I agree that it's cheap glass. But hardly a problem limited to Toyota. ALL manufacturer's have gone to very thin windshield glass. I assume that reducing glass thickness reduces cost.
Windscreens break - yes, some on 2016/7 PRIUS, but it's difficult to see if it's a "PRIUS only" trend unless we have better statistics. Maybe insurance companies keep them? My 2006 KIA had a tiny star, which by the end of the week was 2' long, similar with my '94 VOLVO, though it only spread 5" to the side pillar. Hopefully nobody has as bad a run as my Dad who smashed 3 windscreens in 2 weeks back in the days before laminated glass.
Next time I'm at the dealer for an oil change, I'll ask if any other Toyota or Lexus model is having windscreen problems. In 45 years of driving, I never had one break or crack or even chip. Very lucky, I guess. (Honda, Nissan, Toyota vehicles) I was driving right by a Golf course a few days ago. Something caught my attention, a flash, a quick blur... and then a loud BANG! That drive cleared the 20 ft tall fence and struck my roof. The top of my car now has an imprint on it....
My 2017 Two must have a stronger windshield. It survived a hailstorm while getting blown sideways across a two lane road. There are some minor hail dents on the car to prove it. My wife was sure the windshield would break and she knows nothing of the issues discussed here.
Two days after buying my Two Eco, I noticed that my neighbor was getting his windshield replaced. Told me that a truck passing him kicked up a rock and cracked his windshield. Dealership probably didn't hear about it because he went thru his insurance instead of taking it up with the dealer. I've been in plenty of cars that have chipped windshields before, but never a straight up crack that got longer. Is it even safe to take into an automatic pull-thru car wash?
Yesterday on highway 101 a small pebble or or other object hit my windshield. It left a small star. I hope it doesn't spread to into a crack. I just had the windscreen replaced. Side note, I am hearing loud pops from the driver side door. Initially I thought they were rocks bouncing off the window. But, and this startled me, I heard the same *pop* when I was inside the car parked in a lot after along drive. I wonder if it's the welds?
It might be that Toyota went cheap or they just HAD to have the special heat reflecting 99% UV protection windshield. That could be the issue...
Mine started out as a star in the lower left bottom of the windshield. Then, I parked in the sun for an hour and the heat made it spread to the right middle making a 16 inch crack. All you have to do is not drive the car... not too hard.
He has the Four Touring. All these broken windshields. Man, this is getting to be too much. Does Toyota Corporate have any response to this issue? Are other Toyota models cracking? Avalon? Camry? Trucks???
If my car starts "popping", I'm going back to my 1978 Oldsmobile! Come to think of it, I DID hear a very loud "pop" one day, and another a couple weeks after that. But it came from the roof. It was more like a BANG! Seriously. It scared the shit out of me. I immediately pulled over and stopped. I inspected the top of the car, and the hatchback area, and couldn't find any mark or damage whatsoever. Very weird. (Maybe it was God telling me to get off the road! )
I think this is the key issue. My Trim Two does not have this special windshield and has endured abuse well. I think @Prius Team needs to take a closer look before the issue escalates further.
My Three doesn't have it either. I don't think any trim has it, except for the Two Eco. So how do we explain all the cracked windshields??? (Amazing how so many people post on this website in the middle of the night? Especially the west coast people. It's 2:16 AM! Addicted, or insomniacs, or no life... Which is it? LOL)
Do we know that or do Two Eco and above have the special material? I think it would be strange to have it in the Eco and not higher more expensive trims.
If I remember, it was in one of those Toyota press releases, touting the special features of the new upcoming 2016 "Eco" model. I can't cite the exact source, I was on one of the auto websites a couple years ago, and they had a link to the press release. I may be wrong, but they made it sound like the special solar-reducing windshield was specific to the Eco, only. I believe it was also mentioned in these forums, somewhere.
You may be correct. I found one press release here. Return of the Disrupter: All-New 2016 Toyota Prius Rewrites the Hybrid Rule Book It Created | Toyota A couple of quotes; New noise-control features and materials throughout the body, engine compartment and cabin combine to give the 2016 Prius a serene passenger cabin. A sound-insulating laminated windshield glass and numerous new sound absorbers in the dash structure reduce noise intrusion. Higher-grade models feature sound-insulating laminated front door glass, as well. Later on, In the Prius Eco grade, heat-insulating IR-cut windshield glass substantially reduces transmission of infrared rays to help ensure a comfortable cabin, especially in the summer. It also reduces the air conditioning system workload, which helps to save fuel. In cold weather, a positive temperature coefficient ceramic heater warms the cabin quickly without relying on the engine coolant to come up to operating temperature.
Yes, that looks similar to what I read. The 2016 Eco has IR reducing glass. Thanks for finding that. And of course, that brings up a question in my mind... Why didn't Toyota put that type of windshield glass in ALL models? Be consistent. And regarding the "noise-control features", to give the 2016 Prius a serene passenger cabin... In my opinion, my Three trim level just doesn't have that. I have to respectfully disagree, as my Prius was moderately noisy at the beginning, and seems to be getting more loud as the months go by. Even new Michelin tires did very little to change the amount of road noise that fills the cabin. And when accelerating with the gas engine (ICE) on, it gets REALLY loud. But I just live with it. The car is paid off.
Mine is an early build 2016 four touring. The windows are this special tinted and heat reflecting laminate glass, which looks and feels to me very thin fragile. I heard that *pop* again today and loeked down at a water bottle in the door pocket. I wonder if the plastic expanded in the warming cabin and made a sudden noise?
