A *Different* Cracked Windshield

[Denarius]

My glass has been great. I've had several impacts, and a couple of small chips, but nothing large.

I live right next to a gravel pit, the trucks leaving drop rocks all over the road. I typically replace at least one windshield a year. I started replacing them yearly right before inspection because they were usually cracked again within weeks.

I'm coming up on 11 months with my Model S and no cracks so far. I'm pleased.

 

[Doug_G]

I was told this by 3 people, service tech at Tesla, glass company in Portland that replaces Tesla windshields every month and by Geico that has had many claims for this exact thing. And it's a pretty known fact that Tesla's paint is soft.

Whether the paint is soft or not has absolutely nothing to do with the windshields. FWIW that looks like an impact, and a loud sound would reinforce that. Remember car windshields are laminated layers with plastic in between to keep the pieces from flying round in an accident. So impact damage may sometimes look a little strange.

As for "soft paint", the interval between manufacture and delivery for Tesla is much shorter than for other brands. Typically other cars sit in lots for months before they are delivered. During that time the paint hardens. Wait a few months and you'll find the paint is much tougher.

 

[wycolo]

They are all near the edge. The 2 laminations had mfg tensions or other issues that slight (normal) frame flexing or temp changes provoked this response. Way outside the bell curve of expectations.
--

 

[jerry33]

If the glass was soft, wouldn't that imply better rock resistance because it would give rather than break? Thinner or brittle might be better terms (assuming there is a difference).

 

[ElSupreme]

I will have to agree. That looks 100% like impact damage.

I also do not think the Model S glass is 'soft'. I went through 3 windshields in my GTI in 7.5 years. Because it pitted really badly, never cracking, and never taking even any gravel hits.. After 2-3 years it was so hard to drive into the sun as the glare on the hundreds of tiny pits was impossible.

I looked up all sorts of stuff on 'soft glass' because I had never had this problem before. I found tons of different makes asking about the same questions MB, BMW, VW, Honda, Toyota.

In reality I drove my GTI much faster than any other car I had ever had. I was driving much more in terms of distance. And the rocks/sand in Atlanta are much denser and harder than the sand and rocks in Fl. Speed and worse rocks/sand were the culprit. Not my glass.

 

[iKhalid]

OK, let's move on. Please no more drama .

I just got a quote from Toronto Service Centre. $1300 plus taxes.

 

[gmark2000]

So how does one get impact damage from the interior crack?

 

[Gizmotoy]

My guess is the inner layers of the glass are less resilient than the outer. As mentioned, mine sounded very similar. A little cave about 3/4" in diameter was carved out of the interior of the glass, but the exterior was nearly flawless except for a pinpoint impact location I was only able to find using the ballpoint pen trick. This just seems to be how this glass is failing, at least over there in that location.

 

[ABVA]

Super fast and super courteous.

Windshield replaced;
Titanium Under-shield Installed; and
FW upgraded to 5.9 (1.51.96)

Thanks, Tesla Rock---ville, MD
:biggrin:

 

[William13]

This looks like an impact fracture.

The impact was on the outside but the force causes the cracks on the inside. This is similar to Gunshot wounds. The entrance wound is much, much smaller than the exit wound. The exit typically has a star/stellate appearance. The entrance typically looks smaller than the bullet.

The windshield has had quite a few stress fractures reported on the forums. This does not mean the glass is necessarily soft or weak. It could be the installation method and torsional strains.

The paint IS softer on the Model S. This is unrelated to windshields.

 

[pbleic]

Is it possible to have the window replaced through one of the many glass companies? Or do you have to go to Tesla Service?

 

[iKhalid]

Is it possible to have the window replaced through one of the many glass companies? Or do you have to go to Tesla Service?

I called many and none got it.

 

[NigelM]

Mod Note: enough of the discussions about other people. One more and all comments on the subject will get quarantined....

P.S. If you're quick you can edit a post immediately after posting it, I think it takes about 20secs to register. After that all edited posts show a small note at the bottom indicating who did the editing and at what time. End of discussion on the whole "he said, she said" thing.

- - - Updated - - -

Aaaand they all got quarantined to snippiness

 

[AmpedRealtor]

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".

Tesla had a bunch of windshields crack in the early deliveries because of how the windshields were mounted. It either had to do with the type of adhesive used or uneven pressure at the time the glass was mounted to the car. Those issues have long been resolved, but did result in a lot of cracked windshields where the crack - a long line - would emanate from one of the extreme edges. This is clearly not the same as impact damage and has nothing to do with the hardness or softness of the glass that is being used.