e-man

Hmm. You're right Chuck. Yours is held in place by clips. Maybe there's some adhesive as well that you can't see. I'll check for clips on mine today. Interestingly, the back edge of mine (the edge closest to the driver/passenger) seems to line up just like yours. Maybe there are clips on that edge but adhesive on the opposite edge. Or, maybe there was a design change between 99 and 01.

And, Henry, you're absolutely right. I need to relax. If this forum is any indication, I am borderline OCD. That being said, what does the defroster vent look like on your 98?

Fisher503

I am on my second windshield due to those specs. The dealer changed it once under warranty. I feel Lexus should change it as a defect due to the fact that if the sun is at the right angle visiblity is greatly reduced . This is a safety issue that maybe if enough people call Lexus up maybe they will change for free.

e-man

But the specks are due to road debris, right? Are you saying that there is something inherently defective with the glass? Did you buy the car new and were the specks in the windshield when you bought the car? Just wondering.

GS300Rich

I havent seen these specs in other cars I have owned or family or friends have owned, other than the occasional larger rock chip. It is annoying and unsightly but I doubt lexus will do anything about it. Any other Lexus vehicles have this problem besides the GS?

e-man

Hmm. I wonder if you're onto something here, Rich. Do you think it might have something to do with a coating that's on our windshields that might not be on other cars?

Fisher503

I purchased my car new within 35k the specks were there alot. By 50k very bad , so the dealer changed it. I had a 98 ES300 before this car and in 76k there were no specks. And now this windshield has 30k on it and specks are getting worse. Dealer said something about the fact that there is a higher plastic content in the new windshields. Lexus should correct this if this is a problem for alot of people. Maybe a poll here would help to see how many people this really affects.

e-man

Hmm. Maybe we're on to something here. Sounds like speckgate to me. If a few more people respond, maybe I will start a new thread devoted solely to this topic. If enough people have this problem, maybe (and this is a BIG maybe) we could individually go to our dealers and ask for a break (no pun intended) on the price of a new windshield. I doubt we'll get anywhere, but it's worth a try.

GS300Rich

Hey e-man, I bought my GS with less than 30k miles and noticed the specks but they werent as bad as they are now. I am really seriously considering taking a rock and chucking it at my windshield so I can get a new one. Now with all this talk it is bothering me more and more. I would like to hear from some IS LS and SC owners and see if they have the same issues. If not then obviously it is a problem with the GS windshield that should be taken care of by lexus. I realize that this happens from driving but if other Lexus models dont have this problem then something is not right

e-man

Rich -- I had a 99 ES300 2 cars ago (my last car was a 98 GS), and the ES had no specks at all (and that car had about 45,000 highway miles on it when we got rid of it). The 98 GS had no noticeable specks either, but it had an aftermarket windshield, so that doesn't count.

I've made some friends at my Lexus dealership, and they put me in touch with their outside glass guy who visits the dealership every Wednesday to work on their cars. I'm going to try to talk to him personally to see whether he's seen quite a few GS's with this problem. I'll let you know what he says. The head tech at the dealership wants to see whether the glass guy might be able to take some steel wool to the windshield to get rid of the specks. I guess the idea would be that fine steel wool would take a thin layer of glass off of the windshield. Frankly, I would think that steel wool will scratch the glass, but if Lexus wants to try it, and they'll stand behind their work if there's a problem, who am I to say no. I'll report back with the results next Wednesday night.

e-man

GS300Rich

Cant wait to hear the results of the steel wool. I would be leery about this but if they do mess it up then you can get a new windshield out of it, so I guess its a win win situation.