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A *Different* Cracked Windshield

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I know this was talked about many many times, but the crack on my windshield is different!

Hello,

I received my Model S 3 weeks ago on April 11th. Everything has been good so far except for something happened an hour ago.


I was driving on the highway and all of a sudden I heard something loud. Then I noticed a crack on the left side near the black border of the windshield. It is star shaped so I thought something must have hit it. I was surprised because there wasn't any car ahead of me and the fact that the crack was large compared to what you would get from a small stone or anything that you wouldn't notice.


I parked the soon I was able to, to have a closer look, and I noticed something that wasn't expected. The crack was actually from the inside! Attached are some pictures that I was able to get for now.


Here are some facts when the incident happened:
* I was driving at a highway speed (100km/h)
* It was raining and the wipers were on
* It was 6ºC and there was no sudden change of temperature (this shouldn't affect a windshield of a car anyway).

What do you think?

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Very strange....and disturbing!

Have you contacted Tesla about it yet?

Yes I just did, and I already got a reply within 30 minutes from sending my email to "Ownership"! They forwarded my email/pictures to Toronto service centre.

- - - Updated - - -

That really looks like an impact fracture.

I agree but how come the crack is inside? Is this repairable?
 
Anyone got any luck with an aftermarket windshield? I would go with it for 2 reasons:

1- I not longer trust the OEM windshield and anything could happen with the new one
2- The aftermarket windshield might be harder and could have a better resistance.
 
Anyone got any luck with an aftermarket windshield? I would go with it for 2 reasons:

1- I not longer trust the OEM windshield and anything could happen with the new one
2- The aftermarket windshield might be harder and could have a better resistance.

You cant go after market because you have Subzero. Talk to your insurance, they should cover most of the cost.
 
Has a similar crack start in basically the exact same spot. Noticed a minor impact sound on the freeway. No observable damage inside or out. Came out the next morning and there was a huge crack about a foot long in the windshield and the same "the outside of the window is intact but the inside self-destructed" look you describe. It was like a concave section of the glass collapsed overnight as the windshield cooled (warmed?). Seems like that area of the windshield is really weak. It's the exact same spot the stress fractures developed on the early cars.
 
Tesla's windshield is pretty soft, hard enough hit and it goes through both pieces of glass. Your service centere has probably done lots of them. And no that is not repairable.Looks like it's time for a new screen.

Tesla's windshield soft? Where do people get this kind of stuff... This is an impact fracture, the same would have happened to any windshield. Does Toyota make "soft glass" as well? Because I've gone through three windshields on my Toyota due to rock hits. What about GM, do they also have "soft glass"? Because my pickup truck's windshield must be soft as butter then, it has lots of cracks and the windshield needs to be replaced.

Someone gets a rock ding on their frunk hood and starts a thread about "soft paint"... someone is hit by a rock and the windshield cracks, and now we are reading about "soft glass". You know what, people? Cars hit things like rocks. It causes paint chips and cracked glass. It has nothing to do with soft anything. It has to do with physics and driving your car in actual driving conditions versus staring at it in a closed garage.

Even though the Model S is expensive, it is still subject to the same damaging effects of being on the road as any other car.
 
I don't claim one way or the other, but how would Tesla end up being the only (or almost only?) manufacturer that some how gets supplied "soft" glass?

Are there any statistics available to compare Tesla windshield damage rates to that of other vehicles?

Some people are not going to believe this because it seems like an outrageous claim. There needs to be some solid evidence to build confidence in the claim of soft glass.
 
I don't claim one way or the other, but how would Tesla end up being the only (or almost only?) manufacturer that some how gets supplied "soft" glass?

Are there any statistics available to compare Tesla windshield damage rates to that of other vehicles?

Some people are not going to believe this because it seems like an outrageous claim. There needs to be some solid evidence to build confidence in the claim of soft glass.

Until it actually happens to you, you would most likely not know about it. But there have been many issues with the windshields which I am sure by now have been resolved.
It's not a "claim" it's a fact.

All sorts of issues, soft, design flaws and installation issues. All you need to do is actually SEARCH!.

I am not a glass expert, I was simply repeating what I was told from 3 sources.

Click on that link which will also list several other threads about it.

http://www.teslamotors.com/fr_CH/forum/forums/windshield-crack

Happy reading.
 
"Soft" glass does sound weird. Thin glass, maybe. I had a 2006 Civic that had a giant windshield: the largest Honda had ever used in the entire company history. To keep weight down in front (a traditional FWD weakness), they made it a bit thinner than it had been in previous years. They cracked, a lot. Caused a huge uproar on the forums. Everyone I know that had an early model replaced their windshield at least once. When they revised the model they went back to the thicker glass. We may be seeing something like that here, but I really have no idea for sure.
 
"Soft" glass does sound weird. Thin glass, maybe. I had a 2006 Civic that had a giant windshield: the largest Honda had ever used in the entire company history. To keep weight down, they made it a bit thinner than it had been in previous years. They cracked, a lot. Caused a huge uproar on the forums. Everyone I know that had an early model replaced their windshield at least once. When they revised the model they went back to the thicker glass. We may be seeing something like that here, but I really have no idea for sure.

I thought the same thing about the glass and the paint. But it is what it is.
 
Tesla's windshield soft? Where do people get this kind of stuff... This is an impact fracture, the same would have happened to any windshield. Does Toyota make "soft glass" as well? Because I've gone through three windshields on my Toyota due to rock hits. What about GM, do they also have "soft glass"? Because my pickup truck's windshield must be soft as butter then, it has lots of cracks and the windshield needs to be replaced.

Someone gets a rock ding on their frunk hood and starts a thread about "soft paint"... someone is hit by a rock and the windshield cracks, and now we are reading about "soft glass". You know what, people? Cars hit things like rocks. It causes paint chips and cracked glass. It has nothing to do with soft anything. It has to do with physics and driving your car in actual driving conditions versus staring at it in a closed garage.

Even though the Model S is expensive, it is still subject to the same damaging effects of being on the road as any other car.

I agree 100% with this. People will find any excuse possible that pins the responsibility on someone else, other than just pure bad luck. Like the guy with two dented Rial Lagunas from hitting potholes, and he's convinced he got wheels from a "bad batch." Soft paint due to CA regulations, sure I can see that. But "soft glass"? Dubious, despite what other people might be claiming. Is there any actual, verifiable proof of this "soft glass" claim other than other forum posts from people who have "heard" that? I read all those linked posts on TM forums, and nobody there mentions "soft glass".

And even if this case is not an impact fracture, but rather a defect that stressed the glass during manufacturing (this is a documented issue), that still doesn't make it "soft glass".