[kupy]

My neighbor borrowed my Insight and upon closing the trunk the rear windshield glass completely shattered. She is the goodest-yogi-vegeterian person on the universe so I have no doubt that she did not do anything wrong and that this was a fabrication defect on the glass that caused it to break when closing the trunk.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? Is this prevalent pathology?

Can anyone estimate the cost of the repair? Suggestions for a service? It's a 2010 with Navi in the Bay Area (94040).

Is there any chance to make a claim against Honda to get this repaired/paid for? Any advice on how to proceed?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Willie Williford]

Too many questions left unanswered. Year, miles, location, etc.

Fill in the blanks and maybe someone will respond.

insigh is properly spelled INSIGHT.

HTH
Willie

 

[Zwolfe]

Good God-Fearing people are sometimes the slimiest, back-stabbing POS's that would make you want to hang out with the local occultist faction.

Sounds like she slammed the thing, IMO. Not what you want to hear, I understand that.

Never heard of anyone on here complain about spontaneously-disintegrating rear windshields.

EDIT: Hang on a second. There WAS one person here who had to have their rear windshield replaced. They said the glass looked distorted when you tried to look through it. But, it didn't bust or anything like that.

 

[RahTX]

Definitely haven't heard of that happening to anyone else. You can always try contacting Honda (Customer Service - the Official Honda Web Site). I imagine it's going to be an uphill battle, though...best of luck.

Out of curiosity, what shattered? The rear windshield (part that has the wiper on it), or the smaller, more vertical rear panel? I try to be pretty gentle with my doors and hatch, but other people (and myself, from time to time) occasionally close things a little forcefully, and I've never had a problem.

 

[insightfulone]

I've had a side window shatter for no apparent reason while driving along. There's a whole Wiki page on this: Spontaneous glass breakage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. I doubt it was your friend's fault. I would go to your insurance company, glass breakage should be covered under your comprehensive with no deductible.

 

[gilbertguy]

Same here, had the front passenger side window on my Prius shatter while driving down the freeway for no apparent reason? Do you have glass coverage on your car? I do and they replace any broken glass for no cost other then the $1-2 dollars it cost on my policy a month.

 

[kupy]

Thanks for confirming that it does happen. I'm talking to Honda America tomorrow and crossing my fingers.

I have a high deductible insurance so I have to pay out of pocket for this; it works out in the long run but it stings when things like this happen.

 

[insightfulone]

There is no deductible on glass breakage in my state, check with your Insurance company, there may be no deductible on glass.

 

[postpete]

rear glass replaced

I had to replace my rear window when according to the police it looked like it had been shot with a BB. I had come home at night from a concert, it had been raining so I never heard anything. When I got up in the morning it looked like there was frost on the back window. But it was just a shattered window. The officer said it probably shattered when I had shut the door the previous night after it had been hit with the BB. Luckily I have $0 deductible on glass replacement. The bill from the glass co. was $701.00. Good luck with your case!

 

[firsthonda]

I figure the shop jacked up the bill for the insurance company around 150-200 bucks. So paying for it yourself, you're looking at $500-550.

 

[Cobb]

I fear mines would crack when I first got mines since its such a large piece and coated the outside with a sheet of window tint. So far, no problems.

Id try ebay and smart miles, he sells hybrid parts. You may end up buying a while hatch.

I know of vehicles having front windshield problems, like the scion xb, but not the back glass of a honda or prius. .


Sent from my Autoguide iPod touch app

 

[kupy]

Closure

Thanks to all who contributed constructive, non-speculative, and specific information!

My local dealership (Honda Capitol) was very responsive and through them I contacted Honda America. Unfortunately Honda's policy is that any glass breakage is always inconclusive so they deffer any payment to the car's insurer.

In my case, Geico, does cover glass under comprehensive but since I have a high deductible (because I bet on not using it) it made sense to pay out of pocket. In other states (not in CA) there is no deductible for glass.

The dealership quoted the glass alone at $800--a deal breaker. I therefor called around and had it installed for $389 through "Local Auto Glass". They came to my house and did the whole thing in 1hr. The technician's speculation was that the glass somehow chipped in transit and when my friend closed the hatch it just shattered.

Once again thank you all for your positive contributions.

 

[firsthonda]

While the technicians theory is possible, IMO, it is highly unlikely. In over 20 years of driving, I have never seen a rear or even side glass that was broken by flying road debris.(minus deliberate damage) It has always been the front windshield. At least you got it fixed for under 400 bucks. Good luck.

 

[Zwolfe]

While the technicians theory is possible, IMO, it is highly unlikely. In over 20 years of driving, I have never seen a rear or even side glass that was broken by flying road debris.(minus deliberate damage) It has always been the front windshield. At least you got it fixed for under 400 bucks. Good luck.

Well, it happened to me. I wasn't even driving, and the car was parked.

A state brush hog came down along my road mowing everything in sight and chucked a rock up on my rear windshield and busted the damn thing out.

Turning the car on allowed the rest of it to come crashing down just from the vibration of the engine.

This was just 2 weeks ago on April 23rd, 2012.

At least it wasn't my Insight, it was my Accord. $249.10 installed, taxes included.

 

[firsthonda]

It does happen. What I should have said was that I've never seen or heard about road debris flying up and busting a window, while the person was driving; other than the front windshield. Of course there are incidents like yours, hail etc. In any event the damage is evident right away. You walked out and saw your rear glass busted.

His neighbor may be totally blameless. However I've had bad experiences in the past with loaning people my stuff, returning it broken and not taking responsibility for it. I'm just cynical when it comes to these sort of things.

 

[samwichse]

His must have been this car:

 

[Rainsux]

It happened to me. We were in Alaska in a minivan towing a small camper. A rock came off the rear tire, bounced off the camper, then forward into the rear window, shattering it. It sounded like a rifle shot. We drove 1000 miles with a plastic tablecloth taped over the window before we were able to get it replaced.

Sam

 

[Zwolfe]

I've had bad experiences in the past with loaning people my stuff, returning it broken and not taking responsibility for it. I'm just cynical when it comes to these sort of things.

Same here. As a kid I would only allow a couple of my friends to even enter my bedroom because they might @#%! something up.

All it took was one jackass friend of mine to ruin something at an early age and ever since then I don't play nice with my toys unless I REALLY think highly of you, i.e., essentially I consider you a brother (that I actually like).

 

[Zwolfe]

Here's the thing about tempered glass. If it's all good, it's good. If it has the slightest problem, it's immediately evident. My mom does stained glass and says if you even graze a glass cutter on tempered glass it immediately shatters. All it takes is one rock to hit 'just right' and it's history.

Here's what happened to my Accord below. The first photo shows the impact point, the second shows the whole thing. Once the car was started it all fell apart from engine vibrations.

 

[firsthonda]

It happened to me. We were in Alaska in a minivan towing a small camper. A rock came off the rear tire, bounced off the camper, then forward into the rear window, shattering it. It sounded like a rifle shot. We drove 1000 miles with a plastic tablecloth taped over the window before we were able to get it replaced.

Sam

He wasn't towing anything. He loaned his neighbor his car and got it back with a shattered rear glass. What are the odds that she did do something to cause it to break vs it just happened to shatter in her possession; for something that occurred before hand?

When people borrow your stuff they should take responsibility for it while in their possession. When my Insight got wrecked, I was driving a borrowed BMW for a month. I was extra careful with that borrowed vehicle. If the back glass shattered, even if it was from a rock, I would have paid for it. The person who loaned me the vehicle was doing me the favor.

No good deed goes unpunished. The OP tried to help his neighbor and got stuck with the inconvenience and 400 dollar windshield bill. If she was as good and honest as he portrayed her, she would have offered to pay rather than take pics in an attempt to show it wasn't her fault.