Salvator

Anybody have any stories (good or bad) as to where to go to get a replacement windshield in NOVA for our GX?

TIA

Tammy

NOVA refers to Northern Virginia; not a new star or PBS program?

Seems late posts have refered to what your insurance decides to pay for..

Have a Lexus replacement installed, if they will allow it.

More important, their recommendation on the installation shop.

The installation is the key, no matter who's glass is used.

Salvator

I figured if someone knew what I meant, they probably lived nearby! (Even though you don't )

I contacted my local Lexus dealer and they referred me to a seperate glass company they recommend... I have requested quotes for both Lexus and OEM glass. One positive to using the Lexus dealers recommended installer is that they "should" have worked on more Lexuses (Lexi?) and thus be more familiar with them...

darrellk

Hi, I had one replaced here in Mo. Insurance (State Farm) paid They first tried to install a non Lexus unit, I protested and they finally installed a Lexus OEM windshield, I think it was around $ 300
Regards

Salvator

Thanks for your response! Well, it looks like our insurance is willing to step up to a Lexus windshield without any qualms. Gave us a number to contact and stated that we wanted a Lexus windshield... they have to order it, so it will be a couple of days. Will have to verify, before they start the install, that it truly is a Lexus windshield...

darrellk

Make sure it is marked "Lexus" in the lower left corner
Regards
Darrell

Salvator

I told my wife not to let them even begin the install if there is no "Lexus" script on the glass... Will have to make a point of showing her where to look.

Salvator

Tomorrow's the day... let's see what shows up!

sarah

Not sure who makes the Lexus OEM glass...

However, I recently had the front windshield replaced on my family's '05 MB E350.
I took great pains to ensure that a genuine MB windshield was used. The aftermarket
PPG glass was $550, while the genuine MB glass was $1400.

Guess what, when I personally picked up the MB windshiled at the MB parts dept, it
had the MB logo with "PPG" underneath it.... (I went to the parts dept with the
windshield installer just to make sure that he got a GENUINE MB glass...)

The "aftermarket" PPG glass looks identical, just without the MB star logo... oh, and
it's almost $900 cheaper!

I told the MB parts manager that I changed my mind... went back to the installer's
shop where they put on the "aftermarket" PPG glass...

Oh well....

Salvator

If I were paying out of pocket, I'd probably go with OEM glass... however, my insurance company has indicated that we "should get" Lexus glass, to avoid issues... I'm not about to argue with them... Also, one glass company I talked to said the OEM glass would look "different"... they did not indicate what the difference would be... Someone suggested that Lexus glass has a green tinge to it, and the OEM may not... Here's an interesting photo showing why one shouldn't purchase non-OEM glass...

sayadil

On a car like this.. i would stick with OEM BRANDED windshield.. which garuntees we r getting exactly what the car came with. i had mine replaced on Landcruiser (freee under warranty coz it was a stress fracture) and the replaced one clearly read TOYOTA on the driver side... its peice of mind more then anything... so i would suggest going with the OEM from the dealership... in my case it was only 300 difference.. which was taken care of by the dealership.. (surprisingly)

Salvator

Well, the installer has replaced the glass and my wife says it plainly says "Lexus" in the corner, so we should be good to go... My wife mentioned that the installer indicated that installing the glass on the GX was "much easier" than installing glass on an LX... Apparently the trim on the LX is a bear to work with. Hopefully this windshield lasts a little longer than the original one ( only 2K miles... )

The G Man

The Lexus windshields are made from acoustic glass, it has a special layer in it to keep your ride quiet. The after market one may not be acoustic glass.

Rick0731

I recently replaced my windshield with PPG glass. I paid out of pocket since I carry a $1K ded on my insurance. The PPG glass was $356.00 installed and the Lexus OEM glass would have run around $1,300.00 at my local dealership. The tint and glass quality appears to be the same as the factory glass was. Excellent install with a visually complete seal of the gaskets and no excess mastic. There are some differences being:

I was told there are no extra sound deadening properties with the PPG. It was explained to me that the laminating materials in the OEM glass contain such. I haven't noticed an increase (or any difference) in noise at any speed or with rain.

The PPG glass doesn't have the little "black dots" that create a sun shade between the visors and around the rear view mirror. Not a biggie for me and now I mount my V1 a little higher and more out of sight.

Salvator

Well, they installed a true Lexus windshield... Says Lexus, made by Asahi (just like the rest of the glass on the car), green tint, matrix, the whole shebang... looks like a nice install... have not driven the vehicle yet but my wife did, and said she didn't notice anything amiss... NAV works, haven't tried out the rains sensor... Fortunately for us, our insurance's deductible was $100 for the whole thing! My dealership quoted me $1600! So, moral of the story is to check with your insurance and see if they will step up to a Lexus windshield, they might just surprise you!