Recent (2023) windshield replacement experience

JustAnotherPoorDriver said:
Just thought I'd give everybody my report of my Safelite appointment. Got there on time (midtown Manhattan is a total pain I should have grabbed an appointment in Queens) and they had the glass in stock without distortion, except it had an inclusion between the laminations. So they're going to have to order another windshield and I'm going to have to come back another day. Pilk made in Mexico windshield. Apparently their quality control is not great, and the fact that Safelite doesn't bother looking at it until you actually get in is also pretty trash.
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Darn! Sorry to hear that! Guess I got lucky here in Vegas. The only thing I've noticed in mine with the first day of strong sunlight was that there is a bit more reflection of the dash on the windshield than what I was used to notice with the original windshield.
 
coutinpe said:
Darn! Sorry to hear that! Guess I got lucky here in Vegas. The only thing I've noticed in mine with the first day of strong sunlight was that there is a bit more reflection of the dash on the windshield than what I was used to notice with the original windshield.
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I've always had a problem with reflection. I have a coverking dash cover which helps (although they had to make it 3 times before they got it not-backwards).
 
Another update: Got sick of waiting for the "manager" to call me to reschedule and so I went online. I can schedule Manhattan for tomorrow, but other sites not until next week, so I assume the system is counting on the parts they already have for the scheduling.

The phone people at Safelite have no idea, and when they (the safelite appointment ppl) tried to call the Manhattan Safelite location, there was no answer. I've now moved my appointment to another location about 2 weeks out. I really hope they don't just return that windshield to the warehouse and then try to install it on my car--I'll have to speak with the techs in LIC and have them inspect it, because no way will I take a windshield with something caught between the panes right in front of the driver...
 
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I fear myself when I am overly optimistic about something: I was pretty happy with my windshield replacement until today, when rain finally arrived to Vegas. To my surprise, when I activated the windshield wipers, the upper arm of the windshield wipers (the one that sweeps to the right) just jumps out of the windshield and hits the A-pillar. I looked into the manual on the part of wiper replacement and mentioned that turning the car on and then off with the wiper level pushed to the "MIST" position will set the wipers into "maintenance position", parallel to the A pillars. I did it, the wiper jumped outside the windshield and stayed riding on the A-pillar. I tried moving the arm manually back into the windshield area so it would lie on that "maintenance position" it should have been resting. I turned the car on, pressed MIST, the wipers went back to the "resting" position but then the upper arm swung back to the A pillar.Does anybody have an idea of how to fix this? (apart from taking the car to the dealer). Thanks!
 
They had to remove the wiper arm when they replaced the windshield (to remove the windshield base trim). It's usually bolted on to a toothed spline. I wonder if they just mounted it off a few degrees (so it's resting a few degrees off, and it's hitting the pillar on the other end). They probably don't run them once they remount, since your old wipers could scratch the new windshield, and they'd have to replace it.

Another thing I'll need to check after the work.

My guess is that you will need to unscrew the wiper arm, rotate it slightly, and then remount, but I may be wrong.
 
To add insult to injury... I decided to take the car to the dealer today since with my plain ignorance I didn't dare to try myself. The idi.. I mean, the person who received the car wanted me to show him what was going on. I did it. Then he did something to the arm and then asked me to activate the wipers again. The two arms collided with a horrible noise and then I saw something like a scratch on the windshield. I went into panic mode but the guy said "don't worry, it's not a scratch, just a rubber mark, it will go away". BTW, we also found at that point that the washer reservoir just became empty (that might have been part of the problem), which mean that in the previous "maintenances" they didn't bother to check/refill it (I have not used it too much). I wonder if they actually did the rest of the stuff they were supposed to do. Bottom line, they did the adjustment (probably what you mentioned), the wipers now work fine but... the "rubber mark" is still there, in spite of all the cleaning I did today, which just reduced it a little. I will try tomorrow a windshield scratch remover kit to see if I can get rid of it. And change the dealer... to the previous one who lost my key for three days when I first moved here. No more choices in Vegas. These are the few instances when I really regret leaving California... Imagine, that guy in the dealer was asking another fella if "these hybrids" actually pumped water to the windshield...
 
coutinpe said:
Then he did something to the arm and then asked me to activate the wipers again. The two arms collided with a horrible noise and then I saw something like a scratch on the windshield.
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Did that idiot try to manually reset the arm, thinking it would fix the problem?

coutinpe said:
BTW, we also found at that point that the washer reservoir just became empty (that might have been part of the problem), which mean that in the previous "maintenances" they didn't bother to check/refill it (I have not used it too much). I wonder if they actually did the rest of the stuff they were supposed to do.
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Can you offer an explanation of how the washer fluid level might impact the position of the wiper arms?

It’s possible that the dealer didn’t perform any of the work for which you were charged. You’ll never know. Next time, pop the hood and take a minute to do a visual inspection. You’ll know immediately if the washer reservoir is full.
 
Landshark said:
Did that idiot try to manually reset the arm, thinking it would fix the problem?

Yes, that idiot did that before I even had a chance to stop him. And he wasn't even the guy actually assigned to take care of the issue, he just was at the entrance trying to "help"...

Can you offer an explanation of how the washer fluid level might impact the position of the wiper arms?

Sorry, my language was unclear/incomplete. I didn't mean the empty washer had anything to do with the arm position, but with the scratch happening ("the problem" being blades running on dry glass).

It’s possible that the dealer didn’t perform any of the work for which you were charged. You’ll never know. Next time, pop the hood and take a minute to do a visual inspection. You’ll know immediately if the washer reservoir is full.
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Yes that's what I used to do in the S.H. where I used to live years ago, where I didn't trust the dealers doing their job right. Here it is the first time something like this happens to me in 15 years in America. I grew used to good jobs and got overconfident. Not anymore.
Bottom line, Now I need to choose between filing a claim with Safelite for the wrong arm adjustment or with the dealer for making the scratch. In the meantime I will try again to fix it myself and save me all the arguing. I found a site on the internet dealing with how to fix a scratch in a windshield.
https://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Scratches-from-a-Windshield
I tried the toothpaste solution, no dice, except removing all remaining "rubber" and exposing the scratch bare-naked. Fortunately, it didn't catch the fingernail. I ordered the windshield kit. It should arrive today. Let's see if I get lucky on St. Patrick's day...
 
Yet another update. The second Safelite location also had a defective windshield; may have been the same windshield or may be a different one I'm unclear (as is the windshield). This one has two inclusions. They're going to hold on to that defective windshield and order another one, so we don't get that one back.


At least at the Queens location they have a manager full time. I'll report again at the end of the week on my next trip there, but I have their phone number and I'm going to call them on Thursday (windshield ETA is Wednesday) and have them inspect the windshield before I bother coming in.
 
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JustAnotherPoorDriver said:
Yet another update. The second Safelite location also had a defective windshield; may have been the same windshield or may be a different one I'm unclear (as is the windshield). This one has two inclusions. They're going to hold on to that defective windshield and order another one, so we don't get that one back.


At least at the Queens location they have a manager full time. I'll report again at the end of the week on my next trip there, but I have their phone number and I'm going to call them on Thursday (windshield ETA is Wednesday) and have them inspect the windshield before I bother coming in.
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How much extra would an OEM windshield cost you? Will Safelite even offer that option?
 
insightman said:
How much extra would an OEM windshield cost you? Will Safelite even offer that option?
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Quite a bit more IIRC. They tried, but my insurance didn't cover it. If the next one is defective, I'm speaking with my insurance agent. This is a ridiculous waste of my time. Problem is, most insurance companies don't even handle their own glass claims--it's all outsourced to the same glass insurance provider.
 
Interesting. The Jeep windshield took a hit last week. The “bullet hit” became a top to bottom crack overnight. We requested OEM glass from USAA. No problem, same deductible. The work will be done by Safelite in a couple of weeks.
 
Landshark said:
Interesting. The Jeep windshield took a hit last week. The “bullet hit” became a top to bottom crack overnight. We requested OEM glass from USAA. No problem, same deductible. The work will be done by Safelite in a couple of weeks.
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How old is the Jeep? My understanding is that factory glass is usually fine for the first 2-3 years, then they stop approving it.
 
It’s a 2022. We’ve had it 6 months. USAA asked if non-OEM glass was acceptable. Since it’s a lease, and we may or may not buy it out, we didn’t want to risk returning it with non-OEM glass. It costs us the same either way. But I wouldn’t put it past the dealer to ding us for $1500 for turning it in with aftermarket glass.
 
On my side, I was able to make the scratch almost disappear. Two nights polishing glass with the cerium oxide kit and my drill. Now the scratch is only visible in certain angles at full sunlight, but from my driver's perspective it's undetectable. You wouldn't be able to see it if you don't know it's there. I was going to go a bit further with the polishing on a third session to try and make it disappear completely but my wife reminded me that the perfect is the enemy of the good and advised me to just leave it alone. After that, the dealer reached to me asking for a review and I expressed my disappointment with the clumsy handling. Three days later I got an e-mail from Sirius XM offering me a 3-month complimentary subscription courtesy of the dealer. Nice try on damage control but I'm not coming back...
 
Try three they seem to have gotten a fuyao (correction. It's a Pilkington-the worker told me wrong) and it seems to be fine.

The pre-receipt they sent me shows that the retail price of the windshield is $806.85, and they charge $476.04. Install is $180.40 and calibration is $385, plus $28 for the "kit" (trim?).


Glad to see that our windshields are no longer $2,000.

Update: no calibration available here because the new machines they use sit on top of the back tires and with our tire cut out, they can't do it. Have to deal with the dealer next week I guess. Wish they had told me that before they changed the glass as I might have asked the insurance company to just let the dealer do the whole thing.
 
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And a final note (hopefully). $719 at the dealer for calibration, so almost twice the rate of Safelite. unfortunately, Safelite is doing so much calibration now that they no longer have a bill-through relationship with the dealer. If there's a problem with the install and Safelite needs to redo it, I presume the insurance will have to pay for calibration again since the dealer isn't involved.

If true, that the wheel arches prevent the Safelite calibration machines...sigh.
 
I had my windshield replaced a couple of years ago with a Honda windshield from the dealer. It took about a month for the windshield to arrive so I used a crack repair kit to stop it from spreading. The total cost from the dealer including the camera calibration was about $2200.
 
Exceedingly depressing to have a rock chip which is now a crack in my new windshield today, not much more than 2 years after I started this thread.

Anyone have any 2025 experience so far? Last time Safelite could do the install, but because they're new calibration rig requires access to the rear wheels, the insurance company had to then send me to the dealer for recalibration.
 
I am having my windshield replaced tomorrow at the local Honda dealership. Safelight can't do the calibration because of the rear wheel skirts, so if you are going with OEM it is cheaper to go with the dealer. Although my insurance policy only covers aftermarket costs, I made the agrument to my insurance co. that it was too risky to go with aftermarket because of all of the reported problems. They agreed to pay the dealership estimate (less deductible) which is over $2,900.
 
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