Ok, seen the post and figured I would lend some personal experience knowledge. First windshield got cracked so I went on the hunt for a good deal. high deductible, so I was all out of pocket. I was quoted prices as high as $550.00. I called every glass place in the book and ended up going with safelite. They manufacture their own glass. Now I had someone tell me their glass wasnt as nice as OE. Well so far so good. Have had some small rocks hit it and nothing. Good quick install and for $175.00 I couldnt complain. Looks identical to the OE glass minus the toyota writing in the corner. Plus the glass come with a lifetime gaurantee againt flaws. So theirs my two cents, hope it helps somebody.

 

Safelite windshields have always been been good for me and my vans. Glad they did good by you too.

 

Hello, read alot on here, but never posted. I bought an 06 XB on the 13th of Sept. had a chip six days later. I read alot of posts about this and have been so careful, my wife thought I was crazy. I got mine when a dually truck came flyin by on a 45mph road. POW!!! I was ____ed. Soaked it up and went on vacation on the 28th of Sept., went to Florida HEE HAW, from Tennessee. There was an area going down 65 south between Birmingham, AL. and Montgomery, AL Between 238 and 227. I know this info, because I was cussing the whole way through it. You could hear the crap coming off the road hitting the window. Soon as I got out of it, I got off of the next exit, got out and my windshield looks like its made of diamonds!!! It has chips everywhere. I mean hundreds of thousands. I still wouldn't change it for the world, best vehicle I've ever owned, now it just has some BLING FACTOR in the window!!!

 

No, it's not even safe in the garage. Mine broke while sitting overnight in the garage clean as can be after I just washed and dryed it in the driveway and then pulled it into the garage for safe keeping.....NOT.....safe enough...

 

I think there must be some stress on the windshield to cause these cracks. Usually the dealer can find a pit in the crack with a fine ball point pen, establishing the orgin as an impact. However, the cracks are not happening at the time of impact, but appear during the next night or the next few days.
Perhaps this is similar to the action of a glass cutter or tile cutter, where a mere surface scratch weakens the material which can then be split with a little pressure.
Perhaps the large flat windshield is stressed by the light flimsy box body of the xB, and a rock chip becomes the surface imperfection that eventually allows the stress to crack the glass.
In that case, the immediate cause may be the impact, but the ultimate cause is the design defect of that windshield in that body.
I wonder if ScionLife could start a registry for cracked windshields, a place where people put their IDs and the numer of windshields they have had.
I do not think there has been such a quantification of the problem yet. It might support the theory that the primary cause is a design defect. This in turn might make Scion more willing to warranty windshield replacement, or might even assist in a class action to reimburse people for past replacements.
This would have been a better idea in 2004. Now most xBs are running out of warranty, and the model is at the end of its run with few more to be sold.

 

Windshields in modern passenger car designs often are under tremendous stress as simply a part of the design - they are a structural part of the unibody construction adding stiffness and support to the body.

I suspect that a Google search on this would turn up some descriptions and explanations of why/how the windshields - and other "glued in" glass - are a part of the structure.

(So far, I've only had large impacts take out windshields - I'm on the 4th in my xB - and even though there have been a good number of cracking windshields, that number is likely something like 1:5000 and mostly from damage.)

Tomas

 

im about to go on windsheild #3

 

... without cracking.
The xB body and windshield to not appear to be working together properly. The body calls on the windshield for stiffness and support, and the windshield does the job until it has an impact pit. Then it cracks.

 

If "PITS" cause cracks? Mine would need a replacement also. No cracks just pits from he11 and still on the OEM windshield.

 

I have had a small crack in the middle of my windshield for the past 20,000 miles, im on 32,000 now. Has anyone tried that fix-a-crack stuff that is sold in Auto stores?

 

You are saying that pits cannot be related to cracks, because you have so many pits without a crack. The point being that dealers should not be looking for a pit in a crack to blame as the cause of the crack.

 

I agree The pits are just pits and unrelated to whether or not cracks will develope. IMO

 

Moved to new thread.

 

So no need to worry about rocks making pits or chips in the windshield, as they are not what causes cracking. That's a relief.

 

I guess I'll join the cracked windshield club...I'm on #2.

 

I have asked this firm how Scion xB owners could start a class action suit like the one that has made Honda include cracked Element windshields under the basic warranty. However, because I have not suffered a cracked windshield, nor had to pay out or file a claim for replacing one, I might have no "standing" or right to be a party in this matter. If anyone thinks that they had to pay for, or make an insurance claim for, a windshield that broke due to a design defect, and is interested in pursuing a class action lawsuit, I can forward any reply from the law firm. If any action is taken, a place like ScionLife would be useful in aggregating a group of claimants.

 

I am going on Windshield #3 and i have 17000 miles on my RS 3.0.

 

There is a class action lawsuit in the works against Toyota because the design is flawed. Some windshields are cracking when the car has been parked for a week. My windshield cracked after having the xB 2 weeks. I was not behind a construction vehicle, I heard no impact of anything hitting the windshield. All I saw was a crack going right up the middle of my windshield and then making a right turn toward the passenger side.

 

+1 for safelite PPG glass. on my 3rd shield, and this one can take a PUNCH!

 

Are Safelite PPG glasses better than OEm ones?