was driving up to gainesville from orlando this past weekend. cruising along, no big deal, all the sudden, CRACK! sound.

looked around, no spider cracks, no rocks, no potholes i hit, nothing, just cruising, then CRACK! very loud, hence all caps. lol.

anyway, keep driving, finally notice a big *** crack right in the middle of the windshield (just below the falling edge of the driver wiper). finally get to gville and check for a rock chip... Nothing.

the split starts at the base of the windshield, works its way up to the wiper, takes a left (looking out of the car) and is working its way quickly towards the other side of the glass.

it just seems so strange to me that this would happen with no actual "cause"; i swear i didnt hit a pothole, Maybe maybe the road had a bump, like going from pavement to asphalt, but thats normal all over the place.

anyway, im in FL, so i get a "freebie" windshield, which is fine. what i need advice on is replacement pieces, like trim. is anything likely to break when they do a glass replacement? tabs, trim, ect.?

and, is it worth it to buy MINI brand glass, or does anyone thing the aftermarket stuff would be as good or better? (cant say im impressed with the glass currently on the car, it seems very soft).

feel like this damn car is falling apart on me all of the sudden

 

I just had the same thing happen to my 04 R53. I just figured it was from all of the body twisting from taking corners and freeway access ramps to fast. Cheap price for the thrill it gives. I don't drive my Mercedes coupe like I do the MINI so it has never happened on that car.

 

If I remember right, when I had my R53, I received a letter from MINI stating I had extended coverage on windshields that cracked. It was due to stress fractures (it sounds like what you had) from MINI windshields. However, this has been a couple years ago and I'm not sure what years were affected by the extended coverage.... Then again now that I'm thinking more about it, it may have actually been a class action law suit for people who had to replace the glass and pay for it.

So basically I have told you nothing... with that...

In terms of glass and gaskets, I'd get a new windshield gasket as that will most likely be damaged on removal considering the age of your vehicle. The rest of your trim, I'd replace as it breaks. There is no way to know for sure if anything like the A-pillar pieces will break or not so I'd just wait till the job is done and assess from there.

Brand of glass? I don't think MINI brand is necessary. I'd just stop by a local glass place and pick their brain about good and bad quality brands of glass. I'm not sure how well an internet search will compare to a professional shop you can actually talk to and see which ones they've had good experience with.

 

Mine cracked right in the middle in the upper part, but I already had two other cracks 6'' apart from each others, they both have impact. The third one was most likely just stress.

 

R53's and 56's both have issues with stress fractures due mostly to improper installation wherein the glass rests on a body projection and over time causes the crack. There is no replaceable seal as such, polyurethane sealant is used. Two important items to be aware of: 1) once the old sealant has been removed the area needs to be primed to prevent corrosion later and 2) DO NOT move the car for 24 hours after windshield replacement or leaks will ensue.

MINI glass is not worth the money the dealership would charge. They won't sell you the glass without installation and that runs north of $1,200. Pilkington glass is very good and supplies MINI now. The old supplier had been in Austria but was bought by a company in S. America and tended to have hand and finger prints embedded in the vinyl layer between the glass layers. MINI had to replace my R53 windshield twice for just that reason.

 

Pilkington! There is the name I couldn't think of! Right there, that is the glass you want. Thanks SSSSSSSS!( i think thats the right amount of 'S's...)

 

thanks guys. nice to know im not the only one... sort of :P
maybe ill try mini first, see if im covered. otherwise, insurance will cover it at no cost, again thanks to strange florida laws. not sure what type of glass ill get, prolly whatever insurance covers.

good to know about not moving the car for 24 hours. ill have to do this on a weekend for sure then.

 

Pilkington or PPG were used by MINI and both are good quality. Don't go for anything but these.

 

call SAFELITE

over the years I've had them put in a dozen new windshields on various cars including 2 on MINIs

they have a 100% satisfaction gar'tee

one time I had an issue and called 'em, they came back the next day and replaced everything a second time. No questions just "sorry about that"

if they break trim, they replace it with new . . .

they partner with many insurance companies . . .

will do the job at your home or place of work (space permitting)

(and I've driven immediately after they've finished with no subsequent leaks)

 

More than likely the "A" pillar trim clips will break. A lot of companies try to glue them back on which works for a while, then they fly off.

Waiting for 24 hours before moving the vehicle is right out of MINI's play book.

 

+1...but driving depends on the the type of sealant/glue used...
The traditional cold urethane needs 24 hours to be safe.....
But many mobile installers use "hot" urethane.... Can be OK in about an hour...longer is better...when when cold, it is set and cured....negative is less working time for the installer...so they must be good....cold set has much more time,........

 

Stress cracks are not uncommon. If, when the windshield is installed in the car, an edge of the glass rests on or is too close to a metal part the twisting of the car body can eventually cause it to crack. It will start at one of the edges of the glass and there will not be any evidence of a chip caused by a stone

 

4 WINDSHIELDS IN 4 MONTHS = $1000 insurance deductibles.
Can't be worse than mine... my original OEM windshield (2004 MINI COOPER) lasted 10 years; when in 2/2014 it developed a serious crack. I paid SafeLite Auto Glass $365 out-of-pocket to replace it. Well, in April that one cracked so I called Progressive; insurance covered but I paid $250/deductible. Guess what happened next? That one cracked in May; they replaced on a Friday 11am ... that Saturday 3pm IT CRACKED TOO! So it was replaced... again @$250...
Needless to say I am soo p1ss3d 0ff right now because upon leaving my office today there was a new 12" crack out-of-nowhere and no sign of impact! How does a one-foot crack just-appear while parked for 8 hours in-the-shade? And like yours (and all my prior cracks) they start beneath the wiperblade and go up a few inches then across the glass even longer.

 

My window cracked…. Started at the top center, at the right hand side of the rear view mirror. The crack dropped about 3.5 inches,then jutted at a 90% angle to the right, another 4 inches. What I thought was strange, was the total lack of spidering, or any visible impact… It was the immaculate crack! Of course my service advisor, said that the impact-again NO sign of impact- had to be on the rubberized windshield gasket….? Mini has absolutely no integrity.I really think that my windshield suffered a crack, caused simply by stress.