My 8 month old car got a tiny rock chip the other day and this morning it developed into a long crack about 10" long.

Looks like the crack is still progressing along slowly until it reaches the end of the other side. Anybody replaced their windshields yet? Did you go aftermarket or OEM? Mine is a 2014 IS250 F-Sport.

 

That's sad news indeed. Personally I would go OEM. This isn't covered by warranty I'm guessing?

 

Nope not covered under warranty.

 

Most chips expand because of pressure that builds in your car whenever you close the door. If you ever get a chip, make sure you leave a crack in your window or sunroof before closing the door. This will help reduce the likelihood of a chip turning into a crack. It also helps to close doors very carefully until you get the chip fixed as well. Once a crack begins to expand though, the only way you'll be able to stop it is by drilling down (not all the way through), at the end of the crack to relieve the pressure. There are very few shops that will fix a 10" long crack but it's do-able and some will fix up to 12".

Check with your insurance as they might cover this. When I lived in KY, my insurance covered it without even paying a deductible. Here in CO, using the same insurance, they'll cover a chip repair for free but not a replacement. Also, if you have to pay out of pocket completely, I would personally base the decision on whether you expect to have to replace your windshield often or not. CO is terrible for windshields because we have a lot of debris on the roads so I replace mine with aftermarket. If this is more a fluke where you are, it might be worth going with OEM. Some people say that aftermarket tends to distort images, but personally, I've never seen it.

 

Yeah I would check with insurance first as sometimes they cover glass pretty quickly free of deductible (including replacement). I know mine does. Another thing you need to make sure that whoever installs the windshield does a very good job sealing the edges.After I had mine replaced by Safelite my car had a terrible wind noise at highway speed. It turned out that they did not properly seal everything and some form of turbulence was causing this noise. And I would only go with OEM.

 

i just noticed i have a chip in the windshield today

 

Some of the chips can be patch with $20 kit from Amazon. I did it to my previous car the crack never grew.

 

I would go and get it fixed at a reputable glass repair shop, asking for OEM glass.

I would NOT use a mobile service like Safelite. I used them twice over the years with bad results each time. The first was just a little "slop" left around where the glass met the rubber. The second time, poor workmanship caused the paint under the pillar next to the windshild to bubble and eventually cause rust.

 

This is true. I've done this a few times. I might in fact buy a kit and keep in it in the trunk so that if I ever get hit, I can patch it on the spot and prevent any expansion.

 

my windshield's crack got to about 21 inches =(. 9inches too long for a repair. I would get that repaired ASAP. like people have stated above, 12 or under it should be repairable. my car was only 8 months out of production and there was already a third party windshield available. with my insurance company, by law they only have to provide OEM grade glass. Well...after two defective windshields and couple of hoops, i got them to order an OEM one. Lucky that the third party only had two on hand. they said they would've needed to try all the ones they had in stock and all of those would've had to fail in order to order an OEM...felt like BS but i got the OEM in the end so i didnt care.

good luck! hope it turns out well.

 

I got my insurance set up yesterday with my new IS and made sure window replacement is on it.

The Lexus salesman tried to get me to buy a window replacement plan long with other stuff and said the windshields are $1800 to replace...So yeah I made sure my insurance covers it.

 

sorry to hear...my windshield got crack after 5 month for driving too low ) and my insurance pay it for me, it better get the OEM dont get aftermarket but still need 500$ deductible

 

just a FYI, i had a crack and finally replaced windshield with OEM glass and no matter what the factory seal can never be duplicated, make sure they attempt to seal as good as they can if not you will hear wind noise, when your not used to that noise after so many years it gets real annoying real fast.

 

Really? I always thought glass cracks got worse because of the temperature variance of the daytime heat and night time cold. Learn something new every day!

 

I had my windshield smashed and replaced this week. It's best to go OEM if you go through insurance. Otherwise it will cost you $1,500 for a new OEM windshield and prob more if you have the rain sensor.

Most likely the glass repair partnered with your insurance will say it requires OEM and will need to order from Lexus anyway which can take 3-5days (time I don't have). So to speed things up i called the Lexus dealership who also have their own Lexus/Toyota collision repair centre onsite and they said they can get have it in/repaired the next day. So I did that but had to pay upfront and get reimbursement from my insurance agent.
The good thing is they gave me free enterprise car rental (who is also onsite) since my repair was over $1k. (Only needed it for the day to get to work anyway)

End result: Lexus collision centre are obviously more familiar with Lexus and repair all the time plus the guy that worked on mine had 25yrs exp and guarantee the work etc. I couldn't be more happier with the service, installation and workmanship going through the dealership.