Windshield Replacement Questions?

[HSK]

Hi everyone,

My car is about 3 weeks old, no plates yet, and only has about 600 or so miles on it so far. As you may have read in the other thread, my windshield was cracked by a small rock while driving on the freeway in the Bay Area. Originally it was a small 2-3cm crack. I was sent by my insurance company AAA to a company they use for all their glass work called Safelite. I was sent to the SF location and when they tried to fill the crack, during the curing process the crack was widened much more and is now 2-3 inches in size. The glass guy said that the crack will likely continue to grow in the future and recommended I come back and have the windshield replaced asap. This was logged as a failed repair and I am now authorized to get a new OEM windshield by my insurance. I have talked to 2 dealers who both told me to insist on using OEM lexus windshield as it has an additional laminate layer added to the glass that reduces cabin noise. I am worried about the replacement windshield not being sealed completely and correctly so these are some questions I have:

1. Should I have it done at a Lexus dealer to make sure it is done properly? (Insurance my not pay for this option if dealer does not agree to the install fee the insurance is willing to pay)

2. My insurance would prefer I use Safelite, but I was wondering if I could get any opinions from others who have had their OEM Lexus windshield replaced?

3. Does anyone have any recommendations for places in the San Francisco, Daly City, South San Francisco areas in the Bay Area that are good with OEM Lexus windshield replacement?

4. I was wondering if there are any specific electonics, or wires that are built into the IS350 windshield glass that I should be aware of, or is it just glass? I have an IS350 with the premium package, but I don't know if that comes with the rain sensor in the windshield or not?

5. What else should I be aware of before I go ahead and have the windshield replaced?

Thanks everyone and any help/suggestions would be much appreciated.

[SW03ES]

1. Should I have it done at a Lexus dealer to make sure it is done properly? (Insurance my not pay for this option if dealer does not agree to the install fee the insurance is willing to pay)

No, Lexus dealers actually don't usually do glass replacement, they have a mobile replacement company come to the dealership to do it, the same company you could hire on your own. I would ask your dealer who they refer glass replacement to. Glass replacement is a very specialized skill and requires special tools, dealers aren't equipped to do it.

Don't get hung up on the fact that its a "Lexus" and its an "OEM Lexus windshield". Its just a car and its just a windshield, these guys have plenty of experience replacing glass on far more exotic and expensive cars, it'll be fine.

2. My insurance would prefer I use Safelite, but I was wondering if I could get any opinions from others who have had their OEM Lexus windshield replaced?

Safelite's very respected. I would ask your dealer for a referral, look around on Consumers Checkbook and Yahoo local for reviews and find a good shop. I prefer stationary shops to mobile shops personally, but it probably doesn't matter.

4. I was wondering if there are any specific electonics, or wires that are built into the IS350 windshield glass that I should be aware of, or is it just glass? I have an IS350 with the premium package, but I don't know if that comes with the rain sensor in the windshield or not?

Do you have rain sensing wipers? If so there is a sensor mounted next to the rearview mirror. You will need to tell the shop this so they can order the correct glass.

5. What else should I be aware of before I go ahead and have the windshield replaced?

When the car comes back I'd go over it carefully to make sure nothing on the dashboard, headliner, A pillars, hood, roof, etc has been scratched or damaged. The windshield will have tape on the top of it that you'll have to leave there for a couple days.

The interior will smell of urethane from the adhesive. Its nasty but it'll go away in a few days.

Relax, it really will be fine. I've had a bunch of windshields replaced over the years, including on Lexus cars and its really not a big deal. OEM glass is the way to go and you're doing that.

[HSK]

Thanks for the answers SW03ES. Kind of puts my mind at ease a bit, but not by much. I ended up going with safelite as all the other independent insurance affiliates would not take the job because they did not want to wait to be paid by the insurance company for the cost of the OEM Lexus glass.

They came this morning and did the job in about an hour. They did an ok job, but I won't be sure until I test for leaks. I do notice that now there is a bit of a gap now where the top of the windshield meets the roof of the car. I don't know if I remember correctly or not but doesn't the factory windshield meet the roof completly and inbetween there is a rubber molding/trimming inbetween to seal the gap. If anyone can check for me on the original windshield of their vehicle and reply, that would be great as I would like to know.

I love the car but this windshield thing was really annoying and I can't believe how easily the oem windshield cracked to begin with. The guy that did my replacement even said that this was the third Lexus IS he has done this week. He told me he sees a lot of these cars having to replace their windshields and that they crack very easily.

[Rmansis350]

HSK- Sorry but I only check this site once in a great while. I an insurance agent (for a competitor) and is350 owner in the Bay Area. A few suggestions-

After a few days, pay particluar attention for wind noise and/or water leakage when washing the car. AAA SHOULD stand by the work, including installation, for the life of the car. Your agent may have to get involved to "hold their feet to the fire" if there is a problem.

OEM glass is important for certain cars, ours included. Make sure your AAA policy includes coverage for OEM replacement parts. The use of after market parts is wide spread but in today's market place you can stipulate OEM parts within the policy.

If you do have a problem with your windshield, now or in the future, I always send my clients to Action Glass...1.800.696.9009. One of the owners does some instalations and I usually can get him to do our cars....he is the best I've found. Action Glass is in the Safelite network.

Good Luck!!!

[Blayd]

A friend hade Safelite do hos camry. Theu did a really good job.

[HSK]

HSK- Sorry but I only check this site once in a great while. I an insurance agent (for a competitor) and is350 owner in the Bay Area. A few suggestions-

After a few days, pay particluar attention for wind noise and/or water leakage when washing the car. AAA SHOULD stand by the work, including installation, for the life of the car. Your agent may have to get involved to "hold their feet to the fire" if there is a problem.

OEM glass is important for certain cars, ours included. Make sure your AAA policy includes coverage for OEM replacement parts. The use of after market parts is wide spread but in today's market place you can stipulate OEM parts within the policy.

If you do have a problem with your windshield, now or in the future, I always send my clients to Action Glass...1.800.696.9009. One of the owners does some instalations and I usually can get him to do our cars....he is the best I've found. Action Glass is in the Safelite network.

Good Luck!!!

Thanks for the reply. I got all OEM parts approved which included OEM Dealer Glass as well as new OEM Moldings for both sides of the windshield. I wil defnitely pay attention to the windshield over the next week to see if there are any leaks or wind noise coming through. The guy who did the job was really nice and I think he did a good job with the exception of the gap on the top of the windshield. I won't know for sure if that gap is supposed to be there until I see another IS up close to compare. I truly hope that I am mistaken.

As for safelite, it is a big company and I am sure that overall, they do a good job. However, I think in the end it comes down to the branch location used as well as the installer. The location that I used to have the crack filled had horrible reviews and lots of complaints of bad installations for replacement windshields, and unfortunately I did not check reviews before I chose that location. Luckily, I was able to choose another location, one with very good reviews, when doing the windshield replacement.

[HSK]

So I just took it for a drive after letting the adhesive dry. It appears the installer tried to reuse the old moldings for the windshield, when he was supposed to put on new ones. So the molding on the driver side popped up and I could see that some of the blue clips that hold the molding in place were not gripping the rivets on the car, and some of the teeth on the molding that are supposed to grip the blue clips were broken off and not gripping the blue clips at all. I remember when I peaked down at the job while it was in progress, I could see that he was having a hard time with the driver side molding and kept trying to get it to go down and stay in place and he used a lot of force in the process. Anyhow, I called him up to tell him the problem and he came back to meet me and said it was strange that it would pop up considering he had glued it down and he also kept saying that he should have taped it down. This raised a red flag imnmediately as factory moldings do not need to be glued down. Then he said he would glue it down for me again. I insisted on a new molding and clips as it looked like the one on the car was recycled/reused. I even mentioned that gluing it would not help if the teeth on the moldings are broken and can't grip the blue clips that hold it down. He looked upset and said it would take a few days for him to order a new molding and clips. Seems like I caught him in a lie. I should have asked to see the old moldings before he left the first time. When I looked on the work order, my insurance approved new moldings at $45.95 and $46.95 for left and right side. I guess by trying to reuse both he could potentially make an extra $90-100 bucks by returning the new unused part(s), and then keep the money that my insurance company paid them for those parts. WTF!!! <_<

[Sidney07]

Sorry for your hassle's HSK. Hope it gets fixed right.

I too am dealing with Safelite on my Subaru Legacy. In my opinion, they did a poor job. The mouldings on my Subaru are crooked, wavy, etc. The satellite antenna, which is mounted on the inside of the windshield on the upper right corner, keeps falling off now. I have made one attempt to get this fixed, and have made a second request.

I'm sure Safelite has many satisfied customers. I just happen to NOT BE ONE OF THEM!

[SW03ES]

Safelite was reccomended by the insurance company? I would call the insurance company.

[Rmansis350]

SWO3ES is correct. Both of you should call your Agent and let him/her know the facts as you see them. The insurance company has a whole lot more leverage with Safelite than one customer.

[smooth1]

Especially because that is where the check is coming from. In the past when we have done insurance repairs, we would submit the job for payment using their claim number. Some insurance companies took longer to pay than others because once the repair was completed, they would inform us that needed to contact the policy holder to verify the job was done to thier satisfaction and that they were happy with everything. Once they signed off on the job, then we would get paid. And then there are some insurance companies that just paid, no questions asked. So make sure your insurance company asks you before they pay out. Then it's them telling the repair facility there is an issue and it needs to addressed and corrected before payment is rendured.

[HSK]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the replies reagding this thread. They got in the new molding and replaced it for me last week. Aside from the gap at the top of the windshield, everything seems good. On a side note, they billed my insurance for another set of moldings even though they already billed them the first time.