Distorted Replacement Rear Window Glass

Recently my '05 rear window was shattered. Farmers Insurance steered me to their glass vendor, Safelite, for a replacement. My policy did not cover OEM Toyota glass, and I would have had to pay the difference above and beyond my deductable for the Toyota product.

At the time I was assurred that all aftermarket glass, including PPG, were manufactured to the same specifications. After an installation hassle I soon noticed that cars and other objects were distorted when I moved my head. The rear view mirror was not an issue.

I do not recall ever having seen distortions like these in my factory installed glass. Do you see wavy, thin objects in your rear window? Looks like I'll have to go round 2 with Safelite.

Thanks for your comments.

 

It took some arm twisting but Farmers finally greed to replace the distorted piece of c**p PPG unit with a new OEM Toyota piece at no extra charge. Safelite will install it, and I'll offer a hopefully positive update afterward.

 

Safelite replaced the terribly distorted PPG glass with an OEM Toyota product today. I notice that the very bottom of the clear area is slightly distorted, almost beveled. The installer said he thought that this might be a byproduct of baking the black area to the clear pane. Otherwise, objects in the mirror don't look like the funhouse. Frankly, after three at bats with this replacement I'm almost ready to just accept the job as is. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

Thanks for your support, especially dwreed's. Yesterday the Redwood City California Safelite shop installed a third hatch window, the second "OEM" Toyota unit.

Earlier I visited my Toyota dealer and sat in eight Priuii, both new and used. No new Prius had any distortion. Perhaps one of the used cars had some distortion below the bottom defroster inlay.

The short of it? Even after a thorough pre-installation inspection, the final result was the same as Toyota panel #1!

I give up, and will live with this. It is more of an annoyance than a safety issue. I bet Toyota manufactures replacement glass in a different Japanese factory than new car glass. Thank you.

 

Hi. Here's an update on this rear window saga. Yes, I insisted that Safelite replace the first Toyota pane with a second. This OEM piece shared the same rear edge distortion as the first so I told those poor boys at Redwood City Safelite that I was going to live with it. However, driving home I saw that the moulding between the upper and lower windows was not seated right and I could see inside the hatch frame! So I told Farmers/Safelite that the trim piece needed replacement after being pulled and twisted over three glass installations. Yesterday they swapped the part and this repair is now almost factory perfect. Am I a pain in the a** or what?