Windshield Crack

[Sophie_10]

Hello All, (please ignore the fact that i totally spelled my cars name wrong... it should read Sophie_10) UGH!

My name Is Sarah, I am new to these forums but I am quite familiar with the Volkswagen forums.... So, As some of you may know, It snowed in Chicago today. It wasnt too cold but cold enough. I put on my defroster and had the wipers going as well..

As soon as my car felt warm (Even after the defroster automatically shut off), My windshield randomly made a perfect bowed crack at the bottom center of the window... Has ANYONE had this problem before??

My car people tell me it might be because of the defroster heating up the window quicker in that one spot than anywhere else and it just cracked.. but I just want to know if people have had any random windshield cracks as this even without the cold..

If you have, Did Nissan pay for it with the bumper to bumper warrenty? or did you need to go to a body shop?

Thank you so much for helping me out! and I look forward to hearing from you fellow Roguees!

[300winmag]

Do you have an aftermarket defroster/heater installed or something? Even at -40 here we don't have that problem nor have I personally ever heard of a windshield randomly cracking. There is no chip marks or ANY impact marks what so ever? Have you ever had a rock chip near the crack?

[Nick 568]

I have had that EXACT problem on mine. I took it into the dealer to ask them about it, and under their bright shop lights, we were able to see the rock chip where the crack started from.
I had the defroster on full blast, but while I was driving, in the span of 2 miles, the temperature dropped from 20 to -4. (Alaska weather is straight-up crazy) Then I heard and saw the crack.

Take a flashlight to your windshield and look along the crack and run your fingers over it to see if you can locate a rock chip. If there's a chip the crack started from, it's very unlikely the dealer will do anything for you.
But if you don't find a chip, then take it into the dealer and show/tell them what happened and see what they might be willing to do.

[Sophie_10]

No aftermarket anything. The car is two years old and has never been in an accident or neede anything before.

I'll definitely look into a rock chip from the past. But it's sooo low on the windshield it seems to me that the rock would hit higher up. I'm not sure why that makes sense to me but it does haha. Thank you guys for the advice. I really appreciate it.

[wangster]

What ended up happening?

The windshield on my '12 FX35 cracked over the weekend. Car was parked in a garage and I noticed a crack about 6" long when I pulled out in the morning. By noon time, the crack was at least 12" long. I thought it was caused by a chip but I didn't notice any marks.

I called the dealership and they said they need to inspect it before they determine whether it'll be covered under the warranty or not. So I took it in, the service adviser brought the service manager out. The service manager took a close look, then he took a pen and dragged it along the crack.

I was nervous because I had removed the glass coverage on my insurance when I got the FX35 couple months ago. (Funny how things work out because for over five years, I never had a cracked windshield so I decided to remove it when I purchased the new car and only after two months, my windshield cracks.)

After he was done, I asked him whether the replacement would be covered or not, and he gave me a funny look (to me, it seemed like he was trying to tell me there was a chip), a wink, and said, "don't worry we will take care of it for you."

I'm still not sure whether he was giving me a break or if the windshield was really a defect but they have ordered it and will replace it once the windshield arrives under the warranty. It is my third Infiniti from the same dealership so I'm not sure if that had any impact on their decision.

[ImStricken06]

cold = things contract
hot = things expand

windshields are glass & plastic. you want to warm the interior of the cabin FIRST, then start blasting the windshield with hot air. causing hard temperature spikes will cause many solid items to crack from the extreme temp changes.

[Sophie_10]

Well,

They wouldn't fix it for me.
And my insurance wouldn't cover it.

I was told by my insurance if I go to a certain place they will give me discount for having statefarm but that's it.

I still haven't gotten it fixed because I would like to see if I could get the dealer to try to fix it one last time. its super frustrating.

Thanks for the comments though!

[ImStricken06]

sophie, call a couple junk-yards. they often have agreements with windshield installers.
i know my local junk-yard has a guy that comes and installs brand new windshields, for our customers looking for used windshields. (people dont know that 90% of the time removing a good windshield from a junked car means having to crack it.)
you can find a windshield installer that uses aftermarket products for half the price. guys like safelite are major RIP-OFFS.

i did a quick check for you in chicago:

http://www.aaronglass.com/

Franks Auto Glass:
6341 South Wentworth Avenue Chicago, IL 60621‎
(773) 488-7700

Chicago - Glass America
http://www.glassusa.com/chicago/
1717 North Clybourn Avenue Chicago
(312) 642-2205