My MINI has about 7,000 miles on it, and the mystery crack appeared on Sunday afternoon. I'm not sure where it came from...I just know it wasn't from an impact of any sort. Since it's in the top center of the windshield, it's not in my line of vision. If I pay to get this fixed, will it just happen again in a few months? How much can I plan to pay for PPG glass? And does everyone seem to have better luck with PPG glass? If not, there's little point in replacing the window until the crack grows bigger...although, I would hate to see a crack in my windshield every time I walk up to my car.

 

If it wasn't caused by an impact your dealer should replace it under warranty.

 

your insurance should also cover a cracked windshield for free if the MINI warranty doesn't. mine has been replaced several times.

 

You can try to get MINI to replace it - they will visually inspect it and do the 'pen' test. If they either see a chip or the pen catches in a chip, they will not replace it under warranty (the chip can be microscopic). I had PPG glass installed in my wife's '05 last September at an authorized ProStar dealership and have been very pleased with it. My '06 has an L shaped crack at the top of the windshield and I will have it replaced with PPG glass once the weather warms up (I want the garage well above freezing when my MINI sits in there over the weekend while the sealants are fully curing). There has been much debate about the quality of the MINI glass - for my money, I'd rather spend $350 on PPG glass than $800 at the MINI dealer.

 

.... usually true IF you have $0 deductible on your comprehensive...

 

+1

 

Last summer I had my Windshield replaced by MINI, the crack stared top center and then took a sharp tun to the left. Drove 200 miles to the nearest dealer and they replaced it. Came out to get in it 3 days later and thought I was dreaming the exact same crack reapeared. they replaced it again. So far so good. they say it's a stress thing.

 

I have a 2006 mini cooper with a quarter size rock chip on the windsheild. I have the rock chip for a week now. So far, it has stayed the same, crack's not getting bigger. (fingers cross)
Hope you get it fixed under warranty. Any 2006 coopers with any windsheild problems let us know.

 

yeah, take it to the dealer, and see if its a stress crack, if it is they should replace it under warranty, if not, you will have to cover it out of pocket (or get your insurance to cover it)

Worth noting, if you replace with non OEM glass, and a stress crack appears, it will NOT be covered under warranty, so keep that in mind when choosing a replacement if mini doesn't replace it under warranty. . .

if you shop around, oem glass isn't that much more expensive, we got my wifes windshield replaced (rock hit it) with OEM glass for $247.49. Go with an independent shop in your area, rather than one of the chains, and stay away from Safelite like the plague.

 

Thank you for the helpful comments.


Great info... Thank you rubyred3.

 

To their credit--the windshield that safelite installed in my car nearly a year ago has held up far better than the one that came stock in my '03 (which had accumlated 3 major cracks and multiple chips by the time I gave in to have it replaced). Good luck with your replacement!

 

How about car rentals? Universal Mini said it's a 2 day minimum windshield repair,* and that they would give me a discount on a rental in the meantime. While I understand paying for a rental while getting a check up, I don't see why I need to pay for a manufact. defect. Anyone had experience with this?

*The girl said she thinks they need to take out the airbags? Really?

 

i just assumed...


take out the airbags? 2 day repair?
it's an hour job at most! that's silly.

 

Some insurance companies wave your deductible for glass repair.

Usually, it's for chip repairs to prevent windshield replacement though... because they realize they'll save a lot of money in the long run by preventing chips from turning into cracks.

 

That's what I thought. And they emphasized two day minimum. I guess that's why no one has mentioned rentals; their windshield's are probably being fixed in a normal amount of time ....

 

My dealer (45 minutes each way) looked at mine (with a magnifying glass I think) and said it was rock damage so I came home and insurance covered it and I insisted on a factory MINI replacement not the plain Jane they offered at first.

 

I note 'green' is in FL: FL law doesn't allow insurance companies to apply deductable clause to front glass.....I'm not aware of any other state with that law. Learned that the hard way when I moved out of FL.....

front glass falls under the comprehensive portion of my insurance. for 4 vehicles the rate change going from $200 deductable on comp' to zero deductable for a year was $30. Learned THAT after paying the deductable for glass twice.... OK, I'm slow..... glass claims under comp' have not caused my rates to go up.

every insurance policy is different - but it doesn't cost anything to ask. 'tween my 4 vehicles, I average two windshields a year. Too many rocks tossed by trucks around here I guess.....

I've had SAFELITE do my MINI twice in my driveway - completely satisfied both times....drivable in a couple of hours

 

When I was in New Mexico my 1 month old Mini's glass cracked. USAA's deductible was $200 so I didn't mess with having them pay for anything. On the bright side, they made the appointment for me at Safelite so I got the insurance-company special price. Ended up spending just short of $200. Good service, and the Safelite windshield has withstood many months of abuse and a huge rockstrike with zero cracks.

Even if you have to spend a few dollars, I would recommend getting Safelite or PPG installed. Mini might replace for free, but you might get more of their brittle glass and be wasting more of your time doing the same thing in a few months, and a few months after that.

--Doug (too lazy to hunt down how to fix my signature graphic)

 

Found this thread after I discovered a crack on my '06. It just appeared out of nowhere on top of the windshield, right in the middle.. 'L' shaped!! I took it to my dealership yesterday and because of my high milage they spent a lot of time looking at it, but in the end they concluded that it was stress related and they'll replace it under warranty next week.. whew! Apparently sress related cracks normally appear during the first season of driving.. it's uncommon for them to appear later like in my case.

 

My windshiled had cracked a few months after I bought my car (new). When I brought it in, I told them that I knew about this manufacturer's defect (citing NAM and MINI2), and told the SA not to push a pen into it - just to run his finger over it, and see that nothing external had caused it. They replaced it under warranty.

Zip

 

Hello all,
I was wondering what the pen test was and why would you suggest them to just run their finger over it??? Do the 07's have any of these issues with the brittle glass. Thanx for listening

 

Although a true stress crack usually occurs from the inside out, a pen can make it worse. They are looking for something for the tip of the pen to get hung up in so they can tell you the crack is a result of an external hit, like a rock, etc.

Zip

 

Question?? any of you guys replaced the windshield with Rain Sensor?

Dealership says just short of (ready)$1000.00

I have had two MCSsand the factory glass seems sofy--gets sand blasted.

I understand that PPG does not make the rain sensor, not Bibswanger(sp)

Need help!

 

Well, you have a choice. Go for the $1k outlay if the crack is determned to not be a manufacturing defect, or go for an aftermarket non-RS windlshield and turn the wipers on yourself. =oO

Zip

 

that would be too much trouble--actually, you have to turn on the rain sensor every time you turn the key off. Once on, it will work super until you turn the key off. Thats a pain--have to think