The MOST CRAPTASTIC Windshields Ever: More 5th Gen Butthurt

[thennen]

There's no science being offered here. How big was the stone? Maybe there were two stones, one immediately behind the other. At what angle did it impact the windshield? At what velocity (50mph isn't the answer)? What force was applied, over what area? Were you able to conduct scientific comparisons to other windshields? What about SafeLite's repair process - did they use the proper amount of vacuum to do the repair? If yes, how do you know? Perhaps they mis-diagnosed the degree of damage.

I've had numerous rock strikes to the windshield of my 2019 4Runner, and ecpected to see damage from a few of them. But none yet. Does that make my 4Runner's windshield the best ever?

 

[Too Stroked]

Laminated glass is laminated glass. There are no better or worse make-ups. Maybe the interlayer is thicker on some, but that will not affect the strength of the glass to exterior impacts. Claiming otherwise would be like saying the 316 Stainless Steel from one company is superior to another's.

Um, no. Just to give you an idea, recently we had a 2017 Tacoma show up at the Toyota dealership I work at for some truly wild electrical issues. Our best Technician quickly traced it down to an extremely wavy aftermarket windshield that had also been poorly installed. (All windshields are the same, right?) This led to water running down the A pillar and causing corrosion in the main electrical harness & connectors. The insurance company forked out almost $4,000 to repair the wiring. Then they pulled out the windshield and slapped in another wavy aftermarket POS. Words fail me.

 

[jrandom]

It's sad that anyone would think that a fragile windshield like this is ok.

Be happy you don't own an FJ Cruiser.

Those guys are plagued by busted/cracked/spidered windshields. :

I wont replace it until it leaks or I cannot stand looking at the crack. That might be years.

I was lucky enough to get a spider right above the heater element the first year I owned the truck. I "fixed" with an epox kit and 6+ years later it finally blew out, 12 months ago. Again, "luck", it went straight across the bottom BUT craziness and I think this is was caused it to go ballistic, under the wiper on the passenger side a quarter size chunk of glass broke out right on top of the heater element. Some moisture must have penetrated, the heater element heat and then expansion, boom.

 

[Bry n]

Install Safari windows on your 4Runner problem solved!

 

[21TOR]

Great thread cant believe I read it :faint:

 

[NW.OH.T4R]

Can’t comment yet on Toyota’s glass. Miss my laminated front driver and passenger windows in Dodge and Land Rover. As unreliable as Dodge and Land Rover are in everything else, their glass vendor (Pilkington) makes some of the strongest laminated stuff in any vehicle I’ve had.


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Thanks for the kind words. Pilkington is now under the NSG Group. NSG and Central Glass are the Asia brand names, Europe and NA are Pilkington


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[somenoise]

Nope

My insurance is for new OEM replacement parts. Glass has $0 deductible too.

I dont know if I would have Safelite do the R&R anyhow.

I wont replace it until it leaks or I cannot stand looking at the crack. That might be years.

Am I understanding correctly? You have a damaged windshield, OEM replacement insurance, $0 deductible, glass repair typically doesn't affect premiums, and your original post was complaining about how much the original windshield bothers you (going as far as to use the much maligned all-caps approach)...yet you're not going to replace it? What's really going on here?

 

[redneckj]

I was in North Carolina when a dump truck got on I95. We were only going like 50mph when a stone bounced and hit my windshield and caused a star.

In one year (2020-2021) I have had a chip and a star and now the star turned into a crack when Safelite was trying to put a vacuum on it to fill the star in.

These Toyota 4Runner windshields are the biggest pieces of shit I have ever seen on a vehicle in my entire life.

You need EXOShield

Windshield Protection Film | ExoShield

 

[RichinRidgewood]

Am I understanding correctly? You have a damaged windshield, OEM replacement insurance, $0 deductible, glass repair typically doesn't affect premiums, and your original post was complaining about how much the original windshield bothers you (going as far as to use the much maligned all-caps approach)...yet you're not going to replace it? What's really going on here?

1 I have to go somewhere for a couple hours that I shouldn’t have to with a year old vehicle

2 They will e’ff the truck up pulling out the old windshield

3 They will e’ff up the camera and mirror calibration and I will harpoon a school buss while on auto pilot

4 the broken windshields will be a yearly goddamn event

5 e’ff this

 

[Saker]

Nope

My insurance is for new OEM replacement parts. Glass has $0 deductible too.

I dont know if I would have Safelite do the R&R anyhow.

I wont replace it until it leaks or I cannot stand looking at the crack. That might be years.

Try to find a local shop that can replace your windshield with a PPG or ask safelite to replace it with one...
Explain to insurance co, that the windshields safelite uses are more fragile than PPG....worth the try!

 

[Glenn Goodlett]

Transparent aluminum, it's real. Probably expensive.

Transparent aluminum - Wikipedia

 

[LT4CMG]

After the replacement, try EXO or ClearPlex. Cost was just under $600 on my Z06 (based on size and complexity). Likely closer to $400 on the 4Runner

 

[mo_mo]

Transparent aluminum, it's real. Probably expensive.

Transparent aluminum - Wikipedia

Glass is basically chemically inert, so corrosion/oxidation etc doesn't impact the clarity, just clean off the dirt and you're good to go. I would guess that Alon has some longevity problems when it comes to transparency that aren't nearly as good as glass.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

255K miles on a 2014 and we’re on our 4th windshield. Highway snowplows are the worst.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

1 I have to go somewhere for a couple hours that I shouldn’t have to with a year old vehicle

2 They will e’ff the truck up pulling out the old windshield

3 They will e’ff up the camera and mirror calibration and I will harpoon a school buss while on auto pilot

4 the broken windshields will be a yearly goddamn event

5 e’ff this

I think you should find yourself a good lemon law attorney. Good luck!

 

[1000MPH]

Got a hit with huge rock last month.
Just missed my windshield and nailed the roof right above my head.
Small dent and decent sized chip.
I freaking wish it hit the windshield.

 

[Jivewalker]

cant believe it, unreal.

 

[ahtoxa11]

I live in Colorado, where stones on the road is a way of life, especially in the winter.

Everyone's windshields are abused here and no one is immune to cracks. Windshield insurance coverage is automatically included if you live here.

 

[baldrik78]

It's the angle of the windshield. Just like they discover with tanks in WW2, the more acute the angle, the greater the thickness of the material relative to the direction of the projectile, giving more strength and greater chance of deflection. 4Runners aren't as bad as Jeeps and FJs, but our windshields are pretty dang up-right.

 

[RichinRidgewood]

The crack is growing however it has not made it to the edges yet.
The crack reflects light right into my eyes in some some circumstances. Excellent!
I have some Rain-X crack repair/filler on order. It has had some good reviews here.

It's no wonder there is supposedly a class action against Toyota for the Prius windshield.

Using substandard windshields in an effort to generate revenue is a crap way to do business.