ANCL

After 4 years at 150000 KM, the windshield has taken quite a beating. It currently has a few very minor chips and 2 or 3 more noticeable ones but no cracks. In direct sunlight from the inside you can see a million little 'white' dots that get annoying but do not affect the ride.
What do you think? Is it more trouble waiting to happen replacing the original windshield with a new OEM one?

gyung

iTrader: (1)

I had the same issue as well, but now it's 6 years old. I decided against it because my front is tinted and didn't want to do it again, but I was more worried about the seals.

sleekbrian

iTrader: (1)

My windshield has many imperfections as well. Yes its annoying/frustrating, but i don't think i'll ever replace it unless its necessary or there is a large crack. Its just too much of a headache and also expensive.

kingster

My car has some cracks ranging from 2-6 inches. Good thing is that they are on the right upper corner. It does not affect my visibility at all. I am waiting for windshield to be completly useless due to cracks or get a fix citation to replace it. In the mean time, a nice sticker will do.
Some shops do fix chips and cracks on windshield. May not be worth it if you have a few because they may charge $80+ per chip or crack.

Good luck

kingster

My car has some cracks ranging from 2-6 inches. Good thing is that they are on the right upper corner. It does not affect my visibility at all. I am waiting for windshield to be completly useless due to cracks or get a fix citation to replace it. In the mean time, a nice sticker will do.
Some shops do fix chips and cracks on windshield. May not be worth it if you have a few because they may charge $80+ per chip or crack.

Good luck

ssis300

iTrader: (2)

State Farm sends out people to fix chips at no cost to the policyholder. Cracks are covered under Comprehensive, I believe. My old IS300 had the windshield replaced by State Farm because there was an inch-long crack in the driver's side line-of-sight. I had the work done at the Lexus dealer for the cost of my $50 deductible. I had ZERO issues with leaks or wind noise/etc with the new factory glass. In hindsight, I would have obtained the factory glass at Sewell and saved a few hundred bucks!

kuuqi

Yeah I had my oem windshield replaced covered 100% by my insurance. Over here if you have comprehensive, you get one free windshield replacement per year. Keep in mind if your vehicle is over 1 or 2 years old, chances are insurance won't cover for OEM glass which lists for $1k or something along the lines of that. They covered for aftermarket which I opted for PPG which is almost as good. Only gripes I have are:

The upper left and right corners are slightly distorted. I have, however, looked at 2012 IS250's and their oem glass distorts as well. I don't recall my 07 oem glass doing this though.

And the glass is slightly shorter in height and it leaves a tad bit of extra space between the roof and windshield. It's something only an owner would notice though.

ANCL

My concerns with aftermarket is the possible aerodynamics + wind noise.

My car is now 4 years old and I am unsure if my insurance company provides windshield coverage and if they did... It is a $1000 deductible...

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

Aftermarket windshields are good! Expect to pay around 150-250 installed. Just call up an autoglass company

Sango

iTrader: (10)

I would go with OEM glass since it's designed for the car while aftermarket not necessarily.

On my previou car, had an aftermarket one put in, ti was louder and the factory built in tint on the top was wider than that of the OEM (sort of made it look awkard).

n8236

Do not change out your windshield.

A friend of mine had his changed out because it had a crack on it and it was never as good as OEM. The original was put on by a machine, so the seal is perfect. No wind noise or gaps. My friend used Auto-Lite's and it took 5 replacements he had a half decent seal. If you have anything besides OEM, I suggest you go on the freeway and test it with speeds up to 85 mph. It's critical you go on a high wind bridge and go up to that speed. You need to test your windshield with winds going in ALL directions before you know the seal is good.

If you have no cracks and only dents on your OEM, get it filled out. Don't replace it.

Anyone with a half a mind will probably not purchase another OEM windshield. The price is astronomical for an identical piece of glass. Your only concern is the seal which having an OEM won't help.