WOW! I was wondering why so many windshields were just cracking for no reason! (The stress cracks....I know several people that have had to deal with these.)

 

>> WOW! I was wondering why so many windshields were just cracking for no reason! (The stress cracks....I know several people that have had to deal with these.)

After all this talk, I'm getting stressed and I think I'm going to crack!!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! !!

 

Does anyone have a Strut Tower Brace? and do those cars have more or less stress crack problems??

 

Could the frame around the window be slightly warped on DaveInDenver's Mini? That could be why it is more susceptible than other folk's car.

As for the insurance, frequent window replacements will affect your rates in the long run as stated by someone earlier.
-Otto

 

I don't think it's the frame, as I asked the windshield installer about how the window fit in comparison to other MINIs they have done. It wasn't any different in their opinion.

The thing to remember is that two of my windshields were stress cracked. The first one was a known problem in the early build MINIs because the windshields were being installed too low in the picture frame. The 2nd one I have no explanation for. Windshield #3 caught 3 stone chips, a victime of the MINI windscreen having a much more vertical incline than most cars.

*Plus* as I stated earlier the MINI windscreen glass is significantly thinner than the other windshields I saw in the installer's truck (random sample obviously). The installers vouched for the fact that the MINI windshields are on the thin side relative to the other automotive glass they generally install.

 

Dave, as another MINI owner who lives part-time in Colorado, I can "feel your pain", but it's not the fault of MINI glass. It's a problem with all new auto glass. We've been told (after replacing several Ford windshields) that the new auto glass, in order to comply with the safety rules (will "pebble", not splinter), is softer than older glass. I'm having the third windshield put in my MINI next week - first was cracked while used as a demo by dealer, so dealer replaced it, now it's replacement #2 (my dime) because of crack and pitting due to passing gravel truck. I hope this one lasts a little longer. My Colorado glass man said that, if possible, park it with the windshield in the shade - that might keep a small ding from running into a crack. Good luck!

 

Has anyone been bothered by the fact that there is no sun-tint at the top of their windshield?? I was considering getting it put in, but if my car is prone to chips and replacement, I'll hold off since I'd most likely be replacing it soon after I have it tinted.

thoughts??

 

Tint the whole thing....

 

>>Does anyone have a Strut Tower Brace? and do those cars have more or less stress crack problems??

I have a stut tower brace. 'Had it for a couple of months. As of today no cracks.
But then my MINI is not a joker.

 

I think someone jealous put some bad mojo on DaveInDenver's Mini. Nobody (but me) has that kind of luck (and I know I'm cursed!).

 

Am curious if those of you who have suffered (non-rock related) windshield cracks have the cold weather package that includes the heated windshield, and if this problem could have had anything to do with Mini's decision to remove this option from the 2003 model.

I'd ordered "Thor" in March '02 with the cold weather package specifically because I liked the idea of the heated windshield, but when he finally arrived in mid November the feature was absent, and has been removed from the list of options offered on Mini.com. Of course my dealer never mentioned this change... but then I digress.

 

The heated windshield was never actually available from the factory only on the MINIUSA site. So no one has the heating elements yet.

 

One suggestion that I have used for years to save my windshield:
Try to drive more in reverse.
Esp. at high speeds and stone prone roads.
It also allows to you to make eye contact with rear seat passengers and tailgaters.
Buzz

 

>>One suggestion that I have used for years to save my windshield:
>>Try to drive more in reverse.
>>Esp. at high speeds and stone prone roads.
>>It also allows to you to make eye contact with rear seat passengers and tailgaters.
>>Buzz


I'll definitely second that!

 

 

damn dave!
sorry to hear about your troubles!
that is some crazy ish.....
#5....
i thought the 3rd would be the charm!

 

nfo: I like your new sig piccie. the little nfo in the lower corner is subtle. I like that a lot.

 

I think I got you beat - my first rock chip happened the same day that I brought the car home! Less than 12 hours old!

State Farm sent someone out to repair it for me... the only problem being that my car wasn't in the insurance computer system yet, so it wasn't taken car of as quickly as it normally would have been. As others have noted, though, insurance companies will usually repair a chip (if possible) at no charge to you, regardless of your deductable.

Also, I saw some comments here about the cold weather package and heated windshields - my understanding is that only folks in Europe are getting the heated windshield, and I have seen posts from people that actually have it. The reason they are not offering it in the US is because it would interfere with our EZ Pass tags, although I'm not positive about that. I am positive that you can get it in the UK, though.

 

Maybe you should cover your entire windshield with invinca-shield.

Sorry about your troubles.

See ya,
JS

 

Did it make a crack? Or just a hole or star shaped scar?

 

It's cracked, but repairable. Even so, the whole thing is already pock marked from the last couple months. All that freakin gravel on the roads here.

 

Not sure who you were directing that question to, but in my case, the rock created a "bulls-eye" chip, which was almost perfectly round. No spidering or cracking, and hopefully, the repair will keep it from cracking in the future.

 

good to know- am MA resident as well and was biginning to get freaked out by all these windshield horror stories...

 

I think dave should drive somewhere else other than in gravel pits and behind dump trucks. Give me a break! (no pun intended) guy goes through a windshield every 24 hours. My best guess is that dave must have one of those giant oversized sunroofs which are way to big for the vehicle. Cars with monster sunroofs don't have the structural integrity of a car without. Have seen a few stress crack complainers at my local dealer and they all had that goofy giant sunroof. Those things are a nightmare...

 

I haven't had a stress crack in at least two windshields.

MINI's glass is thin.
MINI's glass is vertically inclined, which lends to more direct hits.
The Colorado Department of Transportation freaking loves gravel.

Put it all together and you get my current series of problems.