frheko

I recently sustained a 15 cm crack in the top center of my 2000 GS windshield. I have a $500 deductable and was planning on factory glass because the car is nearly immaculate and all stock. Some have mentioned that I'm wasting my money and risking an increase on my insurance premium because the total cost will be over $1000 and the Insurance Co. won't be happy about me picking factory glass, over cheaper glass.

My main objective is getting a high-quality screen that will fit properly and won't leak when sealed and won't chip with every little pebble. Is factory glass better than cheaper aftermarket glass?

The local Lexus dealer (Seattle) is having their subcontractor replace the glass in the Lexus shop and the replacement guy comes highly recommended by the Lexus sevice guys.

Any comments?

thanks in advance

fhk

Tammy

If you want it done right the first time, let Lexus do it with their glass. They will have the new small parts available and the expertise...

bob2200

In my case, I let the insurance company pay for the replacement. That way, they're responsible for the installation. What was interesting was that the glass place gave me a $1,000 or so estimate and then charged the insurance company only like $350 on my RX windshield replacement.

frheko

Yep- this is what was explained to me by my Lexus service manager.

CareyPJ

The original owner on my '00GS4 used an aftermarket glass (Pinkerton, I believe). Anyway, it seems to be a little louder than my neighbors stock GS4, but we haven't had any other issues, such as chips and/or leaks.

If I had a choice, I think I'd pay the extra dollars for the "Lexus" glass. I'm always a little leary of what may happen in a crash and how the generic glass may react.

Patrick

nthach

It's Pilkington, who also has a joint venture in Ohio with Nippon Glass called United LN.

I just had my OEM Asahi windshield replaced with a PPG one, i'm happy with it. Most shops will use Chinese glass like FYG, I would push for PPG or a similar brand.

alexulan

Yea, PPG is exactly half the cost of the original Lexus Glass.

And yes the local Lexus dealer outsource the glass replacement.

Here is what I was told by the dealer.

The factory that makes the original PPG and Lexus glass is one and the same, the only difference is the bake time.

Twice as long for the Lexus glass then the PPG, hence the price of the Lexus glass is twice the price. Now make sure to specify what glass you want before they start the work.

Here is the other interesting fact. PPG caries like year or more (maybe lifetime) warranty.
The Lexus glass is only 30 days.

I took Lexus Glass, because I want to see that OEM Lexus in the corner. warranty did not scare me. That's why I have insurance. The guy that was doing the job was trying hard to sell me on the PPG. I said no way. I think the reason is they make a ton more profit with PPG then the OEM Lexus glass

Quote from:
http://www.ultrabond.com/whywindshields.pdf

"Car manufacturers would not accept the windshields sold in the after-market because the stress is much higher and they crack even easier. When a windshield is manufactured, a polariscope is used to read the amount of stress at the perimeter. General Motors and Toyota, for example, will not accept windshields with stress greater than their contracted amount. These OEM windshields are annealed slowly to limit the residual stress, which increases the cost per windshield. PPG for instance, has separate factories for making OEM and ARG windshields. ARG windshields are made faster (the faster they make them the less they cost) and have higher levels of residual stress. These windshields crack easier so once you replace you may continue to replace."

nthach

OEM Lexus glass is Asahi or Nippon glass. OEM on Canadian-made RX330s is either AP Techniglass which is a 50/50 JV with Asahi Glass and PPG, United LN which is Pilkington/LOF and Nippon Glass, or just plain PPG. Now, my PPG windshield I have on is made by Viracon since the DOT markings say DOT 129, but I feel more comfortable with outsourced PPG than Chinese-made FYG glass.