Windshield Replacement help

[RandomJohnny]

Hi,

Got hit by a rock yesterday on the highway. Sounded like a bullet. 2 inch starburst chip upper left quandrant of driver's side line of site. I see some dark color in the circular portion of the chip so may be bullseye too from what I read.

After reading posts about this it seems there are many ways tesla has been handling this previous and past. I assumed that it would have be done at a service center including camera calibration. The latest posts I found indicated that safelight used to be able to get the windshield then were not able to.

So I called Travelers assuming this would be the process. To my surprise they put the local safelight shop on the line with me and they can order the windshield directly from Tesla and they can also do the camera calibration there. Has anyone heard of this?

Part of me says that I should probably trust safelight more with the windshield replacement anyway (since that is their specialty) but what about the camera calibration? Any thoughts? Also, my service center is 2 hours away so this would be way more convenient.

Thanks.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Hi,

Got hit by a rock yesterday on the highway. Sounded like a bullet. 2 inch starburst chip upper left quandrant of driver's side line of site. I see some dark color in the circular portion of the chip so may be bullseye too from what I read.

After reading posts about this it seems there are many ways tesla has been handling this previous and past. I assumed that it would have be done at a service center including camera calibration. The latest posts I found indicated that safelight used to be able to get the windshield then were not able to.

So I called Travelers assuming this would be the process. To my surprise they put the local safelight shop on the line with me and they can order the windshield directly from Tesla and they can also do the camera calibration there. Has anyone heard of this?

Part of me says that I should probably trust safelight more with the windshield replacement anyway (since that is their specialty) but what about the camera calibration? Any thoughts? Also, my service center is 2 hours away so this would be way more convenient.

Thanks.

Go to Tesla if you can.

Remember everyone. Tesla does not deal with insurance companies.

I'm getting my Rear Glass replaced by Tesla and my insurance company won't deal with Tesla. I have to pay Tesla and then have my insurance company reimburse me.

 

[roblab]

I can't imagine that Safelite can't do the same job that Tesla can. I have all my repairs done at a body shop about 5 miles from me. Tesla SC is 115 miles away. I have always had great work done at a better price (like about 2/3) than Tesla. There is nothing magical about Tesla, and Safelite surely can calibrate a camera. Many cars have cameras now, so it's not like it's special.

 

[JFChenger]

I can't imagine that Safelite can't do the same job that Tesla can. I have all my repairs done at a body shop about 5 miles from me. Tesla SC is 115 miles away. I have always had great work done at a better price (like about 2/3) than Tesla. There is nothing magical about Tesla, and Safelite surely can calibrate a camera. Many cars have cameras now, so it's not like it's special.

Not sure if you can answer this, so might be a question for the forum in general. Will this effect any future warranty claims?

 

[Garlan Garner]

I can't imagine that Safelite can't do the same job that Tesla can. I have all my repairs done at a body shop about 5 miles from me. Tesla SC is 115 miles away. I have always had great work done at a better price (like about 2/3) than Tesla. There is nothing magical about Tesla, and Safelite surely can calibrate a camera. Many cars have cameras now, so it's not like it's special.

Whether Safelite can do the same job Tesla can doesn't seem to be the problem.

Tesla will not sell their glass to Safelight. Period.

AND if you want to keep your Tesla warranty....then you will just have to do what Tesla says.

 

[RandomJohnny]

So according to the Safelight tech I spoke to today they can order the glass directly from Tesla. In fact, he said he had to otherwise my warranty would be voided. So maybe something has changed again recently. He said it takes about 2 weeks to get it shipped from Tesla.

 

[KingTito]

I needed to have my windshield replaced. Safelite did it. They worked with my insurance company. Ordered the glass from Tesla. It showed up in about a week IIRC and they scheduled me the next day it showed up.

Then did a great job. I watched the tech and chatted with him for a bit. He was a pro. Very careful.

AP etc worked great right after. I went to the Tesla SC and the tech told me the 3’s don’t need anything done typically after glass replacement. It will “relearn”.

 

[RandomJohnny]

Thanks for the replies. Woke up this morning and the 2inch starburst has extended out to the edge of the glass and about 1.5 feet towards the middle of the glass.

It isn't easy to get a hold of Tesla Service because you gotta schedule service first, etc...so I decided it just going to be easier to use safelight and I don't want to drive 2 hours on the hwy with compromised glass. Safelight ordered the glass today so hopefully it will get here in the next week.

For what it is worth, the rep I spoke to today at Travelers/Safelight was told previously that Tesla glass could not be obtained by Safelight. She called again and verified that that is not the case anymore and Safelight can order with no issues.

Any safety issues with driving around with a big crack like this? I'm not too concerned about the glass shattering but more about the structural integrity of the car.

 

[ngogas]

That is what I heard. The camera will calibrate by itself after driving for a bit. Like ap camera calibration when new.

 

[jamessmooth007]

they can order the windshield directly from Tesla and they can also do the camera calibration there

What's the cost for a new windshield run?

 

[KingTito]

What's the cost for a new windshield run?

The Safelite invoice I received was paid by insurance directly but showed ~$700 for the glass. $175 for labor. IIRC.

 

[RandomJohnny]

Just another update, fyi. Started to look at google reviews of my local Safelight. Ugh, not good (even though I know it usually only the negative that makes reviews). But some of the stuff I was reading made me kinda panic.

I did an online chat with Tesla (which actually worked better than I thought, except for the for keyboard stroke input). They contacted the Charlotte service center and they outsource to Safelight but they just have Safelight come to the service center. According to the Tesla rep I chatted with they have a good relationship with the Safelight there. He did say that CLT expects at least a 2 week delivery time for the windshield.

All in all, just going to stick to my original plan by using local Safelight and maybe they will even get the part sooner. Hope there isn't anything too special about the Model 3 windshield that can be screwed up. I guess knowing that the service center uses them gives me hope they are trained company wide. This is problem with loving this car so much....it is hard to trust.

 

[KingTito]

Just another update, fyi. Started to look at google reviews of my local Safelight. Ugh, not good (even though I know it usually only the negative that makes reviews). But some of the stuff I was reading made me kinda panic.

I did an online chat with Tesla (which actually worked better than I thought, except for the for keyboard stroke input). They contacted the Charlotte service center and they outsource to Safelight but they just have Safelight come to the service center. According to the Tesla rep I chatted with they have a good relationship with the Safelight there. He did say that CLT expects at least a 2 week delivery time for the windshield.

All in all, just going to stick to my original plan by using local Safelight and maybe they will even get the part sooner. Hope there isn't anything too special about the Model 3 windshield that can be screwed up. I guess knowing that the service center uses them gives me hope they are trained company wide. This is problem with loving this car so much....it is hard to trust.

I was in the same boat. Very apprehensive. Just talk to people. Set expectations about what you want and the quality of work you expect. Ask if they have someone who is an experienced tech. The manager of my local safelite said “Dave” does all the Tesla’s and high end cars. Met him and he was great.

 

[RandomJohnny]

good idea, thank you

 

[RandomJohnny]

So I get an email from Travelers/Safelight to confirm they ordered a Model S glass for me. OMG>

 

[RandomJohnny]

Ok, so after finding out the wrong glass was ordered and looking at my local safelite's awful google reviews I said screw it I'm gonna drive and spend a day in Charlotte just to feel better about this. I also watched a video of how windshields are replaced so I thought to myself I do not want to be a guinea pig in this situation.

So at least the Safelight utilized by the Charlotte service center will have experience and be supervised by Tesla. If anything goes wrong like interior/exterior damage, etc....Tesla will have to fix. I won't have to worry about any warranty issues if something goes wrong and I needed them to fix my off center steering wheel anyway. I hope it really doesn't take the 2 weeks they say it does to get the windshield. Each Service Center should stock 2 of each model's windshield for rapid replacement. Maybe this should be suggested to Elon on twitter.

Wish me well

 

[jamessmooth007]

@RandomJohnny very sorry to hear about you getting the run around, but sure do appreciate you updating us on what’s happening. Hoping for a good outcome for you!

 

[SMAlset]

Good luck and hope the wait isn't long. I would be very careful about rapid temperature changes on your windshield. Like car sitting in the sun and then A/C hitting it. It will spread the crack. Happened to me.

Depending on your area of the country I have read on here that Safelite does replace some Tesla windshields.

 

[RandomJohnny]

Thanks for comments. Just a final update. Dropped off model 3 on Wednesday and got a loaner S100D. Picked up Thursday morning and all looked good. Also got an alignment (had steering wheel a notch to right since delivery) and they corrected charge port door so it is completely flush. My first service center experience and it was excellent.

I'm very happy that I changed course and brought it to Tesla for this. The service rep told me that they are in the process of training safelite and another local charlotte company. He said that safelite will actually come to the service center to remove the windshield when the service center is very busy because safelite has a machine that makes removal much faster. In a couple years I'd be okay with my local safelite but this was the right move for today.

Btw, super happy about getting a tesla loaner making the hwy drive back and forth a breeze. But wow the model 3 just blows that car away in almost every category imo especially ergonomics. I don't know how anyone can justify spending 100k on that if they drive both cars.