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So I went and looked at my LS, all of my glass is AGC, even the opera windows, but the windshield is Nippon Safety! Wow...I hadn't even noticed that...
I recall a thread here a couple of years ago when people with the same year of ES, all built in Japan, were reporting widely different mixes of glass in their cars.
So apparently, I just have no idea what I'm talking about LOL.
I was over right after I posted that and saw my old 03 ES300, the windshield is an aftermarket replacement installed about 6 months ago but the front windows are Aashi (AGC, the label just looked different back then) and the rear windows, opera windows and rear window are all Nippon Safety...
Its just luck...how closely are you following trucks, etc.
I've had 6 Lexus vehicles in my life, those 6 Lexus vehicles have travelled approximately 600,000 miles. I put two windshields in the 98 LS400 in nearly 200,000 miles. One windshield in the ES300 in 185,000 miles, and one windshield in the ES350 in 47,000 miles. So 4 windshields in 600,000 miles of Lexus driving comes out to 150,000 miles per windshield, which is pretty good IMO. A lot of freeway driving too, broken roads, lots of trucks.
I checked my GS out of curiosity. Assumed all windows were AGC. Turns out the windshield and front side windows are AGC, but the rear side windows are Nippon. I forgot to check the back window.
While driving thru Richmond Virginia on I 95 a large stone from a truck struck the passenger side of my windshield. I saw the stone hit then heard a loud pop.I stopped at the next exit fearing the worst but to my relief I could not find any damage. I ran my finger over the spot and no imperfection. I gotta hand it to Lexus they sure do make a helluva windshield. I wonder if it has extra protection of some kind because Im sure if I was in my old mazda 626 it would have had a huge crack. Thank you Lexus engineers !!!! Great job
Too bad their soft paint on the hood and roof negate all this.
ls430 ultra modles have double pane glass including the front and rear windshield.
All cars have double paned windshields.
The LS430 did not have a double paned rear window, it was tempered. My LS460 has laminated double paned glass all around, except for the rear window as well.
You want to look for the words 'Lamisafe' (Laminated) or "Temprite" (Tempered, single pane), especially on your front/side windows. Many glass manufacturers produce glass with different specifications (including"Acoustic Glass" where it is laminated but the plastic middle layer is thicker than normal). Some time ago I did some digging and talking to aftermarket glass replacement places. If you look again at the "stamp" on any of your car's glass (including sunroof) you'll see a series of numbers and codes. These include a code to indicate which nation (or marketplace) has approved the glass for use in that particular market (North America, Europe, Asia, etc)...what the technical specs for the glass are including the thickness, laminated or not, UV coating, acoustic, etc. etc. Only the actual glass company can tell you what their codes might be. Here are shots of the glass on my '14 ES350 (ex Japan).
Windshield (an aftermarket replacement) Just as a note, all windshields on vehicles sold in North America must be laminated.
Front side window
Rear side window:
Back windshield
Sunroof:
With the history of spontaneous explosions of sunroof glass I'd be happier with Laminated up there but "oh well", it is what it is.
There are websites where you can look up the DOT code (which identifies the manufacturer of the glass), the testing standards code, and the particular region which actually approved the glass. I haven't been able to get a manufacturer to give me the definition of their code specs yet! :-) .
11-27-16, 01:26 PM
