AggieLS

Just took a stone into the front windshield of my '04 LS this afternoon on the highway from a passing truck. Left a quarter-sized "star" that luckily didn't fully penetrate the glass. Insurance company will pick up the bill if it can be repaired versus replaced. Anyone have any experience with Safelite Auto Glass repairs which is the recommended firm to fix it? They say it should be easy to repair in under 30 minutes if under 6 inches in size so I am hopeful.

If they can't repair it then I will go to Lexus for full replacement with original glass.

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

As I said earlier in another thread, I STRONGLY advise you to exhaust alllllll other options before replacing the windshield.

Good luck.

THE_CEO

i would call a lexus dealer and ask them which shop takes care of glass repair...take you car to them so that anyone else doesn't screw it up...these guys see lexus vehicles all of the time...and make sure you get OEM lexus glass my rear window cost the insurance company $1300.00..

CEO

Horta

Grand LS why do you keep strongly saying be aware? Did you have abad experiance you wish to share?

AggieLS

Just had Safelite in to do the repairs - turned out my wife's Acura MDX needed a repair too. My LS is going to need a replacement windshield afterall. He did a nice job but I can still see the haze spot and just can't deal with it looking that way just below my sightline. Better job on the MDX spot and you can barely see where that repair is, but it was a much smaller dent to begin with too.

parula

I've had good success with Safelite repairing 3 hits already, and insurance covering the repair cost! All were out of the sight line and the small white hole is still visible, on one the 1/4" crack even disappeared after repair and to date, at least, none have expanded at all. Repairman said the repair makes glass there stronger than original fwiw. Much better IMO where my hits were than full windshield repair with possibilty of collateral damage. This glass sure has a lot of hit marks already, I wonder if new glass is as strong as older glass.

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

Sorry, I just saw your post. I've had a very bad experiance. Got a windsheild replaced on another car, then had all kind of air noise coming in, with visiable cut up rubber molding here and there. I hated driving it on the highway so much, so I sold it.

Could be the type of job that I got from this place, but that was my only experiance to date.

ultra63

The OEM is safest. Replaced windshields may "pop out" in a crash- compromising roll over safety- if the tech does not do a superior job replacing the windshield. .

nthach

PPG and LOF/Pilkington also make good glass, just avoid Chinese made glass like FYG .Use a competent installer with brand name adhesives, and you'll be fine.

parula

nthach, I am not familiar with the glass you mention, but Safelite told me they'd replace the RX front glass for under $400.00 and the glass was exactly like standard glass with all the coatings, etc., I don't know if that is true but what they told me twice. Do you know if Safelite uses Chinese glass or is it made in USA?

nthach

My mom had the windshield on her Nissan Querst done by Safelite, they used the OEM Visteon Carlite glass. Safelite has their own factory in the US, but they use either OEM or PPG glass, i think RA40 had PPG installed on his car.

DDLexus

I had the same problem two days ago. A rock was slung onto my windshield and made a nickel-sized ding. The ding is in my line-of-sight, which makes me more anxious to fix it. I contacted my insurance agent and was told that the "comprehensive" part of the policy will cover the repair. HOWEVER, my deductibe is $1000. The cost of the non-OEM replacement is about $350 and the OEM is $1300. Either way, I'd be out some cash.

My insurance said there is some states in the US that require a $0 deductible policy for glass replacement. Minnesota is one, by my new home state of Alabama isn't. I also learned that most policies will cover windshied repair for free. The repair is a quick fix that is usually only done if the ding is NOT in the line-of-sight. I was turned-down by 3 companies in town. However, they tell me that they'll do the repair if I pay cash and not got thru the insurance company.

So, I'm going to pay the $40 to get the repair done. If it looks bad, I'll consider what to do next.

One quick question though... Do you know what the difference is in OEM glass? Why would the price be so much more for OEM?

DDLexus

I took the car to a glass repair shop and asked them about the OEM vs. non-OEM glass. His very simple answer was the the OEM has the "Lexus" logo on the glass. He said the same company who OEMs the glass sells a non-OEM glass. He went onto say that the glass specs are identical, and the only specification on the LS is whether or not you have a rain sensor. I got a quote for the LOF manufactured windshield. I was told this was a top quality, non China product. It was $370. The dealship price was $1300.

I had the shop repair the ding today. It looks better, but still visible. Interested in the process? If so, read on...

1. He put a vaccum on the ding to draw out the air from the ding. (used some metal surringe-like tool attached to a suction cup)
2. He reversed the suction and allowed the resin to fill the ding.
3. While it was filling, he used a lighter to heat the inside of the glass.
4. After about 5 minutes, he removed the surringe and put a dab or resin to smooth out the exterior.
5. Then he used a UV light to harden the resin.

It took about 20 minutes from start to finish. For $40, it's not a bad deal to keep the glass from cracking further.

Frank T

I'm located in Minnesota and just had the windshield in my Ford Excursion replaced under my Zero Deductable for Glass Replacement. What my insurance company told me was that they would cover 100% for NON OEM glass. They would only pay for 100% of OEM glass if the car is less than one year old. After one year old, I could get OEM as long as I payed the difference.

Frank