While driving thru Richmond Virginia on I 95 a large stone from a truck struck the passenger side of my windshield. I saw the stone hit then heard a loud pop.I stopped at the next exit fearing the worst but to my relief I could not find any damage. I ran my finger over the spot and no imperfection. I gotta hand it to Lexus they sure do make a helluva windshield. I wonder if it has extra protection of some kind because Im sure if I was in my old mazda 626 it would have had a huge crack. Thank you Lexus engineers !!!! Great job

 

Lexus does have good glass. I've driven over 300k miles in their vehicles and not even a chip.

 

Same thing happened to me last week. Not a single damage on my 16.

 

I think that whether a windshield is damaged by after being struck with a stone or other object is pretty much a matter of random luck. There have been threads on this board from ES owners in which people have complained that their windshields have cracked with very minor impact, and there have been a few people who have posted saying that they have gone through multiple windshield replacements. I recall one thread in which someone said that he/she was now on the 4th windshield replacement for his/her ES. Just like a light bulb can burn out in weeks or last for many years, I think that there likely is similar random variability with regard to what might or might not cause a windshield to crack.

 

It's funny because there are many threads in here complaining about Lexus windshields breaking too easily lol

It really is just a factor of luck. Does the rock hit just the right way, etc.

 

I agree, it's really just luck. Our ES at 13,000 miles has had three windshield repairs, fortunately none requiring replacement (but one repaired spot really shows and I can't wait until I can justify a new one). I doubt that are any better or any worse than any other brand. I don't know anything about glass manufacturing, but I would speculate there are only a few companies that manufacture automotive glass for the various car companies. I would bet it is just a matter of which one gave Toyota/Lexus the lowest bid when they went shopping for a glass supplier.

 

Lexus doesn't make windshields or any glass, the glass is manufactured by one of several companies for Lexus. if your Lexus was built in Japan it has a windshield from Asahi Glass Corp, you can see on the glass logo it says "AGC":



You are correct that they also make glass for other manufacturers, as well as aftermarket replacement glass:







Aftermarket unbranded replacement glass:




On the RX manufactured in Canada the windshield is made by Pilkington, my guess is US made ES's also have Pilkington glass, I'd be interested to hear from someone who has one:



Pilkington is a huge supplier to the industry:

 

Going beyond just the windshields, I was noticing that the glass on my new 2017 ES came from at least 4 different sources.

Lamisafe--windshield

Temperlite--front side windows and roof

Pilkington--rear side windows

Nippon Safety--triangular fixed windows at rear of the sides of the cabin

If the rear window has a label on it, I couldn't find it. So, I'm not sure whether it was made by one of the above or, possibly, even some other company.


My guess is that you are correct. I suspect that Lexus determines its glass specifications, puts the production of the glass out for bids, and uses the glass from whatever suppliers come back with the lowest bids.

 

Half of these terms are not companies. "Lamisafe" is the type of laminated glass the windshield is, "Temperlite" is the type of tempered glass the side windows and roof are (if you have double paned side windows these windows will be "Lamisafe" as well as they are on my LS. The only terms you listed that are brand names are "Pilkingtion" and "Nippon Safety".

If you look at the pictures I posted above (all windshields) you will see "Lamisafe" on the AGC Automotive windshields.

The fact that you found Pilkington though suggests that my assumption that since North American RX models use Pilkington Glass the ES built in KY will as well.

Every Lexus I've ever had (all Japan made) has had AGC glass. Thats their overall OEM supplier.

 

Upon checking the glass on the car again, only the windshield and front side windows were labeled with AGC glass, the other glass on the car was either Pilkington or Nippon Safety. So, it would appear that the car has glass from 3 different manufacturers, not the 4 that I had originally stated.

 

Same for my us built es.

 

Interesting...

 

As always, this board is a wealth of information.

Both of my Lexus vehicles were built in Japan. Out of curiosity I checked the glass and it is from a mix of manufacturers.

ES: Windshield, front side windows and rear window all show AGC but side rear and the little quarter window is Nippon Safety.

NX: Windshield is AGC and all other glass is Nippon Safety, including the little side windows.

 

I can't believe that you guys have me going out in the cold garage on a Sunday afternoon to check what brand of glass i have...... really?!?

 

Just trying to rescue you from the couch!