Windshield replacement glass

The bad: a second big rock hit my 2018 windshield, and this one developed a 3 foot crack over the next few days. Need to replace.

The Good: my insurance will cover the cost, no deductible. Also, in Oregon, the law states I pick the shop. So I have choices.

Insurance is recommending Safelite. They installed my wife’s Tahoe glass and they used FUYOA (sp?) glass and did not finish the job, forcing her to leave her vehicle for a second full day.

I have read that there are huge variations in quality related to auto glass. A thread on here recommended Pilkington.

Anybody here that was picky and can recommend quality glass?

Obvious desires are good acoustic properties, clarity and flawlessness, and of course, durability.

thanks all

 

Where does Toyota source theirs from?

 

The one on my truck is from PGW. It’s stamped TOYOTA.

I found a shop (not Safelite) that has PGW in stock and can do the whole deal, including the calibration for the TSS at my work tomorrow.

I was looking for a glass shop that uses Pilkington, as a user in here has stated they had very good experiences with Pilkington (multiple rock hits with no chipping/cracking).

But if I get another 4 years out of this covered PGW glass, so be it.


Damn you supply chain!

 

I would definitely not go with Safelite if I wouldn't have to; just find a ship that is in your insurance's 'preferred network' or whatever they call it.

 

Make sure that they clean the Old Caulking/Butyl Tape/Sealant/Adhesive off your truck (real well "Like New" ) I can not stress this enough.

 

I had a bad experience with Safelite. They damaged my headliner when removing the old. They replaced it with a Fuyoa that cracked 2 months later.

I since had it replaced by Genuine Auto Glass in Auburn with a PGW. Fingers crossed.

 

You forgot another big plus: you have a 2018, for a 2019+ you’d have to also get your TSS camera in the windshield calibrated too.

 

2018 has TSS... He’ll have to have it calibrated.

 

Your insurance policy and state laws may vary, but I had a couple experiences with poor aftermarket glass quality so the last time I needed a new windshield I called my agent and explained my prior experience and that I only wanted OEM. He said it can be done a couple ways from a claims standpoint, but the easiest was to find a shop that will source an OEM windshield and pay to have it installed. Then I sent him the bill and my insurance co. sent me a reimbursement check within a couple days minus the $100 deductible. So from now on, OEM windshields will be all that I replace with.

 

also, for what it's worth, make sure to check the secureness of the two strips of plastic moulding on the roof after the window is installed. there's not much holdin' those pieces on there to begin with. can't imagine takin em off and puttin em on again helps much. i've lost one because of this.

 

I stand corrected thanks for the clarification, I thought TSS was introduced with the 2019 MY.

 

No, my 18 has it as well. 18 was the first year of adaptive cruise and collision avoidance.

Luckily, the shop I am using has the ability to do the calibration at the job site, and they say they are the only shop in Portland/vicinity that has this capability. All of the cost is covered with no deductible, I just hope they get it all right.

 

Can anyone give me a rough ballpark estimate on what a windshield replacement cost for a 2018?? Mine just cracked right across the whole thing (had a bad chip when I bought it) and also I've got a scrape across it from a bad wiper blade. (It's basically f'd) just want to know what I'm getting Into financially. Last time I replaced a window was 20 years ago and it must be more expensive I assume.

 

most dealership sub the glass out to a local shop. they are happy to tell you which one. Buy the Toyota glass off-line have it shipped to you and take to get installed. My 4runner Toyota glass was $385 and shop installed for $150. If bought from dealer it was like $685 plus installation. Then again I used aftermarket glass with zero issues for about $250 installed. These are not Porsche or Ferrari's they are Toyota trucks.............

 

I’ll ask the installer what the out of pocket cost would be. I think it’s around $900. The camera calibration adds to the cost.

 

Ok- everything is installed and it looks great. Took two installers about 1.5 hours. Here is a link to the shop I used and so far, I have only very good feedback to provide.

https://www.sirautoglass.com/

I’ll let you know if anything goes sideways.

@mikesTundra77, I requested the out of pocket cost for this job: $996.

 

Right on, thanks. That gives me an idea at least.

 

That’s great news. What brand of glass were they able to source for you?

 

It’s PGW, and my factory glass was PGW.

 

The glass on my 2021 cracked twice in the first month once when dime sized hail hit it and the other I have no idea as I never had anything hit it. The glass in new vehicles is crap!
I used Safelite and have a few other times on my old 2008 Tundra. I have had rocks hit it since replacement and it has not cracked.
One issue I have had twice with Safelite is they do not get a seal very good and there is a whistling sound. You can return it but what a pain.

 

I have a couple questions on this topic if I may.

First a little background. My 2013 factory windshield cracked in the first months of ownership in 2013. The dealer replaced with Pilkington at no cost. The Pilkington lasted about 6 years before developing a small crack which has now over the years become a much larger problem.

I am looking to replace my windshield with a quality part. I would like to have the top visor tinted 0-5% as well as the whole windshield tinted 50%.

Questions are should I look for a local one stop shop or have an auto glass company do the glass and tint shop do the tint?

Biggest question should I buy the windshield moldings (top,bottom,sides) to have on hand to give to the installer?

Are there part numbers floating around for what I should order when replacing the windshield?

Thanks in advance!

 

@Shanet421, I’ll do my best.


First read this; big thanks to @maharaj1 for this great intro to windshields:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/tundra-windshields.79726/#post-2021293

“I am looking to replace my windshield with a quality part. I would like to have the top visor tinted 0-5% aswell as the whole windshield tinted 50%.”

-If you go through insurance, my guess is your options are extremely limited. If you are paying all or part privately, you’ll have more choice. The shop I chose said that I could utilize my insurance fully and then pay extra for better glass or add ons.

“Should I look for a local one stop shop or have an auto glass company do the glass and tint shop do the tint?”

-I do look critically at reviews from large numbers of people. I looked at Yelp and compared the nearby Safelites to the shop I chose. The Safelite shops had 2 and 3 star reviews, and about 30-40 reviews. Criticisms ranged from rudeness to poor installation quality or products. The shop I chose has almost 200 reviews and has 4.5 stars. The critical reviews were mostly about mishaps with appointment times, not about product or installation issues. Look at your local glass market and see who looks like the top 3. Then, call them and see what they are willing to do. ALSO- supply chain issues are limiting choice on glass right now. My shop could not get Pilkington. They were able to get PGW, which they say is premium OEM quality. I know from looking that my factory glass was PGW. Safelite was going to install FUYOA. I have only read bad stuff about FUYOA.

“Biggest question should I buy the windshield moldings(top,bottom,sides) to have on hand to give to the installer?”

-this will be up to you, and it’s not a bad idea. If your plastic valence looks beat up or badly faded, this is a great time to replace. The shop will pull and reinstall your existing trim. Mine did a great job, and my plastic can still be brought back to a nice black using regular detailing products.

My wife got her WS replaced at SL right before I did mine. I learned from her experiences:

Her valence trim (flat plastic trim along the bottom of the WS) is supposed to lay flat. After installation, it has visible deformities.

I don’t mean to seem too picky, but this is a $70k+ vehicle.

-I mentioned this to my installer, and he said it can happen, but normally with some exposure and regular vehicle use, it will lay back down flat. If you want to avoid it all together, you could present new parts to the installer and they’ll probably happily install them. On my 2018, they got everything back together very nicely:


I don’t know the part numbers. Someone here can probably help though.

Check your state laws as well. As I said earlier in the thread, Oregon law prohibits insurance companies to limit your choice on where you get your glass replaced.

I chose based on the following:

Safelite:
I would have to wait nearly a month to get the truck in for new glass.
I would have to leave my truck there for most of a day.
I have no choice of glass.
I was aware because of my wife’s experience that her Tahoe had to sit in their shop for another whole day because they did not finish the installation the first time. Also, it just looks like kind of a crappy job at the bottom of the windshield. I was aware that the nearby Safelites get generally poor reviews.

SIR Autoglass:
Contacted me very quickly and answered all my questions. Happily shared options available and looked up available best parts while I was on the phone.
Was able to do a mobile calibration. This allowed me to have them come to my work THE NEXT DAY and do the whole job.
I was aware that this shop has excellent reviews, and a lot of them.
This shop actively managed the process of changing my claim from Safelite to their shop.

Seems like a no-brainer to me. Good luck!

 

I skimmed over your post and I'll read it again later but Safelite is a no-go for everyone. They are not what the used to be. FUYOA is Chinese glass. I just had PGW installed 2 weeks ago. My 2020 had Vitro which owns PGW. My neighbors 2014 says PGW with the Toyota logo so I feel better about the choice.

 

As a former employee of PPG Industries, at one time a world leader in automotive glass, I can tell you the quality coming out of their “former” factories isnt what it was when it was PPG. PPG (aka Pittsburgh Plate Glass) sold off their legacy glass business to Kolberg and Assoc. and it became PGW. They knew absolutely nothing about the business but pumped a lot of money into it and after a few years sold it to Vitro, a very large automotive glass manufacturer based in Mexico. This is what Kolberg does. They look for companies like PPG that are wanting to get rid of a section of their business and they buy it, put lipstick on the pig, take it to market and then sell it for a (sometimes) huge profit. The plant I retired from is still operational under their ownership and is doing fairly well. But the shrinkage (product loss) they tolerate now would have gotten everyone in management fired when under PPG. I owned a brand new ‘21 Tundra with a Vitro windshield and the reflective distortion was horrible on the passenger’s side and should never have made it out the door. Quality: PPG = excellent , PGW = decent , Vitro = thoroughly inspect your glass quality before purchase. As a side note…if you are having a window replaced due to damage be aware that “replacement glass” is ran to looser specifications than glass for brand new vehicles. In other words you do NOT get the same high quality product as what is required with brand new OEM products. In my case with my new ‘21 Tundra with a Vitro windshield, it’s quality was way worse than even replacement glass specs. It should have never left the factory where it was produced. This not only goes for glass but for all automotive parts sold as “replacement” parts. All replacement parts are functional but aesthetically inferior. The odd thing is the inferior replacement parts bring huge money to the manufacturer because they are sold in much smaller quantities to Safelite and others as opposed to huge companies like Toyota, Honda, GM etc.