About to replace the second windshield in my less than 6 month old Prius Prime. Is the glass in these things more fragile than other cars, or do I just have bad luck?
It’s special acoustic glass. Not sure if it’s more fragile but it is special. Hint: Back off from those gravel trucks you’re drafting.
Yes. This has been discussed in the Gen 4 forums (2016+). It is thinner for weight savings, but prone to cracks from simple "star" chips.
Just a measure of probability. I picked up a rock at 30,000 (I think). Another 7,000 and I picked up another. Now at 89,000 I haven't seen another ding.
Sorry to hear your misfortune. As said by others, there have been numbers of threads on this topic. Having had the windshield replaced myself two weeks after driving off a brand new PRIME from the dealer, I think it is somewhat prone to damage. That said, I have not had another incident after that for 24K miles. So luck does have some role. Are you able to get the replacement windshield right away?
There is a class action lawsuit against Toyota over this issue. Apparently the windshield is defective and prone to cracking. https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Toyota.CA_.pdf 2017 Toyota Prius Prime Windshield Chips And Cracks Easily: 1 Complaints
ALLEGEDLY defective and prone to cracking. After reading the complaint, I doubt the suit has any chance of success. Each of the class representatives heard the sound of a rock or pebble strike, and in each case the windshield chipped or cracked, or chipped and subsequently cracked. All from a pebble or stone strike, "that, according to the plaintiff was not typical, based on the sound, of such an incident that would crack or chip a windshield (my paraphrase)." Ironclad expert testimony? I think not. And witness the varying mileage for each of the incidents. Although I did not do a statistical analysis, the mileage numbers seem like they would fall into a nice bell curve. I have had two rock chips. The first one was almost a code brown, but only chipped the windshield. I repaired it with a $10 kit and it lasted for months, until it finally cracked on a cold morning (near freezing) when I engaged the front defogger. Pretty normal behavior. The second chip, by the way (after the replacement) is near the right edge up at the top. It has never spread or expanded.
I'll agree with allegedly defective. I suspect the glass is fairly thin for weight reasons, but that doesn't make it defective.
I just got my second star crack in over 59,000 miles of highway driving. The first one was repaired almost 2 years ago. Today, when JN Philips came out to fix it, it continued to crack and now it needs to be replaced. When the glass repair company called to schedule my replacement, I asked if it was a special thickness due to weight and I was told that there are minimum thicknesses for all auto glass and that they can't make it thinner than the specs allow. So is it really thinner than other windshields or not?
Carry at the least no-deductible glass replacement policy. That will save you a lot with this car. I have no-deductible collision & comprehensive policy on mine.
It's not the car. You are only seeing the reports of chipped, cracked or defective windshields. PriusChat has over 149,000 members. Maybe 20 people reporting windshield issues. Do the math. There are 15 million windshields replaced in the US every year. Windshield replacement is the No. 1 insurance claim. Annual growth in the replacement industry over the last five years is over 5 percent. Several states do not allow insurance companies to charge deductibles for the replacement of a damaged windshield under comprehensive coverage (of course, if you do not have comprehensive coverage you can eat glass). I remember my son telling me that his girl friend had dated a professional rodeo rider. He told his brother the same thing. Later his brother told me. Two sources? Both reliable? Had to be true. FWIW, the attorneys who took this case should be avoided. They are idiots. Obviously not graduates of Loyola. And middle or lower classers. Remember! Not every doctor, lawyer, dentist or mechanic graduated at the top of their class. Just under half are under-average. And Tesla stock, unless you short-sell, should not be considered a good investment.
LOL. Really? EVERY niche new car forum that I have been on says the same thing! There are a few "easily chips must be a defect" comments along with a few, "cracked overnight," comments. And lots of chime in from the masses who want to hold the designer responsible. I challenge anyone in this forum to show a ruling from a successful class action lawsuit against an auto manufacturer. But wait! Subaru just lost!!!! (Oh, yeah. They lost the motion to dismiss the class action. Not the lawsuit. Ain't happening.)
i regret buying heads up display and land departure warning. it cost money to calibrate them in addition to glass replacement..:-( Be prepare to spend close to $1k for the whole job. Prius prime has very low ground clearance, more so than typical Prius, for better fuel efficiency, so prone to rock and debris...
Even without the heads up display, the DRCC safety camera requires recalibrating after the windshield is replaced.
