Alas, new problem: Windshield Stress Fracture. Anyone else?

[mknox]

this morning I did preheat my car for a few minutes and noticed that even with the climate set on floor all of the air was coming out of the defrost vents? 5.8 bug?

That would be my preference, actually and is how my previous cars with Remote Start worked. They would also activate the rear defroster too if the temperature was below some pre-determined value. In the winter, the primary reason for remote start, or remote HVAC control is to start clearing the windshield of frost/ice. There is no way this should cause glass to crack or every vehicle in Canada would be driving around with broken windshields!

 

[cwerdna]

ugh, I can't believe this is still happening. I feel like they should have done a recall if this was widespread and they knew what was causing it.

Recalls are generally for safety-related defects or non-conformance w/FMVSS. I don't think this issue falls under either of those.

 

[jerry33]

There is no way this should cause glass to crack or every vehicle in Canada would be driving around with broken windshields!

Go to Edmonton or Winnepeg. Lots of cracked windshields, and many that have just been replaced Ideally during the thirty minute cycle there would be a ten or so minutes to just warm the cabin and gently bring the glass up to around freezing and then the defrost would kick on. That method wouldn't crack the glass.

 

[mknox]

Go to Edmonton or Winnepeg. Lots of cracked windshields, and many that have just been replaced Ideally during the thirty minute cycle there would be a ten or so minutes to just warm the cabin and gently bring the glass up to around freezing and then the defrost would kick on. That method wouldn't crack the glass.

Probably from the rock salt and/or sand they use there hitting the glass, not from heating. It gets plenty cold here in Ontario (was about -2 F just last week)
and I've never heard of windshield glass cracking from defrosting. Usually it's a stone chip that gets some water in it and freezes. Just about every ICE with Remote Start turns on the front and rear defrosters by default when it is cold regardless of where the driver left the settings. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's gotta be pretty rare.

 

[CaptDaveHowe]

I have almost the exact crack, from the same area (passenger side) from the far edge and proceeding upwards about 5-6 inches. I did call Tesla here in NY, and as normal too action right away. They made an appointment for a service call to replace the windshield under warranty. I noticed mine in the morning, right after a drop in temperature over night.

 

[Vger]

As OP, it is perhaps worth posting that almost one year in, and after a number of big freeze/thaw cycles, the replacement windshield is holding up fine.

 

[wycolo]

MS has NO protection over the edge of windshield glass. I've never seen this before. Maybe this is now common practice? If a grain of sand or small pebble is tossed by a truck and hits the unprotected edge of the glass, a crack could easily be generated. Only takes a microscopic scratch if it is close enough to the very corner. Time, temperature and body flex will complete the process.
--

 

[Bucket22]

I just had the same L-shape crack show up on my previously replaced windshield. Over the summer, I had a crack develop on the passenger side while the car was outside at the Villa Park service center in the sun on a 90F day. They replaced it under warranty. After driving in and parking all day in Tuesday's -16F temps here in Chicago, I have a crack in the driver's side. Will this one be covered under warranty as well (assuming there's no chip found -- it looks like a smooth crack running in from the side), or was the warranty coverage only for the relatively early-VIN windshield that I have already had replaced?

 

[PaceyWhitter]

Probably from the rock salt and/or sand they use there hitting the glass, not from heating. It gets plenty cold here in Ontario (was about -2 F just last week)
and I've never heard of windshield glass cracking from defrosting. Usually it's a stone chip that gets some water in it and freezes. Just about every ICE with Remote Start turns on the front and rear defrosters by default when it is cold regardless of where the driver left the settings. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's gotta be pretty rare.

It is probably caused by chips, but chips can stay unnoticed for a while, especially if they are near the edge of the windshield. A change in temperature can then cause the windshield chip to spider or produce a huge crack.

 

[Handsonn]

I had the exact same stress crack last week. Same location exactly too. Tesla replaced it no questions asked. My car is one year old next week.

 

[mnx]

I just had the car at the airport for 5 days, it got a bunch of snow on it so I cranked the heat to HI when the plane landed... I restarted the heat while waiting for my bags. The snow hadn't really melted, but it did make it much easier to clean off. I think there was a ~40C difference between the interior of the car and the outside temp. I drove home, parked the car overnight in the garage and noticed a giant crack in the windscreen this afternoon. I don't remember anything impacting the windshield on the drive home, but I tried running a ball point pen along the crack and it did stick in one spot, there's a tiny circle there I wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

Not sure if I'll be on the hook for this, but I definitely will not be setting the heat to HI again to clear off snow! I remember when I was a kid, my dad had a windshield shatter on a combine on a hot summer day with the AC cranked.....

 

[RDoc]

There's something wrong with these windshields.

I've lived in cold climates my entire life and have never heard of a windshield cracking from heat, if Tesla windshields do, there's something wrong with them.

Likewise tiny dings in windshields do not normally crack them unless you are exceptionally unlucky. If they are that fragile the design is wrong.

 

[jerry33]

I've lived in cold climates my entire life and have never heard of a windshield cracking from heat, if Tesla windshields do, there's something wrong with them.

When I lived in Canada, this was a common occurrence, I'd saw lots of cars with a thermal crack. The solution was to preheat the car but not use the defrosters until the glass had a chance to warm up gracefully.

 

[mknox]

When I lived in Canada, this was a common occurrence, I'd saw lots of cars with a thermal crack. The solution was to preheat the car but not use the defrosters until the glass had a chance to warm up gracefully.

I'm sorry, but I do live in Canada and have been driving here for almost 40 years. I've had my share of cracked windshields, but ALL were due to flying debris. I regularly start my cars and crank the defrost on high, sometimes for hours... long enough to melt layers of ice, and have never had a so-called "thermal crack". I've done this for years as did my father before me. I have never known anyone here who suffered a broken windshield due to the application of the defrosters.

I'm not saying it has never happened, but it's got to be very rare. What does happen a lot is when a very minor chip is left unattended and then water gets in and freezes, a huge crack can result. That happened on my wife's Vibe two winters ago, and I kicked myself for not having the small chip repaired before the winter.

I got a chip in my Model S's glass when the tiniest piece of stone (more like a grain of sand) bounced off the glass last summer. I was kinda surprised that a chip resulted from such a minor impact, but in any event, I had the chip repaired the same day it happened. So far, my windshield is holding.

If we can't use the Model S's app to pre-heat and defrost the car in winter, what good is it?

 

[jerry33]

I'm sorry, but I do live in Canada and have been driving here for almost 40 years. I've had my share of cracked windshields, but ALL were due to flying debris. I regularly start my cars and crank the defrost on high, sometimes for hours... long enough to melt layers of ice, and have never had a so-called "thermal crack". I've done this for years as did my father before me. I have never known anyone here who suffered a broken windshield due to the application of the defrosters.

I'm not saying it has never happened, but it's got to be very rare. What does happen a lot is when a very minor chip is left unattended and then water gets in and freezes, a huge crack can result. That happened on my wife's Vibe two winters ago, and I kicked myself for not having the small chip repaired before the winter.

I got a chip in my Model S's glass when the tiniest piece of stone (more like a grain of sand) bounced off the glass last summer. I was kinda surprised that a chip resulted from such a minor impact, but in any event, I had the chip repaired the same day it happened. So far, my windshield is holding.

If we can't use the Model S's app to pre-heat and defrost the car in winter, what good is it?

You're right that most do start with a rock or other debris and the heater just finishes the job.

 

[mnx]

I just had the car at the airport for 5 days, it got a bunch of snow on it so I cranked the heat to HI when the plane landed... I restarted the heat while waiting for my bags. The snow hadn't really melted, but it did make it much easier to clean off. I think there was a ~40C difference between the interior of the car and the outside temp. I drove home, parked the car overnight in the garage and noticed a giant crack in the windscreen this afternoon. I don't remember anything impacting the windshield on the drive home, but I tried running a ball point pen along the crack and it did stick in one spot, there's a tiny circle there I wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

Not sure if I'll be on the hook for this, but I definitely will not be setting the heat to HI again to clear off snow! I remember when I was a kid, my dad had a windshield shatter on a combine on a hot summer day with the AC cranked.....

I forgot to mention it's even more of a bummer since I had the windscreen tinted...

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

should be covered. I had no questions asked when I sent a picture just like yours. Did your windscreen have distortion on the bottom ~1"? mine cracked exactly the same as yours and it seemed like there was some sand/gravel nicks along the crack but cracking that easy is just not right + there is no way to turn down the temp- if the car is really cold and you set the temp to the lowest setting above 'min' it will blow raging hot air until the temp comes up, unless you actually go out to your car and try and change the blower speed / vent setting but I find that changing the vent setting doesn't work either if the car is cold and it will blow on the window regardless of what you try (I don't like this part of the Climate control at all)

 

[weccman]

Sorry to hear this is happening to some, but on the other side, my wife recently had a piece of 2 x 4 hit our windshield as she was driving on the freeway with such force that she expected the windshield to shatter. It did not, and there seems to be no damage at all. After washing the car, I could not even see where the debris collision occurred.

 

[TEG]

Related other thread:
Windshield chips?

 

[mnx]

Yeah they said via e-mail that they are going to cover it. I do have the distorted glass on the bottom 1" of the windshield.

should be covered. I had no questions asked when I sent a picture just like yours. Did your windscreen have distortion on the bottom ~1"? mine cracked exactly the same as yours and it seemed like there was some sand/gravel nicks along the crack but cracking that easy is just not right + there is no way to turn down the temp- if the car is really cold and you set the temp to the lowest setting above 'min' it will blow raging hot air until the temp comes up, unless you actually go out to your car and try and change the blower speed / vent setting but I find that changing the vent setting doesn't work either if the car is cold and it will blow on the window regardless of what you try (I don't like this part of the Climate control at all)