p4snow

Well, after four months of worry free driving my 2014 ES 350, a rock flew up and now I have a 2 foot long crack in my windshield. Took it to the dealer's collision shop and they quoted $1700 to replace. I am with USAA and they have a program with Safelite. Dealer tells me their glass is thinner which would result in higher interior noise level and that the rain sensor is not as sensitive as Lexus glass, so would only come on with a steady rain. Just wondering if this is true and if anyone has had to negotiate this with USAA.

Dave Mac

I have experience exactly what your dealer is telling you with aftermarket "OEM" glass and I would try to get USAA to pay for Lexus logo glass on a 4 month old car. If you can't get them to do this you will have to decide what it is worth to you in light of the information the dealer gave you. And your dealer maybe forgot to tell you that the tint is also noticably lighter.

The last non Lexus glass I got was Plinkington by the Lexus Rapid Repair guys and I was as bad as any glass I have ever had.

Good Luck with this.

Dave Mac

lesz

You might want to check out this thread.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...ml#post8614919

It would appear from a few posts in that thread that some have been successful in getting Safelite or other shops to use genuine Lexus windshields and have had insurance cover the cost.

uicandrew

my car was 7 months old when my front drivers was shattered. because it was less than 1 year old, state farm agreed to replace with oem glass. they had safelite get the glass from a local dealership. it delayed the repair by a few days or so, though

riknchar

I have USAA Insurance also, and when I got a crack in my 2009 Lexus SC430 (Pebble Beach Edition, 12K miles currently), pretty much my only option was to use Safelite. I've been told for a newer vehicle you MIGHT be able to get USAA convinced to let you use OEM glass, but you'll be stuck with your deductible (which in my case was $1000).

I actually found the PGM Glass used by my local Safelite dealer to be equal in quality to the original Lexus glass, and the overall replacement experience was excellent. Your results may vary, though, as each Safelite dealer has different management and customer friendly policies.

My SC430 didn't have rain-sensors, so that issue did not come into play. I also have a Lexus LS600hL, and I'm not sure what I'll do if that windshield ever cracks...

Good luck!

IS350atWOT

iTrader: (1)

I would try to get a Lexus OEM windshield if at all possible. If you can't, maybe look into glass repair. I have a guy that I use that has repaired cracks from one end of the windshield to the other and you can't even tell a crack was there. He had to point it out. Just something to consider.

SLH

I also have USAA ... and have never had a problem with them. And, Safelite warrants the parts that they install. Neither USAA nor Safelite makes money by re-doing unsatisfactory repairs.

I take anything a car dealer says with a large amount of skepticism. The service adviser is a salesman, selling parts and service. Some of them have been known to be less than entirely truthful.

atoyota

Amen, brother.

aleksfox

Good luck. I'm the one who had to replace the original windshield after 6 months and then replace that one after just 2 months. Each time a small chip grew into a huge long crack at just about the same location in front of the passenger side and after a car wash. Anyway, all 3 windshields have been OEM with the Lexus logo, replacements ran $2000 each. Farmers Insurance was great.

Bbyboomer

There may be truth to the thickness of the glass, since noise reduction has greatly improved in the 2013-2014 models. That may also be true for the rain sensor. I had a old Mazda 929 that came with "solar" glass. So when I had rock damage and it needed to be replaced, I had a long battle with my insurance company and insisted on factory replacement parts....they gave in,in the end. My windshiled was four times that of regular glass. You might want to step on some toes with your insurance company. Even call in a regional rep, as I did.