3 weeks in, already got chip in center windshield

[vikefan]

A couple weeks ago, I was driving on freeway with no one near me, and I suddenly start to hear what sort of sounds like micro gravel pelting my windshield or even as if there were cracks appearing all over the windshield. I can’t see anything hitting it, nothings actually cracking, and again no one in front of me that could be spitting rocks at me, so I’m confused. It lasts for about 10 seconds then stops. I go about my day.

Fast forward to yesterday. Driving on fwy, again no one in front of me for at least 800 ft. All of a sudden, we hear a loud pop, and a dime sized crack appears in the center of my windshield.

My wife’s coworker also got an M3 a month ago and also got a crack in her windshield within that month. And I was just telling this story to a friend of mine today who just got his M3 and said he also heard that same debris-hitting-windshield noise for no reason the other day...


I drive 120 miles a day every weekday, plus some amount on weekends, and have been doing that much driving for at least the last decade. I have NEVER had a crack on my windshield in all that time. What gives here? Is there a potential quality issue with M3 glass we should be raising to Tesla? Or is this just a totally bizarre coincidence?

 

[TaoJones]

I empathize. Picked up 2 stars within 6 weeks after picking up the 2nd S, which has the refreshed front end not too dissimilar from the 3. The stars were at exactly the same height, just on opposite sides of the glass.

Didn’t have this problem with the first S (nosecone).

Both windshields have proven soft.

I recommend C-Bond NanoShield exterior coating for the windshield. Has a good warranty. Lasts 12-18 months.

Extreme Autowerks in Brea offers this. I recommend them as well.

There has not been a 3rd star, ~35,000 miles and about a year since.

 

[Pkmmte]

I'm also concerned by this. In less than 3 months after taking delivery, my windshield has also cracked and had to get it replaced (outside of warranty $$$). I have never had this happen on any of my cars before. Coincidence?

 

[SouthBayGuy]

So far, I have not had a chip in my windshield for years. But I always leave a lot of space between me and the car in front, and I always avoid driving behind trucks.

This guy has a nice video on how to fix a chip on the windshield:

 

[hidingintrees]

I'm freaking out... Just got hit by a rock on the freeway!!! Sounded like a gun shot. And now the crack is halfway across my shield... I can't believe it. Can it really be bad luck?

Did you get it fixed yet? How's the process?

 

[Adam3]

Based on posts here and on reddit it seems like the glass on the Model 3 is quite fragile.

Has anyone "survived" a rock hitting the windshield at decent speed?

 

[Kermee]

I'm freaking out... Just got hit by a rock on the freeway!!! Sounded like a gun shot. And now the crack is halfway across my shield... I can't believe it. Can it really be bad luck?

Did you get it fixed yet? How's the process?

First of all, hope you're okay. High-velocity impacts to the windshield can definitely give anyone quite a scare.

The windshield needs to be replaced. I would call your insurance company. Typically, it will be covered under the "Comprehensive" portion of your auto insurance. There are some "fancy" policies which also have a "No Deductible" windshield replacement but your insurance or broker would be able to look it up. At that point, once you know what your deductible is, contact Tesla Service to see what the replacement cost is. If it's more than your deductible, file the claim through insurance. If it's less than your deductible, pay the replacement out of pocket.

Hope this helps.

Based on posts here and on reddit it seems like the glass on the Model 3 is quite fragile.

Has anyone "survived" a rock hitting the windshield at decent speed?

I have not yet, but winter is right around the corner and I can't wait for the gravel and sand to hit the roads once there's any signs of snow.

 

[Dana1]

A couple weeks ago, I was driving on freeway with no one near me, and I suddenly start to hear what sort of sounds like micro gravel pelting my windshield or even as if there were cracks appearing all over the windshield. I can’t see anything hitting it, nothings actually cracking, and again no one in front of me that could be spitting rocks at me, so I’m confused. It lasts for about 10 seconds then stops. I go about my day.

Fast forward to yesterday. Driving on fwy, again no one in front of me for at least 800 ft. All of a sudden, we hear a loud pop, and a dime sized crack appears in the center of my windshield.

My wife’s coworker also got an M3 a month ago and also got a crack in her windshield within that month. And I was just telling this story to a friend of mine today who just got his M3 and said he also heard that same debris-hitting-windshield noise for no reason the other day...


I drive 120 miles a day every weekday, plus some amount on weekends, and have been doing that much driving for at least the last decade. I have NEVER had a crack on my windshield in all that time. What gives here? Is there a potential quality issue with M3 glass we should be raising to Tesla? Or is this just a totally bizarre coincidence?

Bizarre coincidence. Road debris takes a lot of windshields out, hence all the windshield repair tents.

 

[animorph]

We had our first Model X windshield chip last week at about 20k miles, mostly freeway. I've heard plenty of rocks hit the windshield before that, but this was the first to leave a mark.

I had my old Porsche for a week when it got it's first and only windshield chip. Just random chance/luck.

 

[rodrego66]

I got hit by a rock driving the car home from taking delivery. Luckily it did not spread, and was able to get it fixed by chip repair.

 

[Need]

8 days after delivery, my model 3 got a 2 foot crack starting from lower corner of the driver side windshield up and toward the center. There seem to a rock chip close to the edge of the windshield that started the crack. I did not remember getting hit by a rock on the road. I did not see the chip or the crack when I arrived at work that morning but when the I leave 9 hours later it was there.

Made an appointment with SC to replace it in a week.

 

[vikefan]

When I got my windshield chip, there was NO ONE in front of me for at least 800 ft., maybe more. My wife was in the car with me, and both of us were completely shocked and confused. Neither of us could figure out how a rock could have possibly been thrown at us. It just shows that cars can fling rocks a hell of a long distance. Keeping a safe driving distance won’t save you.

 

[Need]

8 days after delivery, my model 3 got a 2 foot crack starting from lower corner of the driver side windshield up and toward the center. There seem to a rock chip close to the edge of the windshield that started the crack. I did not remember getting hit by a rock on the road. I did not see the chip or the crack when I arrived at work that morning but when the I leave 9 hours later it was there.

Made an appointment with SC to replace it in a week.

Just realized I did not post update on this thread after my windshield was fixed. So I made appointment with Buena Park SC to fix it, but 2 days later, I got a call from Tesla Pomona saying that they could fix it next day. They said they are a pilot program for in house body shop. So next day they came and picked up the car. They dropped off a silver 2016 Model S as loaner. They were supposed to come back later in the evening to do the exchange, but the guy said the windshield adhesive needed to be cure overnight. So they dropped it off the next day. The total was just under $1000. Their hourly rate is $175 per hour and they charged 2 hours. The rest are materials and sales tax.

 

[Kichwas]

Is the nao shield something I have put in before a crack or a glue to repair a crack?

 

[SMAlset]

Just got my Model 3 and haven't driven it much and it's in for due bill work and then off for PPF. Sure hope there aren't issues with batches of windshields. Am curious what your VIN number/Date of Manufacture is for those who have had unexpected cracking (i.e. not rated to a stone throw).

Haven't had any issues with windshield cracks in our MS. Years ago did have a Honda that I heard got hit by a stone while driving on the highway. Didn't see anything change with the windshield however. Parked the car while I went into work and came out with a crack showing on the windshield. Pretty decent crack at that point. It was a hot summer day and I made the mistake of turning on the AC in the car when I was ready to drive home, thinking I'd deal with calling Safelite then, but the AC caused the crack to basically spread across the whole windshield making it unsafe to drive so had to wait around for a windshield replacement at work.

 

[SoCalGuy]

I second this - wonder if there are build months/VIN ranges where this is a problem like so many other Model 3 issues/mid year fixes.

 

[CuriousG]

I have very early VIN and several months ago I heard a loud pop but never seen anything hit my windshield and didn't see anything visible when it happened. I think it was 3 days later that evening it developed a 4-5" crack starting just above the passenger wiper. The next day it grew to about a foot and over the course of the next week, it snaked towards the middle of the windshield then went vertifcal and has remained the same length. I initially made the claim through USAA to get it fixed through SafeLite but canceled it when they were unable to obtain the glass except through Tesla. So since there may need to be calibration, I decided to just go with Tesla but haven't rescheduled.

I thought the glass was very fragile too but mine appears to have a lot of wind noise and I think they have changed the shape of the glass since to reduce wind noise. The other bad thing about having the crack is I would have to get my windshield retinted since that isn't covered through insurance.

 

[Need]

I second this - wonder if there are build months/VIN ranges where this is a problem like so many other Model 3 issues/mid year fixes.

Mine is august build 976xx AWD non-p. I honestly didn't hear anything hit my windshield the time I had it before the crack. But when I took a closer look, I did see a chip at the black part edge of the windshield down low on the driver side. The thing is that it is so small I could have missed it at delivery. It could have been there all along and then one day it decided to crack on a hot day. Luckily my insurance has $100 deductible on glass replacement and $50 per day loss of use. Since they took the car and kept it for 1 day, I only had to pay $50 out of pocket to replace the windshield.

 

[chillaban]

Keep an eye out on Autopilot performance afterwards. My service center told me that they generally skip the manual calibration that Tesla claims is necessary after replacing the windshield, which works as long as they're careful about not perturbing the camera housing.... Unfortunately I was in the small segment of the population where it didn't work and they had to recalibrate, which took around 4 hours and 30 miles of driving (ouch! poor service center employees!)

It caused my Autopilot to straddle lane lines, driving a few feet offset from center.

 

[Need]

Keep an eye out on Autopilot performance afterwards. My service center told me that they generally skip the manual calibration that Tesla claims is necessary after replacing the windshield, which works as long as they're careful about not perturbing the camera housing.... Unfortunately I was in the small segment of the population where it didn't work and they had to recalibrate, which took around 4 hours and 30 miles of driving (ouch! poor service center employees!)

It caused my Autopilot to straddle lane lines, driving a few feet offset from center.

I told them to check Autopilot after they put in the windshield. They told me that they will on the way driving it back to me. It seems to be fine.. been using it for 3 weeks now everyday. My insurance actually give me a separate claim for recalibration but I didn't have to use it.