Hi all I'm in need of a new windshield for my2011 RX350.
Please advise as to what I should do?
My insurance co will only cover fair market price so I would ha e to go with after market windshield. I'm concerned it won't be as good as OEM....but the price quoted for OEM was 1,500+...and only $430.00 for aftermarket. Dont know what to do please help...

 

Make sure that you are getting an aftermarket quote on the same windshield features. If your windshield has the rain sensing feature for the automatic wipers, the aftermarket windshield needs to have that feature quoted too.
You might try going back to the dealer and see if they will quote for a windshield made by the OEM manufacturer but without the Lexus name on it. I have done this and received a quote for a Pilkington Glass windshield which was only a little more expensive than the 3rd party aftermarket made windshield.

 

Thanks will definitely ask...

 

Sounds like the arm-wrestling I went thru with State Farm over my German Car's windscreen replacement - in which case my installer found a windscreen manufactured by the same plant in the same town in Germany and likely by the same vendor that made the OEM window in my car - only that the replacement window didn't have the OEM's logo. It was NOT the same window; and it does have an imperfection right in my vision area looking down the road.

When in college, I worked at the McGraw Glass Plant - the one in Hamtramck (DetRiot) Michigan. I made sidelights - what in the industry is the name for what you and I would call "side windows"; and watched another line make windscreens - the windshields (back windows are called backlight, Duhh).

There are a lot of things that go wrong in the making of "windows"; there are children of lesser gods -- just look at the car next to you at a traffic light. If you can hardly see through the winshield because of the wavy mess of glass -- you've likely found an aftermarket piece of poor manufacturing quality.

Things like the little polkadots at the edges, and sunscreen shields at the tops, and the tint, and the piece of plastic that is sandwiched between the two panes of glass (that keep your head from poking thru when you hit the window) that make up the OEM windscreens may not be of the same standards as those of the aftermarket ones.

As a tidbit: I've seen dozens of panes of sidelight get dumped into the dumpster because one test piece didn't pass the "rocksalt" test for temper. The test, which was designed to ensure that the side windows didn't break into sharp shards in an accident was conducted by taping one side of a sample piece with masking tape, then we'd take a plier and "tweak" the corner of the class - and the glass had to turn into rock-salt-sized pieces that you could roll in your hand (well, you didn't actually do THAT) without any shards longer than about a 1/4" in size. You've all seen them in the roadway after an accident.

When not tempered/quenched correcly, some really nasty daggers of glass - many inches long - result; and that's not what you'd like to have hitting you in the side of your head.

The next time I need a windscreen replaced - I'll bite the bullet for the OEM glass -- unless someone can convince me that the will-fit stuff is up to the same standards as that of the OEM.

I'm happy that the front-row sidelight of the 450h is apparently similar in construction as that of the windscreen -- evidenced by how the glass stays together (like the windscreen) in the side collision testing on youtube.

 

Post # 2 might make it impossible for the after market suppliers to source it.
If that gets to be the case, you can insist on an OEM product by the dealer.
Not sure what your chances are but it's always possible.

We had a rear bumper replaced a few years back on a V6 Honda Accord. Aftermarket suppliers did not list one at all, anywhere. Forced the insurance provider to buy OEM. Found out later there was no difference in rear bumpers for a V6 or an I-4 Accord.

 

I had spoke with my insurance co and they will not pay for the OEM glass due to the 1,500+ price....they stated they would only pay for OEM glass if it was within the same year as the car's year it came out....basically if I had brought brand new and needed it replaced within that year....I'm going through Safelight and was told that it's the identical glass minus the Lexus logo and the have a lifetime warranty and if I'm not happy they will replace until I'm happy...

 

I recently had a rock chip directly in the line of sight so I had to look into replacing my windshield. So I tried to find what I currently have and it says clearly at the corner of the windshield the brand is Pilkington (photo attached). Now that's strange because I read on our forum that Pilkington is an aftermarket brand, but I got my car brand new from the dealer... So the dealer swapped the windshield with an aftermarket one? What brand of windshield do you see on your RXs?

 

Pretty sure Pilkington is OEM for Lexus Windshield.

 

Many years ago my OEM windshield on my then brand new Volvo 960 4dr sedan had Pilkington OEM windshield.

So Pilkington does OEM AND aftermarket apparently. Nevertheless, Pilkington windshield are excellent. Just make sure the one you get is the same "specs" as the one that was OEM. Meaning "color", cut outs for sensors, and any electrical connections for defrosters, and etc.

 

Yes... I've read a number of Lexus owner posts where their RainSense system wouldn't work after replacing the windshield with a non-OEM piece of glass.

 

As stated above, Pilkington makes our windshields. My RX still has the Lexus Pilkington windshield. My IS has an aftermarket Pilkington windshield on it.

 

I had changed my windshield on my 2013 CT200h a couple of years ago with Pilkington. Did it via Safelite. Took about a week to get it in. First go around got the wrong windshield. So waited for a week for the right one. All ok.

 

my 2010 RX350 original windshield says Lamipane Nippon ( Japan)

 

Is yours assembled in Japan? [vin starts with J]
Salim

 

yes, made in japan.