Whats up with Mazda windsheilds???

[carz8]

My mazda3 winshield is cheap as dirt or there is some serious design flaw with mazda winsheilds. A few months ago a small pebble hit my car on the highway and caused a spider chip. Luckily, I had it repaired before it got worse. While driving on the highway today, a rock hit the passenger side of the windshield and cause a spider chip the size of a nickel. I called my insuranse company and scheduled repair service which is free. A few hours later I check my car and the crack line has spread both ways to about 10 inches.....now I have to replace my entire windsheild as the glass shop will not repair any chip bigger than 6 inches. and the best part is ...my insurance deductable is $500.00(blarf) .

My 96 cavalier took more windshield hits over 8 years and I never had to repair or replace it. I guess this is where mazda cut corners....

Anyway, I'm having it replaced by safelite with their brand of windsheild since the oem seems cheap. Its going to cost me $427.00 because of a b@f#$%&* rock on the highway(ugh) (butt) .

Don't you wish u could wake up one day and say, hmmm I'm going to spend $427.00 bucks on something today...how about some mods? or new speakers?or new windshield? Oh well, lifes a beaach some times.

I'll be spending $427.00 soon on diddly sh&# and if I get another chip or crack, I'll use some crazy glue and scotch tape(woowoo) .

 

[misbehave]

Same thing happened here.
Got a crack and replaced it last month. 1 week after the new one installed, I got another crack. Now I am just leaving it alone until I really have to replace it.

 

[Loose]

Well...

...depending where you live (no location below you avatar) the replacement of the front glass has no deductable. If you can tell us what state/country you are from we maybe better able to help.

 

[carz8]

Central New jersey

 

[Sethlan]

I have taken many rocks in my windshield... and there is still no cracks. not even any marks on it.

Have had the car since march 2004. Here in Calgary they put pea gravel on the roads in winter, so lots of rocks to go around.

 

[mazda3zoom]

i had one chip way down on the bottom of my windshield below the wipers so i never saw it. one day over the winter i come out to my car and theres this 5 inch crack goin up my windshield. later that day (i assume its from gettin hott then cold then hott again) i came out and it was all the way across the windshield. i still havnt had the $$$ to get it replaced yet...

 

[AbsoluteSwed]

pic?

 

[RonH]

You are unlucky for sure. I've been driving since 1959, and have never had a rock do any damage to any of my 72 vehicle's windshield.
Most insurance companies have a zero deductable on windshield replacment.

 

[FemGearHead]

I have a small chip in the lower driver side of my windshield. I had it repaired within 24 hours of the initial damage and I haven't seen it spread since it was repaired - over a month ago. I did decide if the damage does spread, I wont replace the windshield until the crack gets too big.

 

[pb4ugoout]

i had a small spider crack that ended up as a 20" crack going across the windshield. happened about a week ago. i got it replaced by safelite yesterday and i didn't have to pay anything. i just called my insurance people and made a claim. they sent someone out sameday. i believe the total cost of replacement was like 380 or something. didn't cost me anything tho

 

[fam]

I work at an automotive glass plant that does the glass for most US vehicles. I can tell you the quality on the glass is decent in the mazda3, only thing wrong with them is all of their logos arent paralell to the interior line and they are a bit thinner than their usa counterpars, but other than that, any glass imperfection would come out on a windshield as a crack usually from an edge as that is where glass is the most vulnerable. I think you just got a mean chip from a rock.

 

[PWR SHFT]

...depending where you live (no location below you avatar) the replacement of the front glass has no deductable. If you can tell us what state/country you are from we maybe better able to help.

I think it depends more on the insurance company. I have Gieco and they cover glass under comprehensive. I have zero deductible on my Tahoe and my 3 for that reason.

 

[carz8]

Pics of crack
http://josephandson.tripod.com/pics/mpics.html
I was waiting for safelite this past saturday when I get phone call from a relative. He tells me one of my cousins just started his windshield repair business and used to work for safelite. Cancelled appointment at the last minute and had cousing replace it. It looks good as new and I saved $227. He only charged me $200 . My insurance deductible is $500.00 so I was out of luck with them..

 

[fam]

If it were a manufacturing defect it would have started from the outside edge and worked in. Sad thing is the cost of making a new windshield is around 20 dollars in a US factory, who knows how cheap the japanese make it for!

 

[splitvizion]

mine has cracked from being hit by road debri. It has not spidered but there is a mark that looks black at certain angles.

 

[spec5protege]

I'd look around for different replacement windshields. The ones for our Scoobies are around $400 from the factory but I hear there is another brand that is only ~$200.

I wonder if this is a problem with more recent cars in general; on the scooby forum there is a giant multi-page thread about windshields giving up the ghost... And yeah, I have a crack in mine but constant sanding of the roads in winter + big rigs and construction (whenever there is no snow) = windshield death...