M3 Windshield Replacement on Eastside

[TunaBug]

I got in the car this morning and noticed a crack over 18 inches long extending from a chip. Can anybody recommend glass shops to use or to avoid? Distance to the shop would be measured from my office near the main Microsoft campus, but I don't mind drive 20 miles to get it done and perhaps TMC would benefit from a list of current decent glass shops.

At this point I haven't called anybody and have no clue if this is something I can get done on short notice or if I have to wait two weeks for glass to arrive. I was going to say "It would be nice if they could bill it directly to State Farm", but I would think anybody who can't afford a computer for that in 2023 is probably best avoided?

Not sure of the proper necro etiquette on this, there are a couple of five year old threads without much information, and obviously now 5+ years old.

 

[supergeek]

I had safelite down on bel-red do a windshield in our S for about half of what Tesla quoted us. $700 vs. $1200. The job we got had air leaks in the seal and had to be patched up with about a 3 week wait and 30 minute drive for a 5 minute repair. 0/10 experience.

We have a pre-AP car. I believe with the AP cars you have to go to a Tesla certified shop so they can recalibrate the AP cameras.

 

[Mrbrock]

I had safelite down on bel-red do a windshield in our S for about half of what Tesla quoted us. $700 vs. $1200. The job we got had air leaks in the seal and had to be patched up with about a 3 week wait and 30 minute drive for a 5 minute repair. 0/10 experience.

We have a pre-AP car. I believe with the AP cars you have to go to a Tesla certified shop so they can recalibrate the AP cameras.

Check Reddit. People say safelite orders parts from Tesla so any savings would be on labor and that means an inferior job likely. Just schedule it in your app and they may even come to you.

 

[TunaBug]

I ended up doing it through safelite. Safelite was a two week wait, Tesla almost four. No problems so far. I don't recall the initials on the glass, it's certainly not a Tesla logo, but I don't recall what the original said.

The experience was fine, except that it sat at the lot until ~4:30PM while it was "calibrating" (Safelite's term). I'm not sure what that was: they didn't drive it to recalibrate the cameras. A Tesla service tech drove into the lot in their MS, parked, never got out of the car, drove off after about 5 minutes, and then my car and the other Teslas in the lot all magically finished calibration according to the Safelite receptionist. I don't know WTF that was about. The last part was bizarre enough to make me wish I had just waited the extra time to get Tesla to do it.

I don't buy the idea that Tesla techs will automatically do a better job. I've been to that Safelite with other cars to get chip repairs or handhold somebody else dropping it off, and the lot always has several Teslas in there. My guess is the Safelite techs have at least as much experience replacing Tesla windshields than the Tesla service center, at least at the Bellevue shop. Yes, I realize that does not necessarily mean better.

 

[Mrbrock]

I ended up doing it through safelite. Safelite was a two week wait, Tesla almost four. No problems so far. I don't recall the initials on the glass, it's certainly not a Tesla logo, but I don't recall what the original said.

The experience was fine, except that it sat at the lot until ~4:30PM while it was "calibrating" (Safelite's term). I'm not sure what that was: they didn't drive it to recalibrate the cameras. A Tesla service tech drove into the lot in their MS, parked, never got out of the car, drove off after about 5 minutes, and then my car and the other Teslas in the lot all magically finished calibration according to the Safelite receptionist. I don't know WTF that was about. The last part was bizarre enough to make me wish I had just waited the extra time to get Tesla to do it.

I don't buy the idea that Tesla techs will automatically do a better job. I've been to that Safelite with other cars to get chip repairs or handhold somebody else dropping it off, and the lot always has several Teslas in there. My guess is the Safelite techs have at least as much experience replacing Tesla windshields than the Tesla service center, at least at the Bellevue shop. Yes, I realize that does not necessarily mean better.

The Tesla tech probably reset something software wise so the car would know to recalibrate as you were driving. Saved you from having to dig through menus to do this. They should give hounthe option instead of making you wait around all day.

 

[TunaBug]

The Tesla tech probably reset something software wise so the car would know to recalibrate as you were driving. Saved you from having to dig through menus to do this. They should give hounthe option instead of making you wait around all day.

They may have reset something, but it was not to trigger the normal camera recalibration that happens while driving. Autopilot worked as soon as I got in the car.

And it would be silly business decision to hold up customers, getting them cranky in the waiting room, on account of waiting for a Tesla tech to drive by and activate that recalibration. Even if not all customers can find it in the menus, it would take any Safelite tech only a second to activate it.

 

[Mrbrock]

They may have reset something, but it was not to trigger the normal camera recalibration that happens while driving. Autopilot worked as soon as I got in the car.

And it would be silly business decision to hold up customers, getting them cranky in the waiting room, on account of waiting for a Tesla tech to drive by and activate that recalibration. Even if not all customers can find it in the menus, it would take any Safelite tech only a second to activate it.

Any other ideas on what a Tesla tech could do that would require them to be within a few hundred feet or your car and would only take a minute or two to do before Safelite would release the car? Nothing that isn't a "silly business decision" comes to mind right now.

 

[TunaBug]

Any other ideas on what a Tesla tech could do that would require them to be within a few hundred feet or your car and would only take a minute or two to do before Safelite would release the car? Nothing that isn't a "silly business decision" comes to mind right now.

Not a clue unfortunately. Like you, I can only think of silly business decisions.

Anything a Tesla tech can do to my car while sitting in his car is going to be via software connecting through servers at HQ, right? Which would imply that the tech could do it from anywhere.

Are there public service manuals for the car? Can I read through Tesla's instructions for windshield replacement? That might provide a clue.

 

[Rocky_H]

We just had the windshield replaced yesterday on our Y. It was about $1300 from the Tesla service center, while Safelite quoted about $3000. Not bad from Tesla service.

 

[TunaBug]

We just had the windshield replaced yesterday on our Y. It was about $1300 from the Tesla service center, while Safelite quoted about $3000. Not bad from Tesla service.

Wow that's a huge difference. I think Safelite did my 3 for $1400. I assume your difference has more to do with your Boise Safelite shop than any difference between 3 and Y.

 

[TunaBug]

I fear that I am going to turn into an example of what NOT to do.

Yesterday evening was the first rain since my new windshield, at least the first rain that I've driven in. The passenger wiper was smacking again the hood lid on every downstroke. I pulled over to examine, the wiper arm was poking above the hood and definitely smacks it every instead of sliding under the hood. Paint is of course chipped. The little plastic/rubber cover that that hides the nut holding on the wiper arm is missing, and (I'm guessing) the nut was never screwed down enough.

I finished the drive home with wipers mostly off, but it was heaving enough that I occasionally needed to tap the button to get a single wipe. After a couple of more times the wiper arm no longer rotates at all: you can see the nut turn back and forth, so it's trying to turn the arm, but the arm is loose enough that it does not turn. Short term that might be a good thing: less smacking against the hood and I can wipe the left side if it rains again.

I haven't contacted Safelite yet. Since I was hooked up with them via State Farm I want to go through insurance for this, hoping that if they feel some pain with recommending Safelite that they can have more overall impact. And while I expect Safelite might fix the wiper, I certainly don't expect them to patch the paint.

I am assuming this problem is related to Safelite, but still working on following up with them. It could be that Safelite has nothing to do with this. But the timing is suspect and I'm guessing, in hindsight, that it may be normal for them to remove the wiper arms when changing the windshield. I feel foolish for not noticing this myself, but it never occurred to me to examine wiper alignment after getting a new windshield.