My Taurus company car windshield cracked and was replaced at 600 miles, and then again at 1,800 miles. Now at 3,000 miles and just waiting for the next.

Each time there was hardly a mark that would start a crack going.

In addition to the thin glass, is it possible that some frames are out of whack and the glass is stressed....just waiting for a little tap?

 

Dave you are the windscreen expert! You have bought 4 windshields! OUCH!!!

but it's not just the MINI! I currently have a Honda Accord and I had a rock from the Texas Dept of Transportation hit me 3 months after I leased the car and 4 days later it got freezing cold and it ran clear across side to side. So I had to replace the windshield! Good to know going in that the MINI windscreen is lightweight - thus can crack from rocks WAY easier!

 

Geez - I live in Denver. Is this what I have to look forward to...........Uugh. Now I'm nervous. :???: :???: :???: :???:

 

Dave, sorry about the windshields. Like you, most of us are not interested in a "relationship" with the glass companies or personally funding the insurance company pension plans. The number of windshield incidents from you and others seems to raise a safety question. Two groups which have a professional interest in addressing these matters: National Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (NIIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are in a position to make things happen.

Have these been reported to them?

Happy motoring!

 

Sure hope this is nothing to worry about. This is the down-side of hanging out on message boards -- mole hills easily turn to mountains.

I've been driving for over 30 years now and have had to replace three winshields -- one due to an impatient spasm that made my fist contact the glass, one to a 4x4 that was almost long enough to fit in to the car and the third to a guitar case that I wedged too tightly into the truck cab with a bunch of other gear. Never had anything break from the outside, curiously. Then again, I hang 'way back when following at speed. Got a ticket for tailgating early on and it cured me.

Mark of Pemburnia

 

I was just thinkin... is there any relation between those of you with cracked windshields with the auto-sensing wipers/auto-dim v. those who don't have that?

ryan

 

Looks like DiD has the manual rear-view mirror. Dave definitely has to stop hanging out behind gravel trucks,

I have an idea; what about using that clear film we put on our headlights, put it on the windshield! I wonder how optically transparent that stuff is, and if it'd actually help prevent cracks (mostly stone, not so much stress-related (which would be warranty anyway)).

Wheels are turning now!,
Cheers,
Ryan

 

I have gone thru 3 windshield on my acura in coloradoin 1 year. Im glad im moving to texas so when i get my mini i dont have to deal with the gravel out here.
P.S Dave do you drive into the mountains on I70 a lot?

 

Just to clarify an earlier point, the heated front windscreen is now available in the UK as ive just come from the garage and ordered it for my cooper S at what i thought was a bargain £170 (which includes the auto dip mirror/wipers) thats about $250-300. Since then ive seen my mate who has a cooper, and he informed me that he now has 2 chips in 6 months, and now ive read this post.....excuse me, but im going back to the mini garage to change my order again! bah! :???:

_________________
Awaiting June: MCS/DS, painted arches, sat nav, Sony mex-1hd head unit, HK system. most extras.

 

In the Summer, yes. In the winter, not much. I'm really more of a Summer in Colorado person, if you know what I mean. I never really skied much, and it's only been in the last month that I got into snowboarding. However, for that I have taken my Jetta. The MINI had autocross tires on at the time.

Anyhow, my windshield stone chipping seems to be isolated to C470.

 

Good God Almighty! You guys need to move or just keep replacing windshields. I have always thought that South West Georgia was was the most wonderful place in the US to live, boy howdy, now this confirms it! One (1) cracked windshield in 33 years. Yeeeeehaw!

 

Yeah, well I may be on my 4th windshield and there might be a lot of gravel around here, but....

eat your heart out.

 

>>I was just thinkin... is there any relation between those of you with cracked windshields with the auto-sensing wipers/auto-dim v. those who don't have that?
>>
>>ryan

No relationship whatsoever since these options were not available until Dec '02 builds by which time the stress cracking problem had been solved (we hope). You will notice that DiD's last 3 have been caused by road debre not any features of the windshield (other than possibly the thin glass).
I am hoping that Dave is getting all of the damage for the Denver MINI comunity so that I do not have to change a windshield

 

Ok Dave, you won this round! Simply beautiful.

 

GARFIELD,

It's only round one. :smile:

Dave

 

Dave,

No I don't have pictures, digital camera, the knowledge to post, mountain roads, & never any snow. I will seek assistance from one of my able secretaries to get this
done real soon & then I will challenge. What we do have here in SW GA is very flat
land, the beautiful Flint River teeming with fish, pulling on one's line all 12 months,
seven golf courses within a 10 mi. radius, playable all year. The weather is superb
with very little cold weather. Of course we do have Georgia knats.
I'll get back with you!
(ps: All chilli red MC 4800 mi. since Nov. 11th 02)

 

Garfield,

Well, I've never been to SW Geogia before, but it sounds like you're living one sweet life there. :smile:

If you get pictures, let me know and I'll be happy to help you post them. I have seen all chilli red in person before, very cool color combination.

 

Dave,

You need to come on out to North Carolina. We have the curvy roads, but mild winters are no gravel on the roads that I've ever seen. :smile:



See ya,
JS

 

Hello JS

Beautiful pic! Looks like Telico Plains, TN., a great trout fishing location. Where in
N.C. was this picture taken? Let me guess........Somewhere around Mars Hill? Another great place to drive a Mini in N.C. I bet would be North of Wilmington, in the Outer Banks Area. I drove my MINI from SW Ga. to Rockingham in Jan. Got so many looks you would have thought I was an alien.
Happy Motoring!

 

Thanks, Garfield. I took that shot last fall on Hwy 221 near Grandfather Mountain, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are many wonderful roads tailor-made for the MINI in NC. I really like the Tellico Plains area, as well. I can't wait to do some photography with the MINI in the mountains of NC.

I have a very good friend from GA that is originally from Cordele, GA. That may be near you.

I can't wait to get my MINI. I've got the itch!

See ya,
JS

 

>>>>
>>Thanks, Garfield. I took that shot last fall on Hwy 221 near Grandfather Mountain, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are many wonderful roads tailor-made for the MINI in NC. I really like the Tellico Plains area, as well. I can't wait to do some photography with the MINI in the mountains of NC.
>>
>>I have a very good friend from GA that is originally from Cordele, GA. That may be near you.
>>
>>I can't wait to get my MINI. I've got the itch!
>>
>>See ya,
>>JS
JS: Hope you get your MINI real soon. Money & love brings happiness, but owning & driving a MINI takes you to the next level.
Cordele is approx 25 mi. north of Albany, a small town of about 15000, bordering I75. Good luck!

 

I am not sure if they are even legal for road use, or certain on a price, but when I was pretty heavy into car audio some competitors had winshields custom made from lexan I think (something clear that wasn't glass). This is because with mega sound pressure levels it isn't uncommon for them to break windsheilds just from the amount of sound produced. Just to put it in perspective, these are the same people pouring 6 inches of concrete into the floor of a car to help deaden the sound.(And some people thought regular sound dampening material adds weight.)

Example of lexan windsheild:

more info on van at:
lexan windowed van

I am sure if you went to some better expert car audio forums they could give you prices, legality, availability and other information on these non glass windsheilds. Also I know of drag racers putting lexan in full bodied cars.

I am not sure of the optical clarity of this stuff or how it reacts with impactsor every day use, but its another alternative.

 

Just experienced my first windshield crack... had the car for under a month I'm so upset... I am not sure that it will be covered by warrenty.. I hope so.. It's like 1/2 crack on the right side of the window near the middle. I hope that this doen't keep happeneidng like it did for Dave.

 

Can you guyz have a custom windshield made for a decent price that is thicker? How much does a regular windhield cost?

 

I was hoping that my crack that started last month was a stress crack....no such luck! The dealer inspected it and found a tiny tiny (have I mentioned TINY) chip that slowly spread to a crack that goes from passenger side to drivers side. There goes my $250 deductable. = ( I refuse to have it fixed until this horrible Pittsburgh winter is over! I know it will just get cracked again!!!