re: Cracked Windshields on CX-5's and Poll

[yrwei52]

re: Cracked Windshields on CX-5's and Poll

You know when I was at the dealer getting my windshield replace (+ SCBA calibration), the guy mentioned the 1st windshield has a big scratch and they have to pull a second one.

otherwise - yeah - 3 mths for 2016 windshield does seem pretty long - we waited 4-5 days for a broken one to show up from Toronto, which was then replaced in 2 days by a good one from Vancouver

May be the CX-5 windshield shortage is caused by too many got damaged during shipping?

 

[MikeM.]

Wishing I wasn't so curious to read through this thread...it can be anxiety-inducing. (nailbyt)

That's a natural reaction but, it's calming to realize how these things get blown out of proportion. The nature of the poll provides very misleading and non-scientific results. People are busy and someone who has not had a recent windshield crack or break is much less likely to click on the thread. But, if your windshield just cracked, it's irresistible! So the numbers will naturally be skewed rather strongly towards those who have had a break.

The other thing that's good to keep in mind is a certain rate of windshield cracking is normal. It's been happening since cars were first fitted with glass windshields and it's largely a matter of luck of the draw. About the only thing you have control over is reducing the chance of breakage caused by rock impact. You can do this by increasing following distances and/or driving a little slower. But nothing will guarantee you won't be the unlucky one.
Most motorists have more than one cracked windscreen over the course of their motoring life, cracked windshields are the number one insurance claim.

Realizing that contributors to online forums account for only a small percentage of consumers, and therefore a fraction of reporting of defects, etc., is there any other information available as to where (regionally) the majority of windshield cracking occurs? Mostly in states or areas of the country with large swings in temperature? I live in Upstate NY, park in my garage at home during the winter, and my car spends all day in a heated garage during the day at work. While I hope for the best, I can't help but think that the temperature changes alone will be cause for my windshield to crack.

Any large insurance company has the data you are asking about but I've never seen them publish the geographical distribution of cracked windshield claims. One thing that is rather apparent to me is that the windshields of newer cars don't seem to be breaking at a higher rate than in the '70's cars of my youth. If anything, the windshields seem to be higher quality and more resistant to cracking. Cracking windshields have been a HUGE problem going way back. Look at the following except from a Lloyds of London insurance report from 1985 where they explain the huge loss in their automotive division (in part) by large claims for damaged windshields:

The Lloyd's vehicle insurance market closed its 1985 year with a loss of 36 million overall. This was worse than anticipated by Lionel Marchant, chairman of Lloyd's Motor Underwriters' Association, in his report last year.

Mr. Marchant said that it reflected the competitive pressures operating in the U.K. vehicle insurance market through 1984 and 1985.

He said he was confident that the effects of rating revisions in 1986 and 1987 would show through when those years were closed.

In addition, many vehicle underwriters were concerned at the frequency of claims for broken windshields and now require policyholders to bear the first part of these losses.

Fact is, glass is heavy and fragile, far from an ideal material for a car that hurls down the highway at 70-80 mph. But it's the best material we have for the task.

 

[nubbers]

Thanks, Mike!

 

[TW00Si]

Got a call from Safelite today that the windshield came in. Going in for the install tomorrow and then change my insurance policy to have glass coverage.

 

[yrwei52]

re: Cracked Windshields on CX-5's and Poll

A rock hit the windshield on mine this morning covering the dash and front seats in glass. Luckily the rock didn't go through the windshield because it hit directly above the steering wheel.

That's scary. My crack is on the passenger side. Forehead level. When it happened, I told my wife, she's down one life from nine. I told her the story of my dad's college friend where many years ago back in Taiwan, a rock kicked up by a semi shot through the windshield with such force that it hit his wife in the head and killed her instantly. Crazy s***. I think she's going to start wearing a helmet now.

The rock hit a CX-5 windshield and created that many broken glass debris? I can't imagine had the rock hit higher to the windshield and the flying glass debris got into the eyes! The laminated windshield is not supposed to be creating that many broken debris when it gets hit by a small rock. I had less glass debris from the smashed windshield of a 1974 Chevy Impala caused by a deer crossing the I-35 in Iowa many years ago! It seems we need not only the helmet but also a safety goggle while driving a CX-5!

MidwestCX5, for the sack of safety for all cx-5 owners, please file a safety complaint of this incident with picture attached to NHTSA. It is so easy to do as a forum member even suspects there is disinformation campaign against CX-5 windshield by people who file multiple false reports on the NHTSA website.

 

[TW00Si]

Please do file a complaint for us. Yeah, no open faced helmets, full helmets with cool visor.

 

[Buzzer777]

And don't forget...

Please do file a complaint for us. Yeah, no open faced helmets, full helmets with cool visor.

Judging by the severity of that hit...And don't forget to add FULL BODY ARMOR!(wow)

 

[MikeM.]

The laminated windshield is not supposed to be creating that many broken debris when it gets hit by a small rock. I had less glass debris from the smashed windshield of a 1974 Chevy Impala caused by a deer crossing the I-35 in Iowa many years ago!

When you say "The laminated windshield is not supposed to be creating that many broken debris when it gets hit by a small rock" what do you mean? The middle plastic laminate was added because unlaminated windshield panes were slicing peoples jugular and they were bleeding to death in mere minutes. There is no way to stop a few sand sized pieces from radiating out from the conical impact because the laminate can only adhere to the glass it is in contact with. The amount of loose particles could be reduced by making the inner pane thinner but that would also reduce it's resistance to shattering from moderate impacts. A deer is a soft heavy impact, I'm not sure why you are comparing two different types of failure. Of course the small hard object is more likely to created a conical fracture that ejects a small amount of particulates.

When you say "small rock", how do you know how big the rock was? Impact energy is determined by the mass of the projectile multiplied by velocity. You also don't know how fast it was traveling.

It seems we need not only the helmet but also a safety goggle while driving a CX-5!

Mazda sources glass from the same manufacturers other auto makers source, it's the same stuff that's in millions of cars around the world. It appears your libel of Mazda is intended to dissuade potential purchasers based on absolutely nothing but fear. Because I'm having a hard time believing anyone would expect a heavy, soft body impact like a deer to eject more particulate matter than a sharp impact from a hard object or that Mazda uses glass that is somehow inferior to the glass sourced by Ford, Toyota or Hyundai.

MidwestCX5, for the sack of safety for all cx-5 owners, please file a safety complaint of this incident with picture attached to NHTSA. It is so easy to do as a forum member even suspects there is disinformation campaign against CX-5 windshield by people who file multiple false reports on the NHTSA website.

Yes, and it appears you embrace this disinformation campaign without any tangible evidence to support your far-out conspiracy that Mazda is using glass any different than the industry as a whole uses. Personal injuries from breaking windshield glass has been reduced to almost nothing by the advent of modern safety glass and the incident at hand show that it works as intended. Zero injury. But if this is still too unsafe for you, you need to campaign for a plastic laminate on the inside of windshields on ALL cars because most every car built today uses the same three layer sandwich with the same possibility of a small amount of ejected glass from a localized hard impact. Of course maintaining this inner plastic laminate could be problematic from an optical and appearance standpoint.

Then you would be cursing the overbearing government regulators who thought 1/4 teaspoon of fine particles was too dangerous.

 

[Sekmor]

Since the windshield is part of the whole safety package with the airbags, there has to be some kind of regulation. But after saying that, I also feel they are using poor quality glass. I too have owned many vehicles over the years and our CX5 is by far the worst for glass damage. Yah yah, I know what rocks do to windshields. But I have two big cracks in ours. One from the bottom passenger side, goes half way across. Then a larger zigzag of map lines behind the rearview mirror. No apparent signs of how they started. And after a year on the road, it's got a pretty good sandblast effect from tiny pics in the glass. Sorry but that is not normal.
I understand picking up a flying rock form other traffic is just bad luck, but this no rock contact.
Our last car had 200,000 kms with the original windshield. My 4x4 truck is 3 years old and the glass looks like new............and I could go on.
The cracks happened in the first month of ownership, and the dealer basically laughed at me.
Whether you like it or not, budget $500/year for a wear & tear mazda windshield.

 

[MikeM.]

A lot of this windshield hysteria is self-reinforcing.

It reminds me of the pitted windshield hysteria that made the news big time back in the 1950's. This was before the Internet but the media inadvertently played the role the Internet does today. Read the incredible but true account here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_windshield_pitting_epidemic

Now, take a deep breath and relax in the knowledge that CX-5 glass is manufactured by Nippon Glass in a modern, state of the art, high quality manufacturing facility in Osaka, Japan (at least the glass in my CX-5 was). You can find out where yours was made by matching the DOT # in the lower left corner with this list:

http://www.carwindshields.info/dot_db

 

[MikeM.]

And after a year on the road, it's got a pretty good sandblast effect from tiny pics in the glass. Sorry but that is not normal.

Here is the highly entertaining historical account of windshield pitting for those who think windshield damage is not normal:


http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=5136

Read and ponder...

 

[MikeM.]

This is a response to an off-topic post in another thread:

The CRV thread you mentioned barely has any posts. It is not an indication of anything. Compare it to the vibration at idle thread http://www.crvownersclub.com/forums/...-idle-339.html

The Escape thread you mentioned has 57 posts ... I'd say it has little traction.
The Forester forum has also very few posts.

Thank you for validating my claim.

To be fair, I didn't post EVERY defective windshield thread in the one CR-V forum I cited. There were actually over 19 individual threads specifically about defective/cracked windshields. There was a lot of speculation that CR-V windshields were cheap, weak or defective. Again, this is simply young, inexperienced motorists who don't know that car windshields break with regularity. I'm not going to paste them all but here are a few sample excerpts. I'm posting them here to show that the competition is not immune from windshield replacement either (many have replaced multiple windshields in a short time) and this ALWAYS raises suspicions in a few conspiracy types that something is "fishy".

"crv windshield problem

My 2006 CRV is 2 1/2 years old and I've had the windshield replaced twice. Today I was sitting at a red light, it was cold out and I had the heater going and suddenly I heard a crack and watched it develop on both sides of the center. I watched it grow sitting there stunned. I now have a nice 3 foot crack across the bottom of my windshield. Nothing hit it. Could they just be defective and fragile? It was probably a big temperature difference between the outside and inside but come on. My insurance company is going to have to replace ANOTHER windshield. Thats 3 in less than 3 years. "

"UGH...

I was driving into work tonight in my month old 2010 EX-L and noticed what I thought was a piece of dust, string, leaf...etc. on the left side of windshield near the https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned) along the door edge. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be a small crack (3/4" long)!!!

Sadly I know there's no way to prove that the crack occured prior to purchase on Feb 12th, 2010. I've only driven it maybe 10 times, I've got 1,300 miles. "

<strike></strike>"You are correct that the current CR-V windshields are a POS. My guess is they were intentionally designed that way in order to get a high pedestrian impact safety rating. I don't think the aerodynamics help either."

"Windshield

I have an issue with my 2011 CRV. When the afternoon sun is shining into the front windshield, you can see lots of tiny spots that look sort of like the windshield is pitted - but the exterior seems to be fine. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this."

"windshield pitting on 2010 CR-V

I've noticed the same thing on my 6-month old 2010 CR-V. The exterior surface of the windshield appears pitted when looking towards the sun. As I don't tailgate the cars in front of me, I'm wondering what's causing it. This is unaccepable on a Honda that is less than a year old!

"

"Sorry for the negative post, I was angry at the time because I was I don't know how and still don't know what caused it.

It cracked on its own in front of my own eyes with nothing and no one ahead of me. Could be that im just wrong and was something too fast and too small to see with the naked eye. I already replaced the windshield a while back, so I dropped wondering and moved on."

"I have a 2012 https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned) purchased in July 2012. A month later, the windshield cracked, after driving thru a dust storm in El Paso TX. Debris hit the windshield, though I didn't think it was THAT hard. The dealer told me that Honda had decided to make all the window glass thinner on the CRV's this year to improve gas mileage (cut down on total vehicle weight that way). I was not happy but figured accidents can happen. 6 months later, the same thing happened again, after driving through some swirling dust but NO debris, twigs, pebbles, nothing. It didn't happen right away but I parked the car at the airport and went away for a week; when I returned, the windshield had a crack in just about the same spot as the first one - middle of the windshield, coming up from the bottom. I am not happy about this and wonder how many more times it is going to happen."
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<strike></strike>"I have had my windshield replaced 3 times and no matter the manufacture of the glass the problem continues."

<strike></strike>"Front Windshield cracked right above Defrost vents due to extreme cold maybe?

Good Day,
It has been a brutal winter in Minnesota (like most of the Midwest and Northeast). I just noticed that my windshield has a crack running parallel with the dash right along with the Defront Vents point to the windshield. My theory is that on one of these past days when it was ~15 degrees below zero that the warm air from the defroster caused the glass to crack due to the extreme temp variation.

Anyone else ever had this issue?"

"I have a 2009 which also cracked during the Chiberia polar vortex right over the https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned). Waiting for a warm spell to get it repaired"

<strike></strike>"Windshield Prone to Breaking

I have had my 2006 CR-V for a little over a year now. We bought it new, and overall, I really like it. The only problem I have with my CR-V is that it seems to be prone to getting the winshield cracked or chipped.

Since June of 2007 (this is September), I have had my windshield cracked or chipped 4 times. I had 2 chips sealed, replaced a windshield, and today, I noticed a new crack. A small piece of gravel has hit me each time, but I am thinking the CR-V's windshield must be at an angle that doesn't help defend it against breakage. The car I drove for 5 years before buying my CR-V was a Buick, and only once, out of the multiple times, I was hit by a small rock did I have to get my winshield sealed.

I was just wondering if any of you have experienced problems with your windshields. Thanks! Elisa"

"2 new windshields

I had to replace my windshield twice within the first 2 years of owning my
CR-V...I had never had a broken windshield prior to owning my CR-V (about 20years worth of driving prior...all smaller cars)"


"I have a 2012 CR-V and have now replaced two windshields in 3 years. Each time it was a small rock that hit the windshield, and then rapidly continued to crack / split to 7"-12".

I would suspect there is a quality / manufacturing issue on the CR-V windshields."

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As to the Subaru Forester Forums, again, I only posted one thread about cracked/defective windshields (I stopped counting threads at somewhere over 20). Again, some tin foil hat type Forester owners are speculating that something is wrong with their windshields.

Same with Ford Escape forums, multiple windshield threads, speculation of defective windshields, etc. To think the glass on a CX-5 is any different is completely unsupported by any of the available evidence. And it's manufactured and supplied by the same firms used by other make/models.

I think someone just wants to (deadhorse(deadhorse(deadhorse

 

[Dr. Awkward]

I think someone just wants to (deadhorse(deadhorse(deadhorse

^ Exactly.
Sonata Hybrid forum had a member who appeared to be exaggerating some points.
Hyundai actually had an engineer join the forum.
He helped some folks by providing good info on issues with the then new Sonata Hybrids and referring a few to dealers for software flashes.
By asking for VINs and contact info the Hyundai rep discovered some people claiming the worst problems would not provide it. Potentially paid trolls.
It is the internet.

 

[Dr. Awkward]

I had the first Sonata Hybrid sold in Virginia. I experienced several very weird events and became involved with Hyundai Corp directly.
My hybrid was one of a select few nationwide that had the hybrid power control unit ($4K – I saw the invoice) replaced. Took six hours; I got a loaner.

Shortly thereafter the engineers discovered that the connecting bolts on the HPCU were too small for the power loads and began replacing just them and not the pricey HPCU. Software flashes “fixed” most everything else and the whole hybrid system was upgraded for MY 2013.
We traded our 2011 on a '13 because the driveabilty and mileage had both improved significantly. The current 3rd gen Sonata Hybrid is even better.

At the outset, the Hyundai forum seemed to attract EVERY disgruntled owner on the planet but did alert us to the on going issues with the hybrid systems.
Some pretty outrageous claims were posted, lots of cheerleading for a class action effort went on but when you searched NIHSTA there were less than five documented reports.
No class action materialized although Hyundai did compensate owners for overinflating MPG limits.
The engineer remained active on the forum for about six months.
Most of the hyperbolic members faded as did the faux hysteria they briefly served up.

We went thru 2 cracked windshields on the '11 HSh.

 

[ALafya]

All I can find for CR-V, for example, are ~50 posts from about ~45 unique authors on all threads under crvownersclub.com from all model years.
No, not seeing any trend here. Compare it to the vibration at idle thread and you immediately see the difference: 3389 posts made in a little over 1 year and over 700,000 views.

Your theory about hysteria is an interesting theory, with regards to CX-5 windshield cracks, but I don't think it can be proven either (if you can, please share!), and I don't think it is the case here.
My personal opinion, based only on my personal experience, without any ability to prove it, is that it is a weaker spec glass because the impact sound I sustained was not at all loud, the shape of the crack as well as on the fact that the glass is thinner. Other than that, I think there is a "somewhat" increased risk with the CX-5 to get a crack, based on the number of related posts in the forum relative to the forum activity AND the Taiwan story you are so quick to dismiss.

Do I want to get better (than "somewhat") / more accurate data? Yes! I wish that was available, so consumers could choose wisely before making a purchase.

Judging from past experience with these forums, it is the best way I know to know of defects before buying a vehicle.

 

[Dr. Awkward]

I read this entire thread and there are not many swarmy posts; most seem legit.
Just wanted to pass on my experience from that other forum and share my windshield stories.
Besides the HSh we had a Highlander that got a new windshield after rock damage; same WS was repaired in an area down near the cowl from another rock.
They used the injection curing system.
Keep in mind that a some folks do drive these CXs off road, more on snowy resort roads, and even a few on beaches to access surf breaks.
I understand the Australians love the CX 5 as it most the most popular S/CUV sold there.
Didn't see any Aussies reporting WS issues and the center of the continent isn't called the Outback for nothing.
That group from Taiwan is interesting.
Definitely will stay tuned . . . . .

 

[MikeM.]

That group from Taiwan is interesting.
Definitely will stay tuned . . . . .

The cracked windshield group from Taiwan stands out for their savvy use of social media (and mass media) to apply pressure to Mazda to pay for the repair of their damaged windshields. I feel sorry for the Mazda exec who was tasked with placating them, very little he could do as he watched the protestors expertly use social media and the local TV and newspaper news to turn in the screws. It would be a public relations disaster to sue them for slander so they did about the only thing they could do - re-iterate that they stood behind the quality of the windshields that met every known windshield standard in the developed world and make a goodwill offer to replace any broken windshield that didn't show signs of hard impact.

Of course all consumers pay when a manufacturer takes on extra costs that are usually the responsibility of the owner (or the owners insurance). But I imagine Mazda already covered cracks that developed without any impact so the number of cars repaired under this goodwill offer was likely less than 100. Mazda turned a potential PR disaster into some inexpensive advertising.

 

[TW00Si]

Valid points Mike. I agree with you that we are looking at small population (owner of cars that are part of an online community). Nonetheless, unwilling to try my luck and donate another $500 to safelite, I've changed my insurance to include glass coverage. Furthermore, I'm going to inform my brother of my luck with the car since he's looking to pick up the 2016 model in the coming week.

 

[jojackso]

Valid points Mike. I agree with you that we are looking at small population (owner of cars that are part of an online community). Nonetheless, unwilling to try my luck and donate another $500 to safelite, I've changed my insurance to include glass coverage. Furthermore, I'm going to inform my brother of my luck with the car since he's looking to pick up the 2016 model in the coming week.

We just had safelite replace the windshield on my wife's '15 CX5. Glad we already had the extra coverage for the windshields on both our CX5's. $0 deductible. You could tell a rock hit it on the bottom drivers side and it cracked after the cold weather hit (about two weeks later). Could be a random fluke. Not ready to say it is any weaker than others at this point. If it keeps happening my opinion may change.

 

[MikeM.]

We just had safelite replace the windshield on my wife's '15 CX5. Glad we already had the extra coverage for the windshields on both our CX5's. $0 deductible. You could tell a rock hit it on the bottom drivers side and it cracked after the cold weather hit (about two weeks later). Could be a random fluke. Not ready to say it is any weaker than others at this point. If it keeps happening my opinion may change.

Did you insist on OEM glass or go with less expensive aftermarket replacement?