So my windows are starting to frost in the front passenger and drivers side rear. Cost is stupid high to replace $569 and $541 in parts from the local dealer. Plus the labor cost ontop of that which is 2.5 hours according to the dealership the grand total comes to: $1554.08. Which I find prepostros for a car that has just broken 100K. I mean its 2002 and it shouldn't be doign this. My other 02 had 147K when I sold it and never exhibited this crap. So any tips or a recall on this or anything. The dealership is basically telling me too bad so sad. This happens right after I go out of warranty. It snowed heavily last week here and the car was parked at the airport for 2 days while I was in texas. Came home to this thought it was just the tint. Went and got the tint redone today and the tint guy was like nope that is the window. The double pane glass is separating and it is frosting. Junkyards in this area have been useless to find the parts. Will the regular paned glass fit? Anybody ever had this problem? I mean the cost of regular paned glass is almost half the cost and I can replace all 4 windows just incase for the same amount of money except for the extra 2.5 hours of labor. It might be worth it. Its a crying shame that this happened to my car. I feel like crying.....

 

Common in laminated glass as it gets older. Used to happen a lot on older Volvo's, BMW's, Mercedes, and Audi's. The prices you have been quoted sounds about right. I do not believe the regular pane will fit as the door panels have been made to except the thicker glass. Give Sewell a call, and maybe they know of a good used piece somewhere.

Randy B

 

500 for the glass, so the dealer wants 1000 on labor???
Give me a break.

 

Have someone break your window

 

Wondering if its a safety concern and make an insurance claim.....

 

Well its like 1200 in parts for both windows and the rest is labor and tax. Its still 1500 bucks to me...

 

If you have glass coverage, put in a claim to your insurance company. Tell them its broken. If they want to send out an adjuster to see the glass (most likely not) or you have to take the vehicle to a claims center, then break the glass. A "random" act of vandalism can be a rough thing to deal with. But to pay almost $1600 for 2 pieces of glass, well thats just criminal. Trust me I know. The same thing happened to me, right rear door. But I did not have glass coverage and it would have been covered. So I paid and added glass coverage to my insurance, never thought glass to be that expensive!!!!

 

sounds like another reason to stick with the modern lux package.

The three things that are most important on the UL (air susp; double pane glass; laser cruz) all seem to have issues.....

 

When you file a vandalism, make sure you file a police report too.
This way insurance company will record as non-chargeable, otherwise, there will be a chance your ns premium goes up at the next renewal.

 

Guys please keep the conversation on the forums 'legal' please - insurance fraud is not something we want to discuss here.

 

I would appeal to Lexus for a courtesy replacement and let them know that you have a SERIOUS safety issue. If they refuse, draft a letter to the NHTSA and report the problem, copying Lexus (not your dealer). There may have been a batch of glass that was not properly laminated and more cars could be affected. Modern laminated glass should not separate this way.

 

That's a very good point.

If it does separate further and obstruct your view, then it can be hazardous.

The old mercedes (w220) have this problem, but it's along the top edges of the window. I'll see if I can take some pictures.

 

I have a 2001 LS with the same problem. I found it can be caused by using window cleaner that has alcohol in it. If it finds a spot where it can get between the panes it causes them to separate. I now use alcohol free cleaner. Did you notice that it happens at the bottom of the window where the cleaner runs too? That seems to be the problem area.

 

Still should not happen with the glass made today. If alcohol based cleaners caused this problem then you would see tens of thousands of cars with this problem.


GT

 

I should clarify. It isn't that the alcohol in the cleaner degraded the double pane. The double pane window already had an opening (that it should not) between the panes from the mfg. process, vibrations, etc. When the alcohol contacts the defect it causes the panes to slightly separate. mine occurred after it was detailed prior to my purchase. Both the detailer and dealer feigned ignorance. They said it was there prior to my purchase (2001 purchased in 2005). I got such a good deal on the car and the spot was so small I didn't really care.

I did some research afterward and found a post from a guy who cleaned his LS and put it in the garage. The next time he drove it was three days later and he had a similar spot on his window. He took it to the dealer and they determined that the Windex he used to clean the windows and a slight defect in the window were the culprits.