud bang from behind my head and looked back and saw smoke from the right side of the slider and my driver’s window was shattered. I found the burn pattern consistent with others. I read the forums, taped it up, disconnected defog fuses, filed a complaint with the NHTSA. I tried to get the area service representatives contact info, but was told by multiple people that he only deals with the service department and not customers directly. I contacted the commercial unit manager that sold me my truck and he confirmed, but told me to take it to the service dept and he’d have them give it a look. They told me it’s out of warranty, so I asked for a referral to the area service rep. They allegedly pushed it up and told me he said Chevy would contribute 0%. I said that doesn’t sound like anything and he said they won’t pay for anything. He told me to open a claim with GM and have the window replaced for about $750 and then give them a blank check to troubleshoot the defroster issue that caused the fire. Then he told me there’s only one window unit in all of North America and it’s currently located in Canada, so it would be at least six days for the dealer to get it and then I’d have to schedule the repairs. This sounds like a bunch of bull. Has anyone else had more success with this? And is the overheating issue that’s causing these windows to shatter located in the window unit or is it elsewhere in the truck (i.e. am I fixing the problem by replacing it, or is it possible to happen again)? Thanks!