Winshield chips/cracks

[badbimmer]

This is unbelievable. My windshield just cracked from a small pebble. 2017 m3 7000 miles. BMW is no longer using St. Gobain glass. They switched to a cheaper glass made by pilkington. My e92 used St. Gobain.

Why should we have to put "protective" shields on our windshields. An 80k car shouldn't have windshields that crack, chip, pit from the slightest debris. You should be furious.

I am really starting to believe bmw has watered down the quality to a point where I will no longer buy another bmw.

[Woodengun]

Originally Posted by badbimmer

This is unbelievable. My windshield just cracked from a small pebble. 2017 m3 7000 miles. BMW is no longer using St. Gobain glass. They switched to a cheaper glass made by pilkington. My e92 used St. Gobain.

Why should we have to put "protective" shields on our windshields. An 80k car shouldn't have windshields that crack, chip, pit from the slightest debris. You should be furious.

I am really starting to believe bmw has watered down the quality to a point where I will no longer buy another bmw.

Lightweight = fast, both straightljne and turns

Thinner glass = lightweight

Thinner glass = more chips/cracks

[SEXY-BEAST]

Originally Posted by Woodengun

Lightweight = fast, both straightljne and turns

Thinner glass = lightweight

Thinner glass = more chips/cracks

The shop that repaired my chip showed me the thickness of a windscreen of a 1970s Chevy he had laying around versus an OEM BMW windscreen. The BMW windscreen looked like a sheet of paper compared to the old Chevy glass. And it's not just BMW- he said all modern manufacturers are switching to thinner glass for weight saving/fuel economy reasons. Amazing.

[DeliAhjusshi]

I have an fj cruiser which was notorious for windshield cracks. There was enough people effected that in 2011 a class action lawsuit was started against toyota. It is definitely worth it to investigate this and if it really is an issue than BMW needs to do a recall and use better glass in the future.

[Harveyd396]

I guess it was a matter of when not if, I would join the windshield chip club. I did get 35,000 miles of no problems with the glass. I'm insured with Geico and they will only pay for the after market windshield from Safelite, OEM is out of the question. Safelite claims the after market is the same in every way and will be compatible with all the options I have on my F80. My question is, am I getting the true story, will I have any sort of problem with the after market glass? Trying to do the right thing.

[EALm4]

Originally Posted by Harveyd396

I guess it was a matter of when not if, I would join the windshield chip club. I did get 35,000 miles of no problems with the glass. I'm insured with Geico and they will only pay for the after market windshield from Safelite, OEM is out of the question. Safelite claims the after market is the same in every way and will be compatible with all the options I have on my F80. My question is, am I getting the true story, will I have any sort of problem with the after market glass? Trying to do the right thing.

What? I am using Safelite to replace mine and they said they'll use OEM glass straight from the dealer or will facilitate the replacement at the dealership.

If you have the HUD, OEM glass is the only option

[Harveyd396]

Just had my windshield replaced with OEM, Geico approved. Safelite did a great job, perfect.

[CPWINCH]

I have had my car for 6 months and have had two separate windshields crack

[damageprone]

Just joined the club with a minor chip on the windshield. I had it repaired asap via Geico and it's zero $ deductible for chip repairs.

[stealth70mde]

I already had to change the windshield once.

I have repaired one small star chip and currently have 2 more...
Not sure I care anymore, I kind of stopped freaking out by now and expect anything to happen.

This car attracts everything from rocks, flying plastic parts, sand and debris picked up by people not paying attention and driving outside their lane.

[BKM32017]

Originally Posted by Harveyd396

I guess it was a matter of when not if, I would join the windshield chip club. I did get 35,000 miles of no problems with the glass. I'm insured with Geico and they will only pay for the after market windshield from Safelite, OEM is out of the question. Safelite claims the after market is the same in every way and will be compatible with all the options I have on my F80. My question is, am I getting the true story, will I have any sort of problem with the after market glass? Trying to do the right thing.

My windshield cracked had safelite replace with oem glass via GEICO. I have HUD so has to be OEM.

Safelite did a fantastic job.... the guy was a perfectionist.

On my 328 had safelite replace with non OEM years ago and the non OEM seems to hold up better and less pitting than OEM.

[BKM32017]

Originally Posted by Woodengun

Lightweight = fast, both straightljne and turns

Thinner glass = lightweight

Thinner glass = more chips/cracks

This may be true, but i dont think i want cheap thin glass that constantly cracks on a road vehicle.

You wouldnt want paper thin door panels that dent at the sligtest touch or sacrifice safety for weight savings. If BMW cant make thinner stronger glass they should not be installing it in road vehicles. Or they should laminate the glass at the factory.

I also wonder how much of the thiness is attributed to weight saving or cost saving.

[eishundo]

Got my first windshield replaced in 2015 on a 1-months 2015 BMW M3 (F80).
And today I've got another 10" crack - so need to replace again.

My 335 was hit many times - small chips - and never a crack.
Are they using a cheaper/weaker glass now?

Both my original glass and 2015 replacements were from Pilkington:
43R-001622
AS1M1246-2DOT682

[TruthGuY]

BMW is stating with my M4 that Safelite can put in a third party glass and it will work just like OEM... I have all options HUD - Lane departue and I keep reading everyone saying make sure its OEM because of HUD it should be the only option...they want me to cover/pay the difference if i want OEM Geico its $200+ but why should i come out of pocket

[MonacoMurphy]

Have any of you guys had to replace or fix the windshield on your M before? I'm taking to BMW dealership and I'm wondering if there's anything I should keep an eye out for.

[JTK24]

seems fairly common

[SEXY-BEAST]

Very common...

[MaX PL]

I had mine replaced about 6 months ago and today I got a 12" crack again so it's gonna go in to be replaced again. Granted, this time it was on track from rubber flying...

Have we found out whether or not the non OEM glass is stronger than the OEM?

This is pathetic. 3 windshields now in under 3 years.

[BEAT TX]

Originally Posted by MonacoMurphy

Have any of you guys had to replace or fix the windshield on your M before? I'm taking to BMW dealership and I'm wondering if there's anything I should keep an eye out for.

Safelite had to come repair a chip in my windshield 3 days after buying my car. The experience was solid, they did a good job, and so far no issues. (its been 5mo).

[jmg]

I have one. Waiting until it gets worse or I get another one until I have it replaced. It's in an inconspicuous spot and isn't deep.

Originally Posted by BEAT TX

Safelite had to come repair a chip in my windshield 3 days after buying my car. The experience was solid, they did a good job, and so far no issues. (its been 5mo).

Hmmm.. I might look into this instead of a replacement.

[damageprone]

Originally Posted by jmg

Hmmm.. I might look into this instead of a replacement.

I had a small chip from a rock repaired by Safelite a few months ago. So far so good. The only downside is that it is not a totally invisible repair and that you can still see it. It's meant to prevent the cracks from spreading mainly. If your damage is in your eye-line, they'll replace the windshield.

[Aaaaaaaaa]

Windshield on my F36 is super soft too. Anyone successfully applied any protective films over the windshield. Some shops advertise that they're for track cars only but wondering if anyone has it on their daily driver.