The Cost of Prime Glass Replacement

So the monocular camera and rain sensor are carried forward to the new front windshield?

 

Once again, do you keep the existing camera and rain sensor or are they part of the new windshield?

 

Been there, done that, two weeks after delivery of my New Prime. I had to wait 3 weeks for the part to arrive from Japan. Your posted cost including the installation is probably similar to mine. I was quoted $680 (parts only) for the front windshield from Toyota. There was not aftermarket part yet, and seem not even now. I am not sure what the installation cost was, but my Toyota dealer did the front facing camera calibration for $150 which was reimbursed by my insurance. I was extremely glad that I had no deductible insurance.

Yes, they will detach them and re-attach them to the new windshield, then re-calibrate the camera.

 

There is no 3rd party glass for the Gen 4 yet. Toyota is the only source...

 

My glass company quoted me around $500 to replace my front windshield (I will have to go to Toyota to get them to realign the front sensor).

 

3 months after buying our Prime we suffered a cracked windshield (Nov 2017). We got it replaced from
SafeLite (IIRC) for about $400. At the time, they had to refer us to the dealer to get the
sensors re-calibrated or aligned. The dealer tried to claim they could not do it on an aftermarket
windshield. I called BS. I believe I was right. They ended up doing it although they claimed
they couldn't do it correctly but it seems to work now. After they had done the alignment,
I went back to SafeLite and it turned out they now had the info they needed and could
have done the alignment. My insurance agent was not pleased by Toyota's claim that
the aftermarket windshield was unsuitable noting that windshields are a highly regulated
commodity.

I have a deep seated distrust of Dealer service depts operating from the premise that
these are the dealer's cash cows.

 

Price seems to have come down nicely. If your Prime was replaced with aftermarket glass in Nov, the aftermarket windshield must have became available then. In Aug last year when I had my windshield replaced, there was no aftermarket windshield and Toyota OEM parts were on backorder nationwide and cost $600 parts alone. I have not had another incident since the repair, but it is still the same as the original one, thinner, lighter, and prone to crack.

 

I just went through a windshield replacement through Safelite for my 2018 Prime Advanced 2 weeks ago and it was a horrible experience. I went to their shop because the sensor would need alignment and they could only do that at their shop. After arriving, they indicated their alignment machine was down and I would have to have the dealer do the calibration. Not happy but let them continue. 2 hours later the technician came over and said he could not get the old windshield out and they were going to put all the techs on it. Another hour goes by and he returns to say they put in the wrong replacement windshield, were going to have to order another one and they would have to get me a rental because my car was not drivable. Turns out that they had put in an aftermarket windshield and the camera wouldn’t clip in to the windshield. Safelite researched it and said only a Toyota windshield would work so they put one of those in 3 days later. Unfortunately, they then came and said they had lost the camera attachment parts and would have to order new ones from the dealer. So 2 days later they called and said it was ready for pickup. I discovered really filthy A pillar trim pieces caused by the difficult windshield removable and made them order new trim pieces. I finally got my car back to drive until the trim pieces came in and then found that the rain sensing wipers didn’t work. They did get everything finished when I returned. The rain sensor required a new sticky pad to adhere the sensor to the windshield. Be sure you verify that the rain sensor works before leaving as it is easier for them to just restick the sensor to the windshield than ordering and installing a new pad. I don’t think I will use Safelite again - it took a week and a half for a simple windshield replacement.

 

OMG! Thanks for sharing your horror story, and sorry for your pain. I'm saving it and will show it to the glass shop before I have them work on my windshield.

 

I hope I never need to have a windshield replaced.
I'm assuming I could just have it done by my dealer. Right?
At least I'd have some confidence they would use genuine Toyota parts and the skill/tools to calibrate the camera/rain sensor etc..
Do reputable insurance companies object to that (replacement by a dealer) and force you to a 3rd Party (Safelite)?
Thanks,
J

 

If & when my Gen4 cracks, Safelite told me I had a choice of OEM Toyota brand glass, or aftermarket. He swore they were equal in quality. $1,000 for Toyota windshield, and $600 for aftermarket. I dont have glass insurance. The Prius windshield sure pits easily! Mine looks bad already, and I rarely drive the freeways.

I beieve most dealers farm out the work? An outside company comes in to install? Or they deliver your car to an auto glass shop. Not sure, all dealers are different. check first.

 

Does your dealer replace windshield? When I had my PRIME's windshield replaced, there was no parts available nationwide. I had to wait for shipment from Japan for 3 weeks. My insurance recommends using Safelite for glass replacement, but since they could not get a parts, I had to order it through Toyota dealer. However, my Toyota dealer, despite having a dedicated body shop, do not work on glass replacement. They subcontract with glass shop for that. I ended up with glass ordered by Toyota dealer, and replaced by subcontracted independent glass shop, and car had to be recalibrated by the dealer. But glass shop did the replacement at the dealer site, so all were done in single day and took about 3 hours total. And with no deductible insurance, there was no cost to me, though the calibration cost had to be paid to the dealer and later reimbursed by insurance company, since the dealer would not bill insurance company directly.

 

And I would be good with that. Thanks.

 

I did a double-take, when I read this, regarding a body shop custom-painting a roof. Not for a repair, just on a whim, for a custom roof colour:

In this thread:

Painted roof... | PriusChat