Replacement Windshields - Different Levels of Quality?

[91FE]

Alright, I've just cracked my fourth windshield in my DD, second time in less than a year. It's an Accord with 180K on the clock. I drive a lot... fast... on the highway. Do replacement windshields come in different levels of quality? Am I getting crappy replacements, or just have crappy luck?

 

[LEVE]

Crappy luck...

 

[Lou's Garage]

If it is a glued in place glass (I'm assuming it is), it sounds as if you may have an errant piece of metal sticking into the windshield opening. The body flexes, the steel bumps against the edge of the glass and it stress cracks from the edge of the glass, inward. Again, I'm making the assumption that these cracks are not starting out as stars from impact damage.

Lou

 

[PAToyota]

What is cracking them? Could also be installer if they are not seating the windshield properly and there is stress on it. Or possibly that the frame around the windshield is damaged and - again - stressing the windshield.

 

[d33pt]

what brands are you getting? i always ask for PPG glass, not from china. don't know if it makes a difference, but makes me feel better.

 

[PAToyota]

Lou and I were apparently posting concurrently with the same thoughts.

 

[ptschram]

Bent frame?

I had a Blazer that ate windshields on a regular basis due to having bent the frame off-road.

 

[91FE]

Thanks guys. They're all cracking from impact damage. Just wondered is some windshields take stones better than others. The car has never been wrecked, so the frame is straight. 4 windshields seems silly to me. Some people drive their entire lives and never crack one... me, not so much.

 

[91FE]

Just pulled the receipt from my last one. It was a PPG Prostar. Here goes another $265. I can't really complain. With 180,000 miles... the car doesn't owe me anything. It's just a hassle.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Don't follow so close behind dump trucks, maybe?

 

[nate379]

I gave up on having a crack free windshield. One in my truck has been cracked since I bought in in 2005.

Put a new one on my Jetta and cracked it 2 weeks later.

 

[Zrexxer]

Based on my own personal experience I believe glass does vary. I had an 01 Silverado I swear that windshield was about as hard as chalk. If a bird even pooped on it funny it would crack. It looked like it had been through a war.

When I got my 08 truck, that windshield is a whole different ball game. I caught a rock the other day that hit so hard I swear I thought it was coming through, not even a chip.

Just one data point, but it certainly could be that whatever plant is producing windshields for Honda Accords might just make softer glass.

 

[billspit]

To answer the OP, yes. There are cheaper windshield that come from China and wherever. PPG and Safelite have good reputaitions. I did a job at a glass shop one day and they told me some shops use the cheap stuff,which is thinner, to get the price down, of course.

And I wish someone would break the windshield in my Nissan truck. Its the orignal glass (1986) and is so sandpitted you can't see driving to the sun.

 

[91FE]

And I wish someone would break the windshield in my Nissan truck. Its the orignal glass (1986) and is so sandpitted you can't see driving to the sun.

Let me take it for a spin... it'll be cracked in no time.

 

[Gary S]

I've managed to break all my original factory windshields by running into flying rocks. I bet I can do the same with the Chinese replacements.

 

[pgreen]

4 in 180K, I'd say that is about normal in urban highway travel.

I have also wondered about different quality levels or hardness levels.

 

[neverenoughtools]

Crappy luck...

+ 1

 

[evintho]

Don't know about PA but out here in CA the business next to the local Pick-n-Pull is a glass installation shop. They get most of their windshields from their neighbor. They sell them as used but the windshields are all crack and chip free and the price for windshields, including installation is $99. For a high mileage DD, that could be an option. Check some of your local U-Pull-It yards.

 

[milner351]

there is for sure a difference - when i had the last one installed the installer showed me - I insisted on a carlight for my ford truck (oem) and it does make a difference - some of the aftermarket glass is noticeably thinner and has no or very little tinted band at the top.

Are you getting stuck behind gravel trucks? that happens here in MI on I94 quite a bit.

 

[reznunt]

if you have that bad of luck with windshields cracking, just buy aftermarket and save big bucks. Why buy OEM if it will probably get cracked? Other than the small manufacturer logo printed on the glass, the only visible difference is the green tint visor along the top of the glass. I have three years on my windshield on my 91 civic and it looks as new as the day they installed it.

 

[JCQuick]

well windshields in most cars these day are part of the structural strength of the car and there should be no flexing.
Here in Fla by law if you have full covarage insurance windshield are free no deductibles and they can't raise your rate.

Theres good $$ in glass work if you know hat your doing

 

[Lincolncruiser95]

+1 on the cheap glass/cheap installer. Had two brand new windshields with issues in one of the lincolns....one came chipped and rude office staff told me I had done it. Thing was I had them come to the house and replace it inside the garage. Drove the car for the first time two days later and noticed it as soon as the sun hit it when I backed it out. Finally got them to replace it and not a week later got smacked by a small pebble in the trim and CRACK! Went with safelite on my truck and that thing has been smacked..and I mean HARD by rocks, ice, rock salt with only small chips to show. My ford original cracked the first year with just a tiny chip. Just my two cents.

 

[holdover]

I have Liberty Mutual insurance, if you get a chip they will use Safelite to epoxy it, for free and they even come to my house to do it, or you can pay the 100 ded and have it replaced. I have had two fixed and I am very happy with the results, once done it is very hard to see the crack/chip. Both were out of line of sight, if they were in the wiper area i might of had them replaced.

 

[KrisKustomPaint]

Just get bullet proof glass.

 

[boiler7904]

I had one of those slow motion moments in my wife's Escape before Christmas. I saw a small rock get thrown in the air by a truck - watched it come off the tire, fly through the air, and hit the windshield. Nothing I could do in traffic with cars all around me but watch and wait for impact. Luckily it only left a little chip that a local glass shop was able to epoxy for $20.

Got too close to a salt truck a few winters ago with my truck - didn't realize I took a hard piece of salt to bottom edge of the glass until the next morning when I hit a bump in the interstate and had an instant crack the width of the glass. Guy that installed the replacement accidentally got the gasket to cover part of the VIN which made moving from IL to IN and registering the truck a real PITA. Lesson learned, in Indiana if you are a new resident registering a vehicle purchased outside of Indiana and they can't see the VIN in the windshield, you have to go through a local PD to do a vehicle background check which they charge for and is only available M-F during normal business hours (when most people are working).

 

[Steve_P]

in the US, the raw glass (sheet) that makes up the windshield is ~ the same as far as strength; there are only a few companies that actually make raw glass because it is a VERY expensive proposition. PPG does make raw glass. Ford had one of the biggest glass plants in the US but that has been spun off and dunno who owns it now or who they supply. Thicker windshield glass (2.0 mm is standard, 2.3 is also used) is actually cheaper than 2.0 because it has a higher yield in production- less scrap loss. Most mfgs use 2.0/2.0 glass because it's lighter and defrosts quicker. Some use 2.3/2.0 for cost savings- the 2.3 is the outside sheet, 2.0 inside. The major difference between OE glass and aftermarket is cosmetic quality- edge chips, scratches, etc, and not strength; some rejected OE glass goes into the aftermarket supply.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I carry zero deductible comprehensive coverage on all my cars, and when a windshield cracks, another one is installed at the location of my choice. I have 4 cars, and they average 30 to 40 a month on cost of full coverage, with a $50 ded on collision.

 

[91FE]

Glass guy came to my office to do the replacement and just left. They gave me the frequent flier discount... $220 + tax. For comparison, I did the Safelite online instant quote and they wanted $340. We'll see how long this one lasts me.

 

[solo20]

Just get bullet proof glass.

where did you buy it with my luck i need bullet proof glass

 

[rsanter]

could be both. I have seen some of the replacement widshields that are actually thinner than the original. if you are doing an early car that uses a windshield gasket they can keep the gasket from properly sealing to the windshield

bob

 

[SuperSocket]

Alright, I've just cracked my fourth windshield in my DD, second time in less than a year. It's an Accord with 180K on the clock. I drive a lot... fast... on the highway. Do replacement windshields come in different levels of quality? Am I getting crappy replacements, or just have crappy luck?

Yes. Ask for a better windshield. I had this problem with my one car, they kept installing this lighter windshield... looked great but they broke consistently (broke two in a week, my luck). The installer suggested I try their "sound" enhanced windshields which was the same price and dug one up for me... not only did it weigh much more and felt thicker... but that sucker deflected rocks of scary proportions.


I was told by the installer that some windshields out there are cheap or thinner, hence the weight... he said the sound isolation ones tend to be thicker.

 

[STClurker]

And I wish someone would break the windshield in my Nissan truck. Its the original glass (1986) and is so sand-pitted you can't see driving to the sun.

talk to your ins agent, that happened to our car (its a '98), the windshield was so scratched and sandblasted you couldn't hardly see through it in the sun (basically the same thing you are saying). the insurance company replaced it with 0 problems, apparently they would rather pay for a windshield than an accident because you couldn't see.

 

[KrisKustomPaint]

There are several vehicle armoring companies in the US, google it if you really want the bullet proof. don't know how much it cost but it might beat the hell out of replacing glass all the time.