Windshield replacement gone wrong, help (3 Viewers)

[bloc]

Call your local porsche/whatever exotic dealer and try to find out who they use. Or even local lexus dealer. They most likely won't use safelite.

Personally I'll go out of my way to avoid safelite. One of their techs assured me he knew how to do the gasketed windshield in my 80-series.. then it leaked like crazy. They also did the aftermarket panel in my 200 before I bought it.. and used the wrong trim on the top, leading to a loud whistling sound on the freeway.

This topic has been discussed extensively in this section, with lots of other good advice I'm forgetting.

 

[Mingus Dew]

Call your local porsche/whatever exotic dealer and try to find out who they use. Or even local lexus dealer. They most likely won't use safelite.

Personally I'll go out of my way to avoid safelite. One of their techs assured me he knew how to do the gasketed windshield in my 80-series.. then it leaked like crazy. They also did the aftermarket panel in my 200 before I bought it.. and used the wrong trim on the top, leading to a loud whistling sound on the freeway.

This topic has been discussed extensively in this section, with lots of other good advice I'm forgetting.

Much appreciated. Will avoid Safelite for any replacement should that be required (although I'm fine with them doing mobile repairs).

 

[MRego]

Much appreciated. Will avoid Safelite for any replacement should that be required (although I'm fine with them doing mobile repairs).

Yes. You can use them for chip repairs which will avoid having to replace the windshield. I have used Safelite for that several times and they are fine for repairs. I second the others here if you have to replace though. Never aftermarket glass - ALWAYS OEM. Look for a reputable shop in your area - probably the one your local Lexus dealer outsources to.

 

[LC801]

Hey, so the same guy replaced the windshield but with a “Toyota” branded windshield. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s Toyota branded or not but the top seal of mine is perfectly flush now without any ridges. For reference the first windshield the tech installed was about $450, the Toyota brand was $950.

However, it did not fix the leak in the passenger footwell. For that I ordered a new cowl and replaced it myself, took about 5min to do (super easy!). Once I did that the leak went away. I tested it by letting it rain on the car in a torrential downpour, letting a hose run from back to from on the roof, and taking it through a car wash. I am confident in the ability of the windshield once more.

But the first attempt was a mess as I reported in my earlier post with (I can’t remember the name of the glass) but the seal was wavy and when driving in the highway you could hear a lot of highway wind noise etc.

All problems have since been resolved.

TLDR:

-replaced the non-oem windshield with “Toyota” OEM windshield

-replaced cowl (took 5min)

-ran several tests for proper water seal and was successful


Let me know if there’s anything I can answer . I know how stressful it can be and sometimes the forums can gate keep.

Thanks for replying. I’m happy to hear you got everything ironed out.

I did go OEM and confirmed the glass is Toyota branded. I think the installers just did a poor job. The attention to detail was not there.

After your reply I went out to the garage to inspect the cowl. I popped the hood and both of the seals for the engine compartment were hanging on by one clip each. The installer neglected to put them back on. The cowl surprisingly seems like it’s fitting snug and is fully clipped down. I’m still considering replacing it just to be safe. I’ll do that myself when the time comes. After the install I noticed the side molding on the passenger side wasn’t flush and the installer just pushed on it and said it wasn’t clipped in. I have a strong feeling the molding clips are probably broken on both sides. I asked the shop to order me new moldings as mine are looking a bit beat up. The installer was supposed to come out today to install them but he ended up calling and telling me I should probably just come back to the shop given the list of concerns he saw on my list of things for him to check.

So…I’ll be back to the shop on Monday and will report back. Thanks again!

 

[LC801]

Are you getting any wind noise/whistling in the highway?

Not that I can tell so far. Both says I’ve driven it was windy so it was a bit tough to hear anything out of the ordinary.

 

[LC801]

This thread is scaring the hell out of me.

I'm on my 4th windshield on my A6 Wagon over the course of 2.5 years. First replacement was done by the dealer (never again, waste of money) and the other two were done by Safelite (0 issues). I-95 is an absolute nightmare, although I think that car's design just lends itself to rock damage.

So what is accepted wisdom with the 200? I noticed a very small chip today (haven't even driven the car 1000 miles) that I will have Safelite repair next week. If I ever need to replace glass, should I avoid Safelite? Go through the dealer? My insurance policy covers OEM glass at least.

I need a good reason to use a dealer or third party for something like this as the work ends up being $1000+ whereas obviously Safelite is fully covered by insurance. Fingers crossed it's not something I need to deal with for a while.

Best of luck man. The shop I went to was recommended by the Toyota dealer. They will not do glass themselves because of insurance reasons.

As far as Safelite goes…I avoid them. If your local Safelites are anything like mine, go stand outside the bays where they are working on cars and then ask yourself if that’s who you want working on your LC. The amount of care I’ve observed the workers having for peoples cars is not great. Vaping and having a good time, now they are great at that.

 

[LC801]

Yeah if you just have a chip I’d repair it. If you get a crack/webbing then I’d consider it, personally.

Regarding Safelite I would avoid like the plague. Even the tech that finally set my windshield correctly, told me explicitly avoid Safelite.

My 2 cents (and what I’ve gathered from the community online):

-go OEM on the windshield and use IH8MUD or Reddit to find a good windshield shop that has experience. The dealer that people recommended to me in Austin used this 3rd party shop so I just went directly to him.

-if you see a leak in your passenger footwell you’ll have to replace the cowl under the windshield. Part # 55708-60091 ($344) easy to replace, under 5min

I stressed out initially but once you get it down it’s not too much of a pain/loss of sleep. Just a little on the pricey side $$$.

I can’t wait to get to this point. LOL!!! It’s going to be a long weekend.

“I stressed out initially but once you get it down it’s not too much of a pain/loss of sleep. Just a little on the pricey side $$$.”

 

[LC801]

Appointment has been moved to Thursday. ️