Damnit. I wasn't behind anything (about 6+ cars behind another) and I hear a "pack!" and noticed a 10+ inch crack on my front windshield. when I stopped the car, theres bearly a mark where the rock or whatever hit. But the crack goes from that straight down past the rear view mirror.

Man I hope the insurance will cover it. How much is the front windshield? Should I take it to Lexus?

 

Sorry to hear that. Similar thing happened to me recently. I called my srvc. mgr., but he just said to take it to a local shop, as the dealer doesn't get involved with that anymore. I'm just now getting around to taking it tomorrow. I never saw what hit me, and the Lexus in front of me was quite a distance away. Call your insurance co., most have separate programs for windows. I have a $100 deductible.

 

oem windshield that's going to run you around 900 bucks, very expensive. aftermarket is much cheaper

 

ask for the thickness of oem glass and then see if there is aftermarket glass just as thick but cheaper if not go with oem because if you don't you will get more creaks and rattles since thinner glass will allow more flex.

 

Didn't know it costs that much!

 

Thats true if the aftermarket glass is a no name made in Taiwan or Mexico.

PPG, LOF, United, Pilkington are glass manufacturers for Toyota and Lexus here in North America. The glass these companies produce are O.E. spec.

 

isn't there something about needing a special w/s for automatic wipers ??

 

Even if it is PPG make sure it is OE thickness! I was about to replace a E-class windshield with PPG and luckily before they put it on I asked the sales person to double check the thickness on the PPG and it was thinner than the original MB glass so had them order the MB glass and put it on instead of the PPG. It was like $200.00cdn cheaper but it was thinner. Not sure how this works out in the U.S but just make sure no matter what brand that the thickness is the same.

 

Depends if your particular Lexus has rain sensors for the rain sensing wipers. When a reputable glass company query's your vehicle make and model, the option of rain sensor glass or non-rain sensor glass will come up. Most modern Lexus cars/trucks have rain sensing wiper systems as an option.

 

Here in the US we don't have that issue. We have a protocol for glass installers that refers to aftermarket or "NAGS" - National Auto Glass Secifications. Reputable glass installers will reference aftermarket O.E. spec glass as NAGS. Glass installers give the customers an option with going either OEM or NAGS. A low budget glass shop will offer non-NAGS glass usually of poor clarity. In some cases, OEM glass is cheaper than NAGS depending on the application.

 

First more bad news. The crack grew in the past 4 hours of being parked. Its 10+ inches down, now its about 8+ in to the left. Now its in front of my face. Grrr. Now I can really see it.

I called the insurance place. They have a their own glass repair shops. I didn't ask if it was OEM. But they asked me for my model and if my car had automatic wipers. It goes in next week Weds. Actually they are coming to my house. They said it sould take about 2 hours to do.

 

Their own glass repair shops save THEM money by having the cheapest vendor do it for them, often with aftermarket glass. I would ask who the dealer uses to install glass, and call other high-end dealers as well in case you can find a common thread: someone who does the job right. I have seen so many cases of a minimum wage glass guy putting his first Lexus windshield in and not installing it right. Air bubbles, uneven application of the urethane kit, windshield mldgs put on wrong, scratching the windshield pillars, cutting the A pillar trim panels. Just very frustrating that what the insurance companies get us to use because it saves them money is often not equal to the type of vehicle we have.

I think it's best to attempt to bypass the "glass units" that most insurance companies use by picking the installer you want, calling your agant directly, and adamantly stating that you expect your car to receive a Lexus OEM glass, installed by your choice of installer, and "how is your agent going to see to it that he makes it happen for you?"

 

True insurance companies have their vendors for glass repair...usually a reputable company like Safelite Auto Glass. The owner has the descretion to bring their glass repairs to any facility they like but if the ins. co will be covering the damages less the deductible if any.... insurance companies will pay up to NAGS glass. But it's usually dependent on the coverages and your policy limits. They will go with the most cost effective route obviously, but it also goes back to what your policy covers up to. Dealer glass is no different than NAGS glass since Toyota/Lexus does not manufacture their own. They have vendors, which include some of the ones I mentioned previously, the only difference is that it wont say Lexus on it. You can ask for OEM Lexus glass, but it's to the descretion of your claims rep and the insurance policy to say if they will cover it or not. Chances are you will have to pay the difference if you want dealer glass.

Insurance agents really have no say in what policies are written for the insurance co. An agent's job is to sell the product which is the insurance policy...the claims representative's job is to enforce it.

 

I have had several cases where the agent has been able to circumvent glass units for their insureds and get OE glass approved. I totally agree with you that the policy will determine what is approved in many cases, yet this scenario has worked in many cases as well.

And Safelite, although a large company, has been guilty of many of the installation problems I have seen. Right at this moment I am dealing with a situation where clips on the rain sensor housing were broken by the above-mentioned installer on a a customer's ES330, and the insured is fighting with his insurance company to get it replaced due to problems with the consistency of performance from his auto-wipers. That is why I am saying to go with an installer that you can get good feedback on from high-end dealers to make sure there are no problems after the installation. You want someone that has done that same type of windshield many times and not only periodically sees a Lexus mixed in with all the other riff raff.

If I had a choice between an average installer and aftermarket glass vs an expert installer and OE glass, and I was able to get my insurance to pay for it, then I would choose the latter every time.

If I was paying for w/s myself, then I would get the expert installer's advice on a good aftermarket w/s and pay him to install it.

 

Not to give Safelite any props, but they service some of the local Lexus and Toyota dealerships in SoCal. I guess it's all a matter of luck and quality of installer in a particular area. As far as what your insurance carrier will cover, it all comes down to who you have and what they are contracted to cover on your car. You may ask for a certain kind of glass but in the end you may not necessarily get what you demanded.

Hmmm...sounds like you work at a bodyshop or dealer?