sumo elan

I have noticed quite a few people complaining about the quality of the windscreens on the P5 and was just trying to figure out if there really is a design problem here. Is the windscreen stressed so that the slightest damage cause the whole thing to crack?

2 weeks ago I put the P5 away in the garage and to my knowledge I hadnt had anything hit the windshield. I always check over the car before putting it away. For the last 2 weeks the Protege has had a rest and I have been driving the Miata and in all that time the Protege has been safely stored in a warm garage. By the way there was nothing stored above the car.

This morning I back it out and notice a 9' long crack in the top right of the windscreen. All I can see is the tiniest of pin ****** in the center of this crack. To say I am a bit perplexed is an understatement.

Anyone know how much a new windscreen will cost ?

90210brandon

I just replaced mine and the windshield does suck. It literally is a 'shield'. It cost me a $100CAD to replace but I had windshield insurance. Otherwise it is around $500 I believe.

cjb200

I've haven't had mine break yet, but if I ever do, I'm not worried. Here in Florida, law requires insurance companies to replace a broken windshield without charging a deductble. In other words, you pay nothing.

Of course, insurance rates are so ridiculous in Florida, it should be free.

hihoslva

Hmm..Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones.

I have two stone chips, each about 1/2" in diameter. The first one, I had repaired the day it happened. But the second one, I never even bothered to have "fixed", I just left it alone.

Neither one has spread into a crack, even in the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter.

My complaint about the glass is the ease with which it gets damaged - at 37,000 miles, my windshield is more pitted than cars with 5 times that mileage. And the stone chips I got were from quite small hits.

I'll consider myself lucky I have no long cracks - but I still think our windshields are crappy.

I'd take yours to the dealer, and see if maybe your glass could be warranteed. Unless there is a pronounced stone chip or other damage that caused the crack, you might get lucky.

~HH

bmorton

I've noticed that my P5's windshield chips easily. Doesn't take much of a pebble flying up to take a nick out of the glass. No larger problems than that after almost 11 months, though.

Sir Nuke

with only a few thousand miles on my car I had an ENCOUNTER with a buzzard on the way to work one afternoon.....needless to say....I had to have my windshield replaced...

with my insurance...It only cost me $50......but what I did was contact the BEST place in town....they came to my home to do the work....and I requested and got a PPG windshield as a replacement.....NOT the sucky thing that came on my car.

Dermen

Yesterday one of my rock chips spread to be a crack that goes almost all the way across the bottom of the windshield. I don't really think of this as bad because only a few of the cars my family has owned has had a windshield last through a winter. I should have had the chip repaired because my insurance will pay for that. Now I have to pay $100 dollar to have them replace it.

Carlos

It's been mentioned before, but I don't think crappy windshield are limited to the P5. As far as luck with windshields with me and my family, it seems that our newer cars have had very thin windshield. I cracked windshields on both of my previous 2001 Civics (one was a lemon, the other one just sucked) for no apparent reason. I cracked the windshield on my p5 about 2 months ago, but frankly, it was a pretty damn big rock that hit me.

humvee

I had the windshield on my Civic replaced multiple times. After every replacement it leaked because of what they called Honda's manufacturing defect of the windshield frame.

Twice I had a mysterious crack, right where the rear view mirror attaches to the windshield. They replaced it both times under warranty.

Anyways. They said there are only 2 windshield manufacturers in the world. PPG and ??.

Sir Nuke

I think that is probably a BIG load of BS....I would be willing to bet that ANY country that has a glass industry and there are auto's made in that country have a company that makes glass for at LEAST those autos......

when I had my windshield replaced right after that frickin buzzard attempted to get in my car the hard way....I requested and got a PPG windshield....the place I had replace mine is the best place we have here in town...and they come to your home or where ever you have your car and do it there......anyway....the tech that came out said that all the guys in the shop wanted to come and do my car since most of them had never got to actually SEE a p5 up close and so they drew straws to get to see who came out...lol ANYWAY...he told me that they exclusively use PPG windshields unless for some reason a customer wants to go cheaper because they are paying for it out of their pocket or something...and he showed me when he pulled the old one out that the new one was actually thicker....not a LOT...but it was thicker.

dewey

I had the same thing happen: put the car away for a week; first time I took it out, I noticed a crack (on Christmas Day -- heckuva present).

I went with the cheapest place in town, because I was paying for it myself. Now I've got that dorky blue tint across the top.

Are windshields specifically cut for every model of car? Or do they have certain sizes, and you just need to know what size you have?

hihoslva

Windshields are definitely car-specific. Each model of car has it's own unique dimensions and curvature to the glass.

I must say, I am impressed with the glass industry as a whole - maybe I'm mistaken, but it seems not that many years ago, a new windshield cost well over $600. I know I can get a P5 windshield installed for less than $300 now - and I'll need it soon.

~HH

humvee

PPG's a global company though - stands to reason that they'd just plunk a factory down right near any/every auto factory - and buy out anybody who tried to take their turf - minus whoever the other large company (ies) is/are.

Sir Nuke

maybe so....but its ROOTS are right here in the USA...

PITTSBURG PLATE GLASS = PPG

the company started out in Pa in 1883 as the first maker of plate glass in the U.S.

Tom Slick

the P5 has 2 different glass manufactures on the same car.
besides PPG and the 2 above i know safelite makes it's own glass.