Windshield -0 Rock -1

Thanks to one of those stinkin pickup owners who refuses to put mudflaps on their truck I have to replace my windshield. It started out as just a chip when I got home last night so I thought I'd take it in to have it epoxied this morning but as you can see it decided to run like Forrest Gump. Good news is that there is no aftermarket glass available so they had to order it from Toyota and I have glass coverage with a zero deductable

 

Don't really feel any body flex like my 05 had. There must have been a small crack starting when I parked it then with the cold overnight temp (35) thats all it took. The last 1/3 of the crack happened after I backed it out of the garage and into the sun.

It's tough to avoid them out here when there are so many of them but I try my best. It's the rednecks that ignore the "lift laws" that cause a problem along with the cops who don't enforce those laws.

Thanks John, That's my garage with some of the tools for doing dirty work. I built a 400qf shop in the backyard for the clean work, painting and such.

 

To be honest, that pic was taken right after I finished building the workbenches. It's a bit more cluttered today but I've never been able to work and stay organized.

Interesting, you might be on to something there . OEM glass seems to crack much easier than any other. My 01 Tacoma OEM windshield was replaced within the first 3 years with cheap aftermarket glass and that glass went 10 years, developed several stone chips, but never cracked. The only reason I had it replaced again was that it had so many sand pits it was hard to see through when driving into the sun. My 05 Prius, that I bought used, had the windshield replaced by the first owner sometime in its first 5 years before I bought it. I only had it for 6 months before that windshield cracked from a stone and had to be replaced. After it was replaced with cheap aftermarket glass it went 5 years, had a few chips but, never cracked again.

In anticipation of the installer coming tomorrow, I decided to remove the pillar moldings myself. Not that it's too difficult, but because they aren't on previous generations and might not be something an installer has seen before and we all know how that goes. I'd rather have all the clips and moldings in tact so when they go back on they will fit tight.

Anyway, there are 6 clips on each side pillar that hold the moldings on, with the green one at the last (lower) position before the hood. Each clip has 2 hooks (barbs) that the molding slots lock into. The molding has to be removed starting from the top (roof side) working down to the hood. Once all 6 clips (12 barbs) have been released, using a small screwdriver, the molding can be slid downward toward the hood to release the last clip which is part of the molding. These lower molding clips will break if the moldings are not removed starting from the top!

 

Thanks Dawg. First thing the Safelite installer did was look at the moldings and said they usually break before the pillar clips do, but being just a few months old they're not brittle yet. Said when they do break, and won't sit flush to the window, installers will use a dab of the polyurethane glue and tape them in place until it dries. Anyway, the installer made it look easy and it's good as new. Only cost the insurance company $1100.00

 

No, the seal on the top of the glass is something the installer had on a roll and had to apply to the glass before install. The bottom of the glass had the factory dam installed and the cowl panel snapped into it.