i used the 180 dollar replacement glass when i got a crack. and i have rain sensors. and everything still works just fine. and the noise level in my car hasnt gone up or down. i have no idea who makes the glass. and i really dont care.

 

Depends on what type of roads you frequent and how long you spend on them. And a healthy dose of luck. A small chip can turn into a massive crack in no time.

 

i think if you look out the front of your windshield and look where your rear view mirror is placed against the glass, you should see some sort of a sensor there.....can't exactly confirm this

yup pilkington is OEM windshields for BMWs, i've seen them on some jdm cars too.

 

FYI:

Pilkington Glass is owned by Nippon Glass. Nippon Glass is OEM for Lexus. PPG is an OEM glass for Toyota.

 

ok i guess i will get the oem one.. man.. so expensive.. SIGH...

 

YEah...... i drive like 60 miles a day on the freeway.. with tons of trucks... so... i guess its no surprise that i get this damn crack lol.

 

They just replaced my oem glass with a PPG glass probably about 20 minutes ago.

I went ahead and examined the windshield and there isn't any noticeable different between the OEM and PPG glass (coming from a guy who, probably like many of us here, notice the smallest little ding on your bodywork in places that you can't see =] ). My only complaint is the bottom plastic molding isn't flush with the glass but that's on the end of the installer and NOT the glass.

Other than that, I'm very happy with my glass. If anything it's clearer than my OEM since it has not chips at all on the glass. Fitment around the top is perfect so I can't ask for more. I'll update this as the week goes along once I get some drive time with it (and rain) to test out its clarity, sound reduction and water repellent qualities. If there's anything specific you guys want, let me know. I don't have a great camera so if you want pics, you'll have to get crappy cell phone pics.

 

I recently had my windshield replaced on my 02 Ls430 with a Pilkington aftermarket windshield. I read some of the post here recommending OEM Lexus glass and blew them off. My thought was a windshield is a windshield, that the price differential was just for the Lexus name.. Wrong
Lexus green-tint is softer with much better clarity, aftermarket tint is darker, does not repel water and fogs up like crazy. To remedy the repellant and fog issue I treated the windshield with Aquapel. Treatment last for 6 months and what a world of difference it makes, blows RainX away.If it were not for the tint difference you would not note any difference between Lexus and aftermarket glass after treatment..When having windshield replace make sure that the rain sensor gel pad is replaced. I had issues after replacement. My wipers would intermittedly wipe in auto position without sensing water and new pad corrected problem(cost $26) also can be bought from Lexus or Toyota. Easy replacement guide can be found on one of the post on this site by searching rain sensor diagnostics and system operation, pdf is for 05 Rx but same procedure for all Lexus sensor pads . Aquaplex can be found at http://www.autogeek.net/rain-repellent.html
Bottom line I like the green tint of Lexus product better and the next windshield will be a Lexus but bought from an installer instead of dealer at tremendous savings ( unless insurance covers it, then dealer).. Also highly recommend treating aftermarket glass with Aquaplex, you will be amazed...
Just my .02¢

 

just make sure its ppg.. no need to go t lexus dealership... they contract outside glass places to do them

 

Okay, so today I cranked up my stereo a notch or two and then noted my auto rain sensing feature runs as if in manual mode..Thinking that the gel pad had acquired bubbles from the vibration of the stereo so I pulled the rain sensor and the gel pad had deteriorated/crumbled after the young age of 2 days old.. The installer appeared to be very skilled in his line of work of 12 yrs.. The pad was oem. Possibly defective? Or aftermarket nightmares?
Enjoy the feature, especially when another vehicle throws rain water on windshield and wiping action kicks in automatically. Going to purchase another pad and install myself, see how that works..

My understanding is that Pilkington and PPG are the major glass makers and after reading numerous feedbacks. I tend to agree with Showtymers remarks, PPG may be the best route to go when choosing aftermarket glass...

 

can anyone suggest a tactic i can use to convince my insurance to give me oem? i already asked and they refused

 

my insurance is willing to let me use the dealership to replace. sadly its 1460 to replace the windshield and i have a 500 deductible......

 

Which in turn will probably be sub-contracted out to a glass shop as very few techs probably know how to properly replace one.

 

on a side note, most insurance companies will cover the cost of chip repair since they don't want to have to shell out to replace the entire windshield at a later date.

I got hit by a rock on the highway and just from the sound, I knew it would be bad. Sure enough, passenger side had a chip/crack about .5 cm. Called up insurance and they told me to take it to one of 2 places. Took it the following day and they fixed it and billed insurance directly. No muss no fuss and best thing of all, no money out of pocket... my premium even went down this year!

 

im guessing no one can find a way to convince insurance to give me OEM?