today and to my horror there were several small chips in the windshield on the drivers side. I have less than 600 miles on the car and can't remember anything hitting the windshield. Either I'm just unlucky or the windshield IS more likely to chip than most. I have very old vehicles with chip free windshields. Guess I should have gotten the zero deductible comprehensive.

OK, got my first boo-boo....I'm ready to motor now!

 

Chips in the windscreen don't hurt as much as those in the body paint. (I think.) 29k and I've still not got any cracks started, but a chunk of chips. (Gaggle of geese, pride of lions and chunk of chips?)

God speed.

 

I have to say the same thing. My car has less than 10k on the clock and the windshield looks downright awful. It's filled with tiny chips and pocks all over. If it doesn't crack or break in a year's time it will have to be replaced anyway for being nearly opaque. Needless to say I am not happy at all about this. I have a 35 year old Dodge with the original windshield and 200k that looks about as bad.

I have never seen a windshield so prone to damage as this one.

 

It's not to late. I'd change it prior to real damage, like a crack (stress or not). After my windshield cracked and the new one was installed, my first call was to change my deductible to zero. The difference was only $46 per year.

Maybe it's just wishfull thinking but after 8000+ miles on my replacement glass the PPG is holding up well in the chip battle.

 

Mine at 8,000 miles looks like it has been sand blasted and I have never had this car in a sand storm. They are most noticeable in the morning and evening when the sun is low on the horizon. Looks like a windshield on a car with many more miles. It also has lots of chips but still no cracks.

 

I just got my first real stone chip yesterday. I was driving along, no trucks in sight when, WHAM! something smacked my windshield. I saw the chip right away and you wouldn't have wanted to be in the car with me at that moment. Oooooooh, the things I said

My insurance co. has a deal where they fix stone chips smaller than a quarter for free - I guess so they don't have a claim for a cracked shield later. I have never seen a patched windshield so I am kind of torn. Is the fix worse looking than the damage? It's pretty small at this point and I don't want to do something that will make it look worse.

I agree with the bugs and stuff, too. My windshield is always dirty looking - it's like a bug-gut magnet. Gets a little frustrating.

Laurie

 

I think the windscreen is so prone to chipping since the angle at which it hits the air is so vertical. I had the same problem on my truck - bugs & gravel would destroy a windscreen faster than one would imagine. My mustang did not get nearly as many chips in it as quickly as my MINI has. I drive 60+ miles a day on it with my commute as well, so a majority of my impacts are at 80+ mph.

What really gets me is when I can *hear* the sand or fine particles hitting my paint & windscreen when driving behind cars/trucks/semi's :evil: :evil:

 

Welcome to the world of MINI windshields.
The chip, they crack, they pit.
They are substandard, one of the issues we all wish MINI would properly address.
The cracking is one issue, but the pitting is another. I've had four big chips that I had repaired, all cause by rocks, but not even very big sized rocks at all. I've been lucky and had no cracks yet. I also have hundreds of little pits and pinholes on my windshield, from debris so small you can't see it or hear the impact, yet it leaves a crater. After 22k miles on my MINI, I will need a new shield soon. 5 years and 60k mi in a Subaru and not pit, no chip! My MINI's windshield has far more damage than the paint, the paint is stronger than the glass, for crying out loud!



Darwin Speed.....

 

Would a window tinter be able to put a clear tint on the outside to help?

 

I've had a crack repaired on another vehicle a few years ago. They use the same process to repair chips. If you didn't notice the chip until you cleaned your windshield and looked at it closely, it will be the same after the repair. The chip is filled in, it's not perfect but close enough that you won't see it unless you really look.

 

Check your email for our offer of assistance. If you prefer, you can call us at 866-ASK MINI and please mention Reference # 1-106678432 so that we can help you more efficiently.

 

Join the club, I have 9,500 miles and will pass the number of pits in my '95 integra before long. The integra has 195,000 miles on it. The mini's windshield would be completely opaque by 195,000 miles. I must have 1000's of pits already, and I feel LUCKY because it hasn't cracked, pathetic.

 

The worst windshields on the market today bar none! I have been lucky with my 02, only one chip so far but the entire surface, if you look at it closely enough, shows all sorts of tiny little sand blast marks. Want to know why the Mini listed for under 20m the windshields and paint jobs are very low quality materials.