[Guest]

Hi All:

___Just an attention grabber in regards to the title, I know.

___I had a beautiful 102.6 mpg commute home tonight with a great tail wind for ~ 60 % of the way in mid 70 degree temperatures. The problem is that just after I crossed Golf Road on I294 North bound here in Northern Illinois, an 18 wheeler merging onto the interstate had a retread shred all over everyone … I missed most of the smaller pieces of flying debris but one of the largest pieces caught her low on the passenger side windscreen. Now I have a crack ~ 1’ long and I know where it is going to go from there.

___Any suggestions on a windshield replacement or crack repair before it spiders its way up to the top of the windscreen?

___Thanks in advance.

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___[email:n6r5r285][email protected][/email:n6r5r285]

 

[Holicow]

That stinks.

Mobile windshield repair folks may be able to "fix" it. The ends of the crack will need to be drilled, and it filled with resin.

Most auto insurance companies cover one repair for free, since it saves a complete windshield replacement if the crack gets big. I would ask if they consider it a "claim" before going this route.

Total charge for a simple repair would probably be 50-75 bucks.

 

[MikeF]

You should move to Massachusetts. Every windshield is replaced when broken, paid for by your insurance with zero deductible. My last car went through three in the three years I owned it.

How much money do you think the auto glass industry donated to the state legislature's reelection campaign funds before that law was passed?

MF

 

[Rick]

I had two large rock chips in my original windsheild, both which ended up right in front of me so I decided to get a new one. The second was rather deep as well so I splurged on a new windshield. I kind of got an insider price came to something like $230 for an oem quality windshield, I think normally it would have been closer to $300. I was amazed they actually had them in stock and were out the next day to install it. The fit is pretty much perfect, which kind of amazed me.

A few things to be aware of if you have it replaced. You'll need a new black molding that goes above the windshield (~$15) and the two moldings that run over the side of the windshield and half way up the roof of the car have to come off. To get these off the plastic clips have to be broken, and there are 8 on each side so I ended up spending an additional $35 on new clips for this as it didn't hold on so well without them. Actually you'll need 14 of one clip and 2 of another type, like the 4th one up is different from the rest.

I tell you though, it's really interesting to see an Insight without a windshield. It gives you bad ideas for a convertible.

 

[Tim Maddux]

Hm. I had a windshield replaced recently and don't think I had those moldings replaced.

 

[Rick]

Well, the guy doing it didn't have it and said he needed it to do it, and he left for the next job. In the mean time I went and actually found one in stock locally and called them back and he came at the end of the day to do the windshield. When he pulled the old one off he was suprised how well it held. I guess usually they destroy those while changing the windshield. He probably could have used the old one again, but I figured I had already went and bought the new one so I just had him use it. Not a necessity I guess, but if your a perfectionist it might bother you, might have a kink in it.

 

[Corey872]

Luckily no dings on the Insight yet, although I have noticed that 40K miles has left a slight "sand-blasted" effect of tiny nicks. I am in the process of replacing the windshield in my CRX. Best prices I found were at:

http://windshieldstogo.com

(standard disclaimer...no affiliation...bla....bla...bla)

I also can't vouch for their work since I am installing it myself, but they appear to offer nationwide service (they send out your local glass co.) I guess you could always see what it is going to cost straight through the local guys, then see if going on line is any cheaper. Good Luck!

 

[Foxpaw]

If a semi hurls bits of retread at your car, shouldn't you be able to collect from the driver or his/her company? I would think that you could.

 

[Guest]

Hi Foxpaw:

___If I would have known the glass was broke, I would have taken down the plates but I didn’t see any damage until ~ 4 or 5 miles later when the crack progressed up and above the wiper blade.

___Everyone, the Safe-Lite CSR said that if a crack is over 6”, the windscreen needs to be replaced. It is ~ 12” long now They can do the replacement for $330.00 installed but I may have to drive about an hour to a particular affiliated shop of theirs. There is another affiliate 2 towns over but Safe-Lite tells me they will only do driveway installs and are only servicing their particular town? Since that town (Mundelein, IL.) is about 5 x 5 miles in area, I have to assume they would be able to do a replacement just 10 miles down the road … I hope so anyway

___Thank you all for the information posted to date. I feel much better about speaking with a windscreen replacement tech and especially given Rick’s particular Insight molding information. Thanks again.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___[email:wx25g9bs][email protected][/email:wx25g9bs]

 

[Rick Reece]

Went in to replace the windshield, Honda wanted around 570 for just the glass so I went to a shop nearby that said they could do it for 220. Came back an hour later and the broken windshield was still there. They ran into the clips and decided that they beter have the replacements on hand when they take it out. Anyway the clips are bbing overnighted so either I will have it replaced tomorrow or next Saturday.
The best part was that they had looked at the FCD when it was in the garage and wanted to know more about the car. It was about a 30 min discussion. From the conversation I guess it is family owned and operated and I think they all want hybrids now.

 

[Rick Reece]

I got the car back from the Windshield repair today. This afternoon I decided to clean it up a bit and was horrified by the replacement work. I don't think they have a clue as to how the molding is supposed to fit. On the drivers side it is sticking up at least a 1/2 inch above the roof line. In the bottom corners of the windshield the parts are out of alignment with the door and front fender. It appears that the side moldings have a channel that the glass is supposed to fit into. The side molding instead is sitting on top of the glass. Does anyone know if the moldings can be put back on correctly once the windshield adhesive has curred. Thanks, Rick