Tundra Windshields

Disclaimer: This will be a detailed if not long thread. My truck is a 2014 1794 CrewMax with the heated option for the wiper park area & does not have Toyota Safety Sense since it is Pre 2018. This is going to cover most Tundras from 2008 To 2018 but will also give some general windshield information. I haven’t been compensated by any of the brands mentioned below.

I wanted to start a thread regarding windshields for our trucks since I didn't find a ton of information when researching this myself & hope it can help someone who may need to have a windshield replaced in their Tundra or any vehicle really. I am picky when it comes to auto glass so I wanted to do it right the first time & get a quality piece of glass that was properly installed.

A little background, I currently run an auto repair shop outside of Atlanta, our main focus being European & Asian imports but we do some Domestic as well. Like most shops we sub-contract a company to do our glass work. This is true for most independent auto body & repair facilities including your larger dealerships. I deal with a couple different glass companies as some of these windshields can get expensive with all the ADAS tech, well over $2000.00 after calibrations etc.

A little over a year ago before Thanksgiving travels, I noticed a small crack at the bottom of my windshield, driver side, didn’t extend past the wiper blade so I left it alone. Fast forward to about a month ago & the crack had traveled almost halfway up the windshield so before it got any worse, I saw it fit to get it changed. My truck is a 2014, with the factory PPG windshield installed in it & some pitting, shallow scratches, & etches when I bought it. I had it tinted at 70% about a year after I bought it. The factory windshield itself wasn’t bad in terms of quality, PPG was factory for my Toyota but I wanted something better so started researching.

If you go to a dealership they are going to charge you well over $1000.00 to install a windshield. It will more than likely be another PPG they were the OE windshield supplier for most of our trucks. Toyota now uses Pilkington for most of their OE glass. Called my suppliers & of course you can get some pretty cheap glass these days, think sub $200.00 for our trucks. My suppliers didn’t even give me an option to install them since they don’t want the use of cheap glass ruining their reputation. Expect what you pay for with a glass like this; it will be lower quality, probably have some waves/distortion in the glass that you can see, & more prone to chipping/scratching. For some owners that’s ok, not for me.

I decided I wanted to go with a Pilkington glass if they offered one for a couple of reasons. They are OE for a lot of the German autos I’m used to driving. The glass itself is very high quality, they are in several of my family’s vehicles and have no distortion nor waviness & are fairly clear even after years of service. They also offer some additional features/variants on most of their windshields like thermal & acoustic glazing that most other manufacturers don’t offer. Pilkington offers what they call a solar control windshield as the basic windshield option, with or without the heated area for our trucks. They also offer a high line windshield with an infrared reflecting film laminated between their solar control glass, Siglasol, that takes temperature control a step further. This is what I was looking for & ended up getting for my truck. It was a little more expensive & special order but well worth it. A lot of the Euro manufacturers have this feature from factory & it certainly makes a difference in the warmer southern climates. I always use a sunshade when parked outside but even when driving in direct sunlight there is a difference. Tinted this one 70% as well to help block out additional UV & give me more thermal reduction. Expect a Pilkington to run from the $300-$500 depending on installer.

PPG & PGW also offer windshields for our trucks. Quality between the two is comparable although both of my suppliers mentioned some hit or miss quality control lately with PGW & actually recommended Migrant as an alternative to PGW glass. None of these providers offer an infrared technology like Pilkington since they patented the technology but they do offer some solar tinted options. These are a great option as well. Expect one of these windshields to run you between $200-$300 depending on installer.

Some general windshield information.

1) Talk to your local glass/windshield companies & installers. Ask them what windshield brands they can get/order for your vehicle. If they just tell you “it’s a good one, don’t worry” or “all glass is the same” then you need to find another installer. They are probably putting some junk in there that is going to look crappy in your vehicle & not last very long.

2) Trust but verify. Not to make anyone paranoid but there has been an exponential growth in counterfeit/fake auto parts. I’ve seen it with almost everything from spark plugs to control arms. When the installer comes out check the glass you are getting. It should have labels from the manufacturer. Look over it for any defects that may be present not just in the glass but the moldings attached to it from the manufacturer. Sticking with a high-quality glass will mitigate this but anything can happen. I inspect every glass I have installed in my customers vehicles before the installer starts their work. I have sent back windshields before & you have a right to reject the glass if it has a defect in it. Better to say something before they cut your old one out.

3) Watch your installer. No, I’m not telling you to loom over them & get in their way but windshield installation can be tricky & there is a lot of room for error & damages to your vehicle. Newer vehicles especially have many different trim pieces & moldings that can break if they are rushing to get to the next job. If you are present when the install is taking place it is much harder for them to cover up any damages. Inspect the work closely when they are done for both installation errors & defects you may have missed in the glass itself; some are hard to see until the glass is actually installed.

4) Make sure your installer has a good warranty policy, most of them should have a lifetime warranty on the labor & water/air leaks. Some may even offer free rock chip coverage. There are a lot of fly by night glass installers so find someone local with a good reputation that stands behind their work.

Sorry for the long thread but I hope this thread is helpful for someone.

 

Good read and thanks for posting

 

Great write up! I had no idea about glass replacement options

 

Excellent write up. I have a friend in the glass business. He mentioned the same things you did regarding glass quality. I didn't know that when the reputable companies make the glass mold, they know they will be perfect for X number of windshields. After that, they sell them to others. So if you get an windshield made from X plus 10, you probably will get a good windshield. If you get windshield number X + 1000, it may likely be less than perfect.

 

Great post. How does one know if they have this option? 2020 1794

 

I had several windshields replaced before and never happy with the glass quality because I thought glass is glass and picked the lowest price. Next time I will search for installers who provide quality brand. Thanks for taking your time to post this useful information.

 

This is great, thanks for your time and insight. These are things i had never really considered and just assumed "glass is glass". I will echo your comment about the wave of counterfeit auto parts though. I have basically stopped buying certain parts like spark plugs etc off of ebay or Amazon for this very reason.

 

Well, shit... looks like I'll have to drive to Atlanta for my next windshield repair! I didn't know some of those options (extra UV protection, sound insulation, etc) that exceeds OE specs were even available on replacement glass. Wish I'd known that earlier this year before we replaced glass in the 4Runner. But now I know! Great info Justin!

 

Your Toyota dealer parts person can easily look it up on their system using your VIN. My parts guy local to me (Jerry at Right Toyota, Scottsdale, AZ) told me that the SR5 and above trim levels have the heated wiper park area windshields. Bottom line... a simple phone call will tell you what windshield you have.

 

The glass quality is important,but the INSTALLER makes it or breaks it on installation. Some are very good and do a detailed install. Others are total hacks and yank it out and pop new one in.

 

Great info here, thanks for the write-up. I'll see if this is what my buddy needs for his incoming Tundra project. Got to finish installing the parts from 4Wheelonline onto the Superduty project this week before we can take a closer look at the Tundra.

 

Back in '99 when I had my '89 Toyota 4X4 I asked to have the local dealer replace my WS. They suggested I go to a regular glass shop because they didn't do them.

 

Honest dealer. Most don't do glass and just farm it out and then mark it up.

 

Good info! I have a couple filled chips and a crack in mine currently and plan on replacing in the spring. Will definitely use this info in my installer search!

 

That was just a guy in their service department. Their fleet salesman was anything but honest with me when I went to buy a new car from them a few years later. I'm still leery about giving them any business even at the parts counter.

 

Awesome post and often a detail not fully understood...good glass is wonderful especially when installed well! One thing I didn't realize is some Tundra trim levels offered the heated wiper glass area...is this something can be rigged in on those trims that don't have it or is it ONLY available with those trims that have it? Wait, did that make sense? Nonetheless, thank you for the knowledge and experience!

 

Very true. Auto glass is all over the place in terms of actual glass quality as well as installation.

Call to your local dealer to confirm but if you have a 1794 you have the heated option.

You are welcome. Definitely take the time to do some research next time you need auto glass. You may have to drive a little bit but a quality glass installed properly is worth the extra time & cost.

I have customers that sometimes insist on providing their own parts. I do let them but always warn them to buy from reputable sources. Even then I have them sign a disclaimer stating that we are not liable for any damages that may come from using knockoff parts.

Haha while I'm sure my guys can take care of you I'm willing to bet you can find someone reputable close to where you live. Most people don't know since most glass companies want to sell you something cheap & move on. I knew if anyone had offered some additional features it was going to be Pilkington.

Very true and it's why I insist someone is present to keep an eye out while the glass is being installed. The clearest glass in the world is no good if it is not properly installed. When we have installs at the shop either myself or my shop foreman are present to keep an eye out and make sure we are satisfied with the install.

Thank you. In regards to windshield heating I'm not sure if it is something that can be retrofitted or not. Would probably be a question for @Roman

 

Glad to see this post has already been helpful to some members here. I guess I'll have to start taking requests & continue doing more posts like these in the future. I've been in the auto industry for a decent amount of time and enjoy passing what I've learned along to my customers and members of forums I am on, mainly just tundras.com now, used to be pretty active on some of the BMW forums but they started getting flooded with a bunch of unsavory individuals.