[adamant]

1600 miles and I have some tiny rock chips. Sunday morning after a cold night I now have a crack. The chip was about an inch down from the top of the screen directly above the driver. The crack is about 8inches long now
Does anyone have an idea of how much and how difficult this will be?
At leat I am near the dealership but the weather may proclude me from getting to them for quite a while. I suppose I'll give them a call soon and get them to order some new glass. I won't be able to go to any track events until it is fixed.
It is depressing having this after only 3 weeks. Oh well.

 

[OneFastLotus]

I Dont know but I'll be watching this thread.

We got a rock chip on the Orange car coming back from Atlanta. Its tiny and in the top corner. We had a windshield/auto glass repair place look at it and they said there's really nothing they can do for it. Ours is in the same spot as yours only its over the passenger side.

We've had two gigantic rock chips in our SUV"s windsheild for several years and its not cracked at all. Whats worse is that both the rock chips on the SUV are next to each other so Im suprised it hasnt cracked further.



I wonder if the elise windshield is more fragile? I hope ours doesnt crack out like yours.

Best of luck!
Jenn

 

[babak]

I wonder if the elise windshield is more fragile? I hope ours doesnt crack out like yours.

Best of luck!
Jenn

Perhaps thinner? As in thinner and lighter than normal? But don't have to meet some minimum requirement?

 

[huggy bear]

1600 miles and I have some tiny rock chips. Sunday morning after a cold night I now have a crack. The chip was about an inch down from the top of the screen directly above the driver. The crack is about 8inches long now
Does anyone have an idea of how much and how difficult this will be?
At leat I am near the dealership but the weather may proclude me from getting to them for quite a while. I suppose I'll give them a call soon and get them to order some new glass. I won't be able to go to any track events until it is fixed.
It is depressing having this after only 3 weeks. Oh well.

Unfortunately this will be an involved process. I'm not sure that dealers have all the part availble and secondly the front clam has to be removed in order to replace the windshield. PM me your email. I can send you the pertinent section in the manual to see for yourself.

 

[jml1952]

My Miata windshield took a hit from a flying bolt a couple of years ago. Left a nice crater on a high spot to the left of my straight ahead field of vision. Went to an auto repair place to see if they could repair or stabilize the damage. No and no. However, the damage has not spread over time.

I'm not sure, but I believe that some insurance companies will repair cracked windshields because of the safety hazard. Not sure how the deductible factors into this, if it's true.

 

[ChrisH]

It isn't much of a safety hazard because it is only the outer layer of glass that is cracked (safety glass is layered). However, my insurance company (AAA) does repair chips in the windshield for free because it is cheaper than waiting for it to grow a crack and then replacing the whole windshield.

 

[MattG]

Re: Re: Windshield replacement

...the front clam has to be removed in order to replace the windshield.

:huh:

Yikes. Another thing that will push our insurance rates higher (since a cracked windshield is usually covered by comprehensive insurance).

 

[adamant]

Re: Re: Windshield replacement

Unfortunately this will be an involved process. I'm not sure that dealers have all the part availble and secondly the front clam has to be removed in order to replace the windshield. PM me your email. I can send you the pertinent section in the manual to see for yourself.

Thanks Huggy, I've PM'ed you.
On the brighter side I'll be able to replace the rear-view mirror easily

BTW It is a safety factor for track events, I know PCA will not approve my car with a cracked WS.

 

[kenp]

My Exige picked up a half inch long crack/chip within the first 50 miles in 2000. Decided to leave it. Last week windscreen was hit by a very large stone about 10 mm from the edge. Now I have cobweb across the screen. The windscreen will be replaced on Friday and will take about 3 hours (no clam removal). Windscreen cover claims do not affect insurance premium in the UK, eventhough in this case the cost is about $700.

 

[huggy bear]

My Exige picked up a half inch long crack/chip within the first 50 miles in 2000. Decided to leave it. Last week windscreen was hit by a very large stone about 10 mm from the edge. Now I have cobweb across the screen. The windscreen will be replaced on Friday and will take about 3 hours (no clam removal). Windscreen cover claims do not affect insurance premium in the UK, eventhough in this case the cost is about $700.

I assume you have an S1 Exige?

 

[huggy bear]

Re: Re: Re: Windshield replacement

Thanks Huggy, I've PM'ed you.
On the brighter side I'll be able to replace the rear-view mirror easily

BTW It is a safety factor for track events, I know PCA will not approve my car with a cracked WS.

The pdf have been sent.

BTW when you actually go to get the windscreen replaced, do you mind doing a small experiment. Can you try removing the rear view mirror mouting plate by twisting it off with some pliers. I'm curious to know of that would crack the windscreen or not. I have already removed mine but it took about 20 minutes of heating, scoring and paint thinner. I was paranoid about twisting it off and breaking the windscreen. This woudl be really valuable info if you could try it.

Thanks

 

[adamant]

Huggy, I've made a note to try that. Thanks again.

 

[GatorFL]

I'm not sure, but I believe that some insurance companies will repair cracked windshields because of the safety hazard. Not sure how the deductible factors into this, if it's true.

In Florida your insurance is required to replace cracked windshields with no deductable. I guess that is one reason why our premiums are out of sight.

 

[thegit]

It'll crack, Huggy.

Why can't the European marques make a front screen that won't crack at the sight of a piece of sand??

Of course using the front screen as a stressed member helps not, but the Asian marques don't seem to be plagued by this feature.
m

 

[Randy Chase]

Toyota MR2s were notorious for cracking the windshields from the body flex induced by motorsports.

 

[DesignIt]

In a seminar on flat panel technology, Corning Glass showed that the internal stress areas on glass occurs around the edges. Most windshield chips that turn into cracks also happen in this stress area. Given that MINI windshields are notorious getting cracks, I put an inch or so of clear 3M protective film (like the starshield material) around all the edges. I had one major impact on the film hard enough to tear it, but the windshield didn't chip. I can't say that this will work 100% of the time, but it's good insurance.

John

 

[NtflBlueLiz]

Regarding twisting off the mirror, it will remove a chunk of the glass on the inside, believe me I've done it!

Mini's widshields, had 2 crack within a month in the turnpike from Flyng rocks!

 

[huggy bear]

I have read that heating the metal mounting plate up to 180F and then twisting it off won't crack the windshield. I was very doubtful of this so I figured out my own way with paint thinner and it worked.

 

[Stan]

>>>Mini's widshields, had 2 crack within a month in the turnpike from Flyng rocks!<<<

Yes but the Mini has a near vertical windshield angle...for less of that ricochet effect... S2000s have very upright windshields and they experience a great deal of glass pitting and cracking. Of course, they don't have to have any bodywork removed to change out the glass...

 

[DetailersParadise]

adamant-Are you planning on driving your car through the winter? If so, you may want to consider waiting until the end of rocks-on-road season before you replace your glass. Living in Denver, I never replace a windshield until after the first few rains in the spring. At least this way I can have three seasons before CDOT launches its annual rockfest.