What the hell is wrong with auto glass these days?

I'm assuming they do. My replacement windshield did. The original didn't have one. The windshield install guy was worried I'd reject it and I told him 'No prob... Might come in handy one day..'

 

Safelite wants $300 to replace the windshield AND $300 to calibrate the camera under my insurance.

 

I edited my post . Wife owns a Camry

 

Yeah, where I went ... Just the windshield glass wasn't all that bad... It was the camera realignment that racked up the $$ on it.

 

MMmmmmmm... I would disagree. It actually saved my ass once from hitting a deer. Driving at night (Pitch black country road) through patchy fog. It saw the deer WAY before I saw it. So I'll give it credit for that..

 

We have a 22 T4R TRD Sport, the rear glass seems pretty solid in there, doesn't rattle or anything.

 

I am on my 4th windshield in just over a year. I have had it done at Toyota with OEM glass each time but my glass is like a rock magnet and I have been pelted with chips on this 4th one until I finally got another crack last week. Number 5 will be coming soon. I have glass breakage so no deductible and unlimited but its pretty bad how often I get hit. Never experienced this up until this truck.

 

I do autoglass for a living, and let me tell you. the whole deal with the 'recalibration' (as its professionally called) is absolutely terrible. In order for us to be able to keep up with the times, and be able to do the newer windshields, I had to buy the software and calibration machines for my company, and let me tell you. $30,000 for the setup. just to be able to tell the computer that 'yeah. there's a new windshield and you need to relearn how to look at things.' I'm lucky that I have enough cars coming through for stuff that I'm able to drop prices down to $250 a car for a recal, but its crazy. just in the last 2 weeks alone, I've had to do 40 4runners. something about the angle of the windshield, they break more often than any other car I have ever seen.

 

Oh, I absolutely believe that... It sucks that a shop has to drop $30K on a piece of equipment that does one thing, and one thing only. That's a big hunk of change. But nobody can expect you to just eat the cost ... Soooo .... There ya go.

 

I mean there is one good thing about it. The programming and calibrations,, I can recalibrate everything on a car, and that’s on any car. If someone has bigger tires? Recalibrate the Speedo. Along with the full diagnostics of everything. A pretty nice side benefit of it all, not gonna lie

 

OK, well if it's multipurpose that helps ease the pain of the price tag a bit I suppose. I would think it's still a bit of a hit when you think 'If I don't buy this, I cant service 20XX+ rigs anymore..'

 

Take a very good look at the crack I'll bet you will find a chip and it will be in the black area at the bottom. The glass is glued in there, it is very ridged and has no give. It is all about safety It is very common on any thing with glued in glass.

 

Some tint shops have a clear film for windshields that repels uv light, that might help……and just be glad it’s not a Tesla, the windshield is the roof and back glass all in one, $2500 labor only to replace by a Tesla certified glass shop only!

 

Had a rock chip that turned into crack the other day. Need a new windshield, right? Well...

I bought the truck in Denver when I lived there and the dealer sold me a PermaPlate glass warranty. I bought it because glass coverage on my auto policy was real expensive. Now I live in Phoenix and have cheap glass coverage. However, I still had the PermaPlate. So, I thought I would use it since I paid $650 for it. They sent me to Safelite.

Requested and was assured I would receive OEM glass. Made the appointment. No mobile service? OH...because of camera calibration?...okay, sure. Get it replaced and go to pick it up and was it OEM glass? Fuck no! Was it calibrated? Fuck no! "Can't calibrate a lifted truck."

Pissed off, I went straight to Toyota dealer while talking to my Allstate agent regarding my glass coverage. It is ZERO deductible, I can get OEM glass, and their provider will calibrate a lifted truck. Okay...rolled into the dealer and they say, "sure, we have a glass guy, we can put in OEM, and we can calibrate up to 3" lift."

So...WTF is up with Safelite?

Here's the good news: the Chinese windshield is fine, clean and not wavy anywhere. Also, no codes or errors of any kind and all camera/sensors work fine. Dealer says, no need to recalibrate if it's not throwing codes. I got lucky, sort of. So ultimately, all is well and I'll keep it until it breaks and...it will.

Moral of the story? Never go to Safelite. Ever. Get good glass coverage on your auto policy.

 

Its one of the reasons i don't wash my truck. Many years ago on a toyota pickup i was in a hurry one very cold frosty morning, so i poured a bucket of hot water on the windshield instead of scraping it, or gradually defrosting it. Learned the expensive way...windshield cracked.

 

This doesn't sound like you have a problem with Safelite; you had a problem with your glass protection that you bought. Your agreement with them states OEM windshield replacement or "like-kind". They gave you what you paid for. Its common practice for 'most' policies or protection plans to use OEM 'equivalent' (aka Safelite or others), unless the model vehicle is so new that aftermarket parts aren't available, at which point they'd use OE glass. Side note, whats the brand of glass Safelite put in? Also to note, "we have a glass guy" in more cases than not, means "we contract our glass work out, often to Safelite..", or other glass companies/individuals; BUT, some dealers do have an actual Toyota employee for glass (who probably got his start at Safelite ).

 

Welcome to life....

 

hard to escape the Safelite empire

 

Nope. Wrong.

 

They did our prius windshield for $400 last year.