Prius vulnerability to front windshield cracks

[wmf4265]

We bought an '08 Prius in Nov. '07 and now have a bit over 5000 miles on it --- no complaints till now. 12 days ago we had unusual high heat here in the Bay Area (~95 degrees) and my wife discovered late in the afternoon that an ~18 inch crack developed in the lower right side of the windshield, extending all the way into the right side gasket. The car had not been driven all day and was sitting in partial shade. Overnight, the crack extended another 4 inches but stopped growing since (and our normal foggy weather returned 10 days ago).

Upon (close) inspection of the full crack, one can discover a very tiny chip, less than 2 mm diameter and less than 1 mm deep about 2 cm from the side gasket. I took it to our Toyota dealer the next day and a service rep claimed that such cracks could develop from such tiny chips, especially if the chips were so close to the windshield edge. He said that this was not a design flaw, that our warranty would not cover this because it was considered road damage, and that we just were unlucky. Discussions with Toyota USA customer relations have been utterly fruitless so far as they will not even entertain the notion that a 1000$+ item should not be susceptible to essentially complete failure from such an (initially) tiny amount of damage.

My questions to the various gurus out there are (1) Is a Prius especially susceptible to such windshield failures from chips occurring close to the window edges? (2) Is it important to get the windshield replaced with OEM materials? We plan to keep the car 10 years or more if possible so we do not want to have additional problems due to a possibly shabby repair.


As a physical scientist, I am a bit shocked that the "safety margin" on such an expensive part is so poor --- in 80 years of combined driving, neither my wife nor I have ever had to replace a windshield (and we have been driving Camry's and Corolla's for the past 20 years) despite our share of stones and the like causing more than a couple pits on windshields.

Thanks!

[JimboK]

Sounds like a bit of bad luck, rather than any inherent vulnerability. It happens to all cars. The Honda CRV I replaced with the Prius had a windshield replaced about a year before I sold it, only to suffer another chip just before I sold it. I've had no problems with the Prius after 2.5 years.

Your comprehensive insurance should cover replacement, less your deductible. I don't know that it's so important to get OEM glass as it is to use a reputable glass shop. You want quality work, of course, and a good shop will use good materials.

[Ichiro]

Which dealer?

[galaxee]

the same safety glass is used in the prius as any other car. windshield chips make for windshield cracks, it's just a matter of how long you luck out before it happens. your insurance should be covering this, not your car's warranty.

[dogfriend]

Every cracked windshield that I have ever had always started from a chip within an inch of the edge of the glass. The windshield is under more stress near the edges, especially the bonded windshields that are used in modern cars.

I got a rock ding within the first month of owning the Prius, but it is about 9 or 10 inches away from the nearest edge. No crack so far.

I also have an 11 year old Ford Explorer that has 3 fairly large rock dings that were in the windshield when I bought it 9 years ago. I always planned to replace the windshield whenever it gets a running crack, but it never has. All of the dings are 5 inches or more from the nearest edge.

Your comprehensive policy on your auto insurance should cover a new windshield since it was the result of a rock ding.

[wmf4265]

Originally Posted by Ichiro

Which dealer?

Berkeley Toyota (from whom we bought this car and two previous cars).

Quotes from non-Toyota sources (e.g., Safelite) are less than half the price --- but should one worry about their expertise?

[ryanmorley]

Originally Posted by galaxee

the same safety glass is used in the prius as any other car.

This is not true.

The Prius comes with "High Solar Energy-Absorbing (HSEA) glass."

So the OEM glass does some work preventing the fading of interior surfaces and keeping the interior a bit cooler than your half price quotes will.

I don't know if whatever they've done to enhance the radiation absorption has also made the glass more brittle and prone to cracks, but it may be something to look into.

[bbald123]

I've replaced two windshields. One on a Dodge and one on a Cadillac. Both were done by independent shops and covered by insurance.

[morpheusx]

Originally Posted by wmf4265

Berkeley Toyota (from whom we bought this car and two previous cars).

Quotes from non-Toyota sources (e.g., Safelite) are less than half the price --- but should one worry about their expertise?

All the dealer does is send it down the street for those guys to do anyway. Actually that other place drives to the dealership and does it on the car dealership lot. Save the money, ask the dealer who they use to replace windshields then eliminate the middleman.

[Devil's Advocate]

Just sounds like bad luck.
I livve in Vegas, and it gets REALLY hot! Been over 120 in the shade and no cracking problems. No chips in the winshield though, which, knock on wood, aint bad for 145,000 miles.