Have you had a Gen2 Prius windshield crack?

Thought it might be interesting to get some idea of how many have had their windshield crack, also curious about who has had chips without a crack.

 

That would have been a good idea. I also forgot to list: have crack, unrepairable, not planning to replace. What's embarrassing is that is my present status so I don't have a good excuse for not including it.

I started an edit earlier but it did not appear that it would let me edit the poll, only the post.

 

Some interesting results are appearing so far from what I would classify as very preliminary results:
1. A large percentage are reporting "no chips". I don't think I've ever had a vehicle that was entirely chip free for more than a few months. Chips are part of driving, hence the need for glass that can handle the typical flying pebbles. I'm guessing that this response from most should be intepreted as "no signficant chips" rather than absolutely no chips. I doubt that if many who answered "no chips" looked at my Prius (absent the crack) or my Tundra casually, that you would see the chips until I pointed them out. That's not a snarky comment meant to belittle, it is a reference to how tiny most of these divots are. (Likewise, I doubt I would see any chips in your glass unless I examined very closely.)
2. Of those who are reporting cracks or chips 40% have been cracked and replaced while only 60% are still in place. This suggests the window is rather fragile, cracking almost as frequently as it chips. Again, comparing to 8 other vehicles I've owned, this is at minimum an order of magnitude above the "something-ain't-right threshold", probably two orders of magnitude based on mileage and chips I've observed.
3. No crack repairs are listed. This indicates that the window is highly stressed and cracks can not be managed. That is certainly our case where the crack spread halfway across the glass in a few hours.
4. In looking at the FJ poll (since it has been referenced in another thread), it appears that its nearly perpendicular window failure rate is about three to three and a half times higher than that of the Prius.
5. No repeat failures have been reported so far, and that is encouraging. That suggests the glass/frame design is not necessarily at fault, but instead particular samples.

If anything, all of the above supports my hypothesis about some finite percentage of "bad OEM glass" making it through. If the glass is weak and not properly annealed, then the likely result of what should be an inconsequential chip is instead a crack.

P.S. I'm going to go ahead and list mine as a "crack and replace" although I do not intend to do the actual replacement for some time. (The things we do for science...) Ah, the thrill of the hunt...

 

JimboK,

One data point does not make a trend, but the rash of new owners having cracks almost immediately does suggest one. Several of us did not even witness an event that would produce a chip. When I have an event happen that illustrates odds of ~250:1, in the absence of an identifiable cause, I start digging for answers (basis: 500,000 miles driven and many chips without cracks, vs. 2,000 miles driven to having one miraculously appear on the Prius.)

At any rate discovering the trend is what the poll is for and it is lending support to my thesis about a production quality control issue with the OEM glass. Time will tell if the current rate is an accurate reflection. We are presently at a crack failure rate of half that of the FJ-40 which is acknowledged as having a serious problem. Considering the shallow angle of our windshield we shouldn't have much of a problem at all.

I'm not so much "distressed" as incensed at Toyota's corporate and dealer attitude towards owners, and they made the serious mistake of treating my wife poorly when I wasn't present (typical of many dealers.) This is the second time in less than a year that Toyota "service" has made me livid with their poor service. It's been 17 years since I last had serious problems with a dealer service dept., and that was Chrysler.

 

Actually it holds quite a bit, but requires comparison with similar polls. (See the FJ windshield poll to get some context.) There are certainly ways to game polls, but having this one with users listed makes gaming problematic. Plus PC's self selection is to enthusiasts and those a bit more tech savvy on average. Quantification is far from perfect in this kind of poll, but it is not too difficult to get a qualitative answer.

I find the "circle the wagons/deny the problem" approach on this forum unfortunate. With nearly 69% saying they have no chips and half of those with chips experiencing cracks something is FUBAR with the cracked windshields. I anticipated more of a continuum rather than a bimodal/polarized distribution. I've had experience with enough vehicles to find the no chip reports themselves hard to explain.

Here is a thought you should consider: Perhaps those who are getting cracks early on really did get poor glass? Blaming the owner or attributing this to the random missile doesn't makes sense when you have at least 3 out of 64 respondents reporting a fatal crack in the first 2,000 miles. Two of them had cracks immediately. Unless it was evident something really large struck, it probably should be covered under warranty when the mileage is really low. You know, that warranty thing that is supposed to cover defects in the original product. If Toyota (or their supplier) is held accountable (or held themselves accountable) for questionable glass, then perhaps we wouldn't be having this many failures.

Do folks not find it odd that about half the time a Prius windshield chip results in a fatal crack (based on the survey?) I've never seen this level of fragility before on other vehicles. Dozens of chips (or more) and never this sort of problem.

 

Looked at two other locally this weekend (very briefly.) I noticed chips on both. One had a very minor chip (looked like a small surface flake) and some other small ones (like on my Tundra that has taken several hard whacks with chips at the window edges.) The other had a chip that is the spitting image of the one that cracked my Prius window--but near the center and sans crack. It did have several other chips. Haven't seen any Prius without chips yet, but due to the large number listed in the poll with no chips, I'll look for more whenever I get a chance.