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

[ALafya]

The issue that people complain about is spontaneous cracking, where there was no impact.
Of course, we can argue all day about the frequency of these events as none of us have actual data. Personally, I think that based on the frequency of posts in this forum, there is some greater chance of spontaneous cracking compared with other vehicles of the same type, but I agree it is not sufficient data. The story of the Taiwanese protest only makes me think this observation is correct.

Just to be sure, I've modified my glass coverage after purchase so it would not be a painful experience, should Mazda refuse to replace the glass. I bought this vehicle despite suspecting this is an issue, because I believe the chance is not that great and the downside to be not a big deal at all, compared with all the other virtues of this vehicle.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

I put an extra low comp deductible on the CX last year after hearing about this. I haven't even had a rock chip. I'll probably raise deductible in another 6 months. Not disputing some are having the issue but my CX is probably not a case for it to happen. I've taken on some really rough forest roads as well.

 

[MikeM.]

Glass does not HAVE to be fragile. There are structural glazing applications that can withstand hurricane force hits, all while supporting great structural loads. So not all glass is equal.

True, if you don't mind a 300 pound windshield it could probably survive taking a home run hit from a baseball while parked outside a MLB stadium.

Of course if it broke anyway it would probably cost $1800 to replace.

 

[Srad600]

True, if you don't mind a 300 pound windshield it could probably survive taking a home run hit from a baseball while parked outside a MLB stadium.

Yep, but my point is there are different grades of glass available, also the rigidity is also affected by thickness, shape and loading. All of these can be optimized to provide a product that is less likely to crack under normal driving conditions.

 

[IHeartGroceries]

No, I believe the newest thing now is acoustic glass. But, I suppose making them lighter in weight and with lower noise transmittance has also made them more susceptible to damage under fairly normal operating conditions...

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[MikeM.]

No, I believe the newest thing now is acoustic glass. But, I suppose making them lighter in weight and with lower noise transmittance has also made them more susceptible to damage under fairly normal operating conditions...

If the windshield is thinner/lighter than what was used previously, without being made stronger in other ways, then we could assume it is also more susceptible to breakage. The reason I'm not convinced this is true to any significant degree is that both my 2000 Volvo S80 T-6 and my 2010 Ford F-150 required windshield replacement in the first year of ownership while my CX-5, used under the same conditions, does not even have so much as a chip after three years. And I've taken the CX-5 through mountain road washouts that cause the frame maximum flexure (with the car balanced on two diagonal wheels) and hit speed bumps at speed. If my windshield was susceptible to stress cracking I think it would have already happened. I've also taken a VERY loud "whack" from a stone at freeway speeds and nothing happened.

I also haven't seen statistical evidence that CX-5 windscreens break at a higher rate than other vehicles windscreen do (in fact, Mazda doesn't even manufacture the glass, they buy it from the same suppliers used by other auto makers) so I'm just not convinced.

 

[Sekmor]

Mike........I'm the opposite...........My 2012 F150 does not have any stars in the windshield, actually have to look pretty hard to find the slightest rock chip. The truck sees way more abuse than the CX5. Our previous car, '05 Altima had 200,000 kms when we sold it. At that time, I replaced the original windshield for the new owner. It had no cracks, but it was pitted a bit.
With our CX5, I have the spider web of cracks, top center behind the mirror with no rock chips to be found on that crack. it is slowly spreading. Also got a normal little star in the bottom right corner. Within minutes it spread half way across the entire windshield. After one year, it is peppered with tiny little specs taken out of the glass. We drive on paved roads no different than the last car. After all the vehicles I've owned over the many years, the CX5 wins the prize for the weakest windshield.
I get you can't do much when you get smacked by a random rock, but the pitting is terrible and the random cracks by the mirror are still a mystery.

 

[MikeM.]

Mike........I'm the opposite...........My 2012 F150 does not have any stars in the windshield, actually have to look pretty hard to find the slightest rock chip.

Neither does mine because I replaced it with non-OEM glass (but I'm a little bummed the non-OEM glass did not come with the cool "F-150" silkscreen on the top of the windshield. At least it hasn't broken again.

Our previous car, '05 Altima had 200,000 kms when we sold it. At that time, I replaced the original windshield for the new owner. It had no cracks, but it was pitted a bit.

The Nissan must have been pitted quite badly to pay for replacement with no cracks.

With our CX5, I have the spider web of cracks, top center behind the mirror with no rock chips to be found on that crack. it is slowly spreading. Also got a normal little star in the bottom right corner. Within minutes it spread half way across the entire windshield. After one year, it is peppered with tiny little specs taken out of the glass.

I have replaced the windshields in all my cars as soon as they have a crack. Once a crack starts it's guaranteed to spread.

I get you can't do much when you get smacked by a random rock, but the pitting is terrible and the random cracks by the mirror are still a mystery.

In my experience, while quite disappointing, it's not unusual for a car or truck windshield to develop a crack with no obvious explanation. This has always been true. So far (almost three years) I've been lucky with the CX-5.

 

[yrwei52]

Does Your Windshield Have A Crack Caused By Stress Fracture?

I also haven't seen statistical evidence that CX-5 windscreens break at a higher rate than other vehicles windscreen do (in fact, Mazda doesn't even manufacture the glass, they buy it from the same suppliers used by other auto makers) so I'm just not convinced.

As I mentioned before, the CX-5 owner's club in Taiwan had provided data、photos and comparison chart to prove that CX-5's windshield is indeed easier to break than any other cars. They even suspected Mazda has been using different grade of windshields for CX-5's! Mazda of Taiwan did accept the request and extended the warranty on windshield. That should tell you something.

You're assuming that all windshields are created equal installed on all CX-5's. Based on many issues I've seen on CX-5 so far, I do feel like Mazda as a smaller car company, have to use different suppliers on same parts for cost reason or supply situation. The quality would be different from time to time which caused inconsistency of the quality. And you might end up with a good quality windshield but Sekmo ended up with inferior windshield.

 

[MikeM.]

As I mentioned before, the CX-5 owner's club in Taiwan had provided data、photos and comparison chart to prove that CX-5's windshield is indeed easier to break than any other cars. They even suspected Mazda has been using different grade of windshields for CX-5's! Mazda of Taiwan did accept the request and extended the warranty on windshield. That should tell you something.

If the Taiwanese CX-5 windows ARE a different grade due to either different suppliers or different specs, and Mazda Taiwan DID extend the windshield warranty, then that is hardly relevant for windscreen in N. America and Europe. If anything, it hints that our windscreen are probably much like the windscreen in any other new car in N. America and Europe.

You're assuming that all windshields are created equal installed on all CX-5's.

No, I'm not assuming that all windscreen are created equal. I'm willing to be open to the possibility that some markets have weaker ones (including N. American and European markets). I'm the one that's demanding evidence they are weaker on our cars before I conclude they ARE weaker just because some have broken. Every model car has a certain percentage that break. We do not have enough evidence to jump to the conclusion that they break any easier than any other car.

Based on many issues I've seen on CX-5 so far, I do feel like Mazda as a smaller car company, have to use different suppliers on same parts for cost reason or supply situation. The quality would be different from time to time which caused inconsistency of the quality. And you might end up with a good quality windshield but Sekmo ended up with inferior windshield.

You're not making a lot of sense here. If anything, a higher volume car company has more latitude to select multiple vendors while a smaller car company may need to stay with one vendor to achieve cost effective purchase volumes and efficiencies. Apple, the largest cell phone maker in the world is famous for using multiple vendors for every component of their phones for two reasons, they don't want to be solely dependent upon one vendor if they can help it and also because the sheer volume they require could overwhelm the largest vendor of certain components. Smaller handset manufacturers don't have that much luxury because parts need to be ordered in sufficient quantities to achieve a competitive price. I'm not saying Mazda doesn't use multiple glass vendors - just that the reason you cite is not only insufficient for me to make that assumption but actually supports the opposite assumption (that Mazda as a small company must use one vendor to achieve competitive volume pricing.

 

[yrwei52]

Does Your Windshield Have A Crack Caused By Stress Fracture?

As I mentioned before, the CX-5 owner's club in Taiwan had provided data、photos and comparison chart to prove that CX-5's windshield is indeed easier to break than any other cars. They even suspected Mazda has been using different grade of windshields for CX-5's! Mazda of Taiwan did accept the request and extended the warranty on windshield. That should tell you something.

If the Taiwanese CX-5 windows ARE a different grade due to either different suppliers or different specs, and Mazda Taiwan DID extend the windshield warranty, then that is hardly relevant for windscreen in N. America and Europe. If anything, it hints that our windscreen are probably much like the windscreen in any other new car in N. America and Europe.

No, the windshields are the same. Look at the picture of certifications on the windshield I took in Taipei. It's the same as in US and Euro markets. Mazda of Taiwan claimed initially that the windshields are the same every region in the world. They showed the world certifications including E6, JIS. But the data and stats proved the windshield is indeed easy to crack. These CX-5 owners in Taiwan didn't aware we may have similar issues here in the US. That's why those people in Taiwan suspected Mazda used different grade of windshields, even with fake certifications stamped on the glass. This is not impossible as the CEO of Toshiba in Japan just admitted making fake accounting numbers and resigned recently.

 

[MikeM.]

No, the windshields are the same. Look at the picture of certifications on the windshield I took in Taipei. It's the same as in US and Euro markets.

Again, you are jumping to conclusions. Products that pass the same certifications are not necessarily the same.

If you claim windshields that passed identical certifications really were equal (and you did), then you just claimed that CX-5 windshields are the same as the windshields of every other auto maker that passed the same certifications.

 

[yrwei52]

Does Your Windshield Have A Crack Caused By Stress Fracture?

No, the windshields are the same. Look at the picture of certifications on the windshield I took in Taipei. It's the same as in US and Euro markets.

Again, you are jumping to conclusions. Products that pass the same certifications are not necessarily the same.
If you claim windshields that passed identical certifications really were equal (and you did), then you just claimed that CX-5 windshields are the same as the windshields of every other auto maker that passed the same certifications.

We're talking about CX-5 windshield here, and the picture I took is from a CX-5 too. So there is no confusion for certificated CX-5 windshield with OTHER automaker's windshield! With the same certifications, those CX-5 windshields should have the same quality, same part numbers around the world like the spokesperson stated from Mazda of Taiwan. Remember these CX-5's in Taiwan are imported from Japan and assembled at the same plant in Hiroshima just like those CX-5's we get in the US.

 

[MikeM.]

We're talking about CX-5 windshield here, and the picture I took is from a CX-5 too. So there is no confusion for certificated CX-5 windshield with OTHER automaker's windshield!

Are you claiming the certifications on a CX-5 windshield are to a lesser standard than Ford (and other auto makers) uses?

 

[stevins]

What is everyone paying to replace the windshield? I have a 2014 GT w/tech and I am being told there is still not aftermarket replacement. Is this still the case? Thanks in advance.

 

[MikeM.]

What is everyone paying to replace the windshield? I have a 2014 GT w/tech and I am being told there is still not aftermarket replacement. Is this still the case? Thanks in advance.

You can get an on-line quote here. It says mine would cost $319.00 after I entered make/model/year/zip code and told them I had rain sensing wipers:

https://fixmyglass.safelite.com/External/GlassDamage.aspx

 

[stevins]

Do you have the Smart City Brake system? Im getting a quote from Safelite for $750.

 

[Tango2014]

Here is certifications stamped on the windshield which is the same as in the US:

Here is picture of my windshield stamp. There is just one difference in the one you posted - the '(((' symbol. Any idea what that is? My CX-5 is late-2015 Touring w/minimal Tech. I find this issue interesting, but I'm not too concerned about it. (shrug)

 

[MikeM.]

Do you have the Smart City Brake system? Im getting a quote from Safelite for $750.

No SCB, just rain sensing wipers. I used zip 98221 for my $319 quote.

 

[stevins]

I have the SCB.... Maybe that's why my quote is so high