Cost? Windshield crack getting worse everyday - Bay Area CA

[Arunks]

Hi fellow Bay Area folks, I have picked up a stone that caused a small crack on my windshield in my model s 2022.
Now it keeps getting bigger everyday. In need of changing it.
Any recommendations? Also, should I call up insurance?

Thanks!

 

[krsgio]

Unsure what it cost but I think you can call your insurance if you want to pay your compressive deductible if its low enough to cover some the fee. For example, windshield = $1k and comp deductible is $500 saves you some money potentially. I have windshield insurance thru my provider state farm so don't know what out of pocket typically is.

 

[PCMc]

I went through similar situation about 8 months ago. Something like stone caught right on the edge of my windshield, what started as about a 4-6" crack was halfway across the windshield within just a few days. I have an AP1 version, so not exactly same configuration as your car, but the cost for windshield was about $1150 through my local Tesla service center.

Check your insurance. Many policies have a separate category for glass. In my case was just a $100 deductible with my insurance carrier covering the balance.

 

[djlott]

I literally just did this 3 days ago. Got a small chip and within 3 days, the crack was verticle up and down the entire driver's side. Probably could have had it repaired (vs. replace) had I called immediately but 2 days later it was fully cracked.

I looked up Safelite direct and it was $1700+. Got a quote from Tesla mobile and it was $1400 for my 2017 Model S ... and they came to my house to do the replacement. And for what it's worth, when I started the process of creating a claim for the replacement at my Insurance website (USAA), it was literally Safelite's wizard under the USAA logo. Safelite also takes insurance whereas Tesla does not (more on that below).

In CA, your insurance company cannot force you to use a specific repair shop, like Safelite, not that there's anything wrong with them. In my situation, I preferred to have an OEM perform the repair. I scheduled through Tesla mobile to have them perform it at my house and filed the claim for reimbursement right after. The biggest difference though is that you have pay up front and then get reimbursed after. Tesla does not take insurance payments unless you have insurance throughTesla.

One word of advice though, if you love your car like I do, do NOT watch the windshield replacement process. There is NOTHING sublte about it. Ignorance is bliss!

 

[airborne spoon]

a lot of insurance companies will do a crack repair for free. But if its on the drivers side it cant be repaired because some legal *sugar* about disturbing the viewing angle of the driver.

also a new windshield is about $1300 i had mine replaced a few months ago but it was free because $0 deductible is where its at.

 

[Crutonius]

Maybe that's a state thing. In Utah repairing a crack on the driver's side hasn't been an issue.

 

[Arunks]

@djlott thanks for the reply. Tesla service center is taking forever to respond, are there 3rd party installers like Safelite etc who can do this for a tesla?

 

[Sam1]

@djlott thanks for the reply. Tesla service center is taking forever to respond, are there 3rd party installers like Safelite etc who can do this for a tesla?

Safelite does it but they overcharge, and then they may try to talk you into using some substandard glass supplier and tell you it's "equal to OEM standards" but will probably be a wavy POS piece of glass.

I had to replace one on a model 3 two weeks before I sold it. Safelite initially said $1200, and Tesla was $1100 so not a big deal. Then the day before (A week after I set up the appointment) they were supposed to install they called and said they didn't have that glass, and that it would be $2100 to do it with Tesla OEM glass. When I said I had a work order from Tesla showing their glass was $1100 including install, they said I didn't know what I was talking about and hung up on me.

So I took it to Tesla two days later and got the new one installed for $1170 iirc. Safelite may be good for repairs, but I wouldn't trust them to replace the lens on my glasses after that BS they tried to pull with the price hike.

My guess is that they wanted me to claim it on my insurance that way I wouldn't care how much it cost. Even if I did claim it, I'm not letting my insurance pay someone double what the service center charges just because it doesn't come out of my pocket, that's ridiculously.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Safelite does it but they overcharge, and then they may try to talk you into using some substandard glass supplier and tell you it's "equal to OEM standards" but will probably be a wavy POS piece of glass.

It’s virtually impossible for another supplier to make a more wavy pos than what Tesla put in my 2023 MS. After being in hundreds or thousands of cars in my lifetime in many countries, including many 3rd world, I have never seen anything so bad. And people on here say they are all that way. I am ready to pay out of pocket for a no name aftermarket brand because it has to be better than the garbage Tesla glues to their flagship at their factory.

And Safelite are the worst people you can hire for repairs because they benefit with a replacement sale when their poor quality repairs fail.

———-

Safelite may be good for repairs, but I wouldn't trust them to replace the lens on my glasses after that BS they tried to pull with the price hike

 

[djlott]

@djlott thanks for the reply. Tesla service center is taking forever to respond, are there 3rd party installers like Safelite etc who can do this for a tesla?

Did you schedule a service in the app? I don't know what you mean by "taking forever". I scheduled service for Windshield Repair in the app on a Saturday morning and selected the following Friday for the appt time. I uploaded a pic of the crack (optional) and the repair was done on Friday as requested. There were earlier appts but I chose Friday for scheduling convenience.

Now, if you're referring to calling the service center, well then I'll wish you good luck with that. That method of communication goes against every manner in which Tesla wants to interact with their customers. But my mobile experience was as expected.

 

[Sam1]

It’s virtually impossible for another supplier to make a more wavy pos than what Tesla put in my 2023 MS. After being in hundreds or thousands of cars in my lifetime in many countries, including many 3rd world, I have never seen anything so bad. And people on here say they are all that way. I am ready to pay out of pocket for a no name aftermarket brand because it has to be better than the garbage Tesla glues to their flagship at their factory.

And Safelite is the worst people you can hire for repairs because they benefit with a replacement sale when their poor quality repairs fail.

Guess you won the lotto on a bad windshield. I drive a lot and would absolutely not accept one that has distortions in it. Came perfect from the factory in my refresh.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Guess you won the lotto on a bad windshield. I drive a lot and would absolutely not accept one that has distortions in it. Came perfect from the factory in my refresh.

I wish I was the only one. Others have had their wavy windshield replaced under warranty only to get another wavy windshield.

Maybe you won the lottery and got the only non wavy windhsield

 

[dark cloud]

I wish I was the only one. Others have had their wavy windshield replaced under warranty only to get another wavy windshield.

Maybe you won the lottery and got the only non wavy windhsield

Yup, that was me a couple of years ago. Tesla must have got a real large bad batch of windshields. The replacement had a distortion in the same spot, but a little less prominent. The one I have now is perfect though, hope it lasts, but where I am at they distribute so much gravel on the roads in the winter you are basically getting a new one every 2 years.

 

[Scrith]

I would avoid Safelite in Redwood City if at all possible. I had to take my Model Y there 4 separate times for a single windshield replacement, including two where it sat there all day only to be told they didn't have the part in stock or that the only windshield they had had a scratch on it (which caused me to have to take an uber back to pick it up when I said no).