Windshield glass distortion - how much to rate replacement?

[StaceyR]

Shortly after my June '18 delivery I noticed my forward vision being distorted by imperfections in the windshield glass in the form of diagonal lines or ripples. I've tried living with it but find it more and more distracting to the point of contacting Tesla service to schedule an appointment to see if it warrants replacement while still under warranty.

I'm aware that defective windshield glass was an issue with some early M3 builds and would like to hear from those who have dealt with this issue and how it was resolved. Is a certain amount of distortion allowed with the windshield glass remaining "within specs"? I'd hate to waste a morning/day at my very busy Tesla service center only to be told to "suck it up" and live with it (in a nice way, of course). I wish I had noticed this and pointed it out during the delivery process but with the delivery center interior being mostly white it would have been difficult to detect not knowing exactly what to look for and where.

Any shared experiences and/or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[TeeEmCee]

Shortly after my June '18 delivery I noticed my forward vision being distorted by imperfections in the windshield glass in the form of diagonal lines or ripples. I've tried living with it but find it more and more distracting to the point of contacting Tesla service to schedule an appointment to see if it warrants replacement while still under warranty.

I'm aware that defective windshield glass was an issue with some early M3 builds and would like to hear from those who have dealt with this issue and how it was resolved. Is a certain amount of distortion allowed with the windshield glass remaining "within specs"? I'd hate to waste a morning/day at my very busy Tesla service center only to be told to "suck it up" and live with it (in a nice way, of course). I wish I had noticed this and pointed it out during the delivery process but with the delivery center interior being mostly white it would have been difficult to detect not knowing exactly what to look for and where.

Any shared experiences and/or advice would be greatly appreciated!

The only bit of advice I have is to do it right now, if you do want to have it addressed. Don't wait!
My feel is that the older the car gets, the more pushback you will receive.

I did notice some distortion at night (ghosting) with mine, but nothing obvious during the day. On the other hand, the distortion through the rear glass, when the heater is on, is comically bad (not much of an issue for me given the generally warm climate here).

Windshield issues do seem to be a Tesla thing though, I once had a Model X loaner with atrocious night-time ghosting.

 

[glide]

My model S windshield has terrible ghosting at night.

Tesla refuses to replace it.

 

[goitsme48]

I had exact same issue in the night with my rear glass (ghosting: distortion, fading away, vertical/horizontal lines). I tried to live with it for 2 months trying to make every adjustments (bought car late October 2018). I read quite a few folks had windshield or rear glass distortions

Luckily, I live only couple miles away from the Tesla store, told them what was happening and told them how I asked couple of my M3 friends to drive and see what I see (ghosting) and for most part, they agreed. I drove theirs during the night and found the rear glass to be clear.

Ten minutes into the conversation, the manager ordered the entire rear glass and said it will be couple weeks before it arrives in the store for install (mind well, this was mid December, peak time for Tesla when they were pushing for year end deliveries). But anyway, couple weeks later (Jan first week), I got the rear glass replaced and it is PERFECT.

Good Luck!!

Shortly after my June '18 delivery I noticed my forward vision being distorted by imperfections in the windshield glass in the form of diagonal lines or ripples. I've tried living with it but find it more and more distracting to the point of contacting Tesla service to schedule an appointment to see if it warrants replacement while still under warranty.

I'm aware that defective windshield glass was an issue with some early M3 builds and would like to hear from those who have dealt with this issue and how it was resolved. Is a certain amount of distortion allowed with the windshield glass remaining "within specs"? I'd hate to waste a morning/day at my very busy Tesla service center only to be told to "suck it up" and live with it (in a nice way, of course). I wish I had noticed this and pointed it out during the delivery process but with the delivery center interior being mostly white it would have been difficult to detect not knowing exactly what to look for and where.

Any shared experiences and/or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[rej0046]

I had a similar issue with my 2016 Model S when I picked it up. There was a ripple in the windshield right in front of the steering wheel. It distorted my view and was very distracting. I drove around with it for only a few weeks before calling Tesla. I took it into the service center and they confirmed the issue and replaced the windshield. The service was free and I got to drive a P100D with ludicrous mode for a few days. Overall, it was a really easy replacement and the service was great.

 

[AJMac]

I had the same issue in my July 2018 model 3 windshield. Distortion looked like ripples in the lines on the road. I tried to live with it, but eventually decided to bring it to Tesla service. They replaced it no issues in September or so.

 

[SirDubC]

Shortly after my June '18 delivery I noticed my forward vision being distorted by imperfections in the windshield glass in the form of diagonal lines or ripples. I've tried living with it but find it more and more distracting to the point of contacting Tesla service to schedule an appointment to see if it warrants replacement while still under warranty.

I'm aware that defective windshield glass was an issue with some early M3 builds and would like to hear from those who have dealt with this issue and how it was resolved. Is a certain amount of distortion allowed with the windshield glass remaining "within specs"? I'd hate to waste a morning/day at my very busy Tesla service center only to be told to "suck it up" and live with it (in a nice way, of course). I wish I had noticed this and pointed it out during the delivery process but with the delivery center interior being mostly white it would have been difficult to detect not knowing exactly what to look for and where.

Any shared experiences and/or advice would be greatly appreciated!

I took delivery at the end of March 2019, and have been waiting for a new windshield ever since. I took it in a few days after delivery to address the distorted windshield and some other stuff. I was able to crouch down on the driver side and look across to the passenger side to show them. One guy from the SC said it looked like a cheap piece of plastic, really made me feel good about my purchase. They still won't give me an ETA, pretty much radio silence. Pretty sad that it's taking this long. Love the car, but come on.

 

[srs5694]

I've also got some vertical rippling in my front windshield. It's restricted to the far right side (viewed from inside the car); maybe 1/5 or so of the windshield. It's less noticeable when viewed from the passenger seat, and in the passenger seat, there's nothing equivalent on the driver side. It's not bad enough for me to bother with, but I can see how some people might insist on a replacement.

FWIW, I had similar problems with a 2015 VW Golf, so this problem is not unique to Tesla. It occurs to me that my Golf was made in Mexico, and Tesla reports 25% Mexican parts on the Model 3, so I wonder if VW and Tesla might be using the same Mexican glass supplier, and they might have QC problems. Does anybody know about that? The answer wouldn't help resolve anything; I ask merely out of idle curiosity.