chief63

Hi,

I have had my car for 2 months now and my windshield is full of miniature windshield chips from dust and small rocks. I have tracked the car once reaching 190KM/h (about 120mph) at peak speed but that's not crazy fast for a car that can cruise at 250km/h without a problem. I have never had it that bad with my honda reaching similar speeds on other tracks.

I am the only one with this issue? I'm quite disappointed with the windshield quality for a Mercedes.

The windshiedl is not actually cracked but if you guys know of a windshield repair kit to repair these small (dust like) dents I would appreciate it.

thanks

RAKLAW

Must be a German thing.. My last 911 had the same issues and the guys on the Forum all shared the problem

chief63

That's what doesn't make any sense! I've been to Germany and 190km/h is a normal cruising speed, not a fast one. I can understand that a rock can do some damage but dust like chips show poor quality.

I'm sure your F430 doesn't have that issue.

Do you think I have a case with the dealer? Is it forbidden to go fast with the car under warranty? So far everything points to yes ;-)

RAKLAW

FCar no issues with poor glass strength.
Kinda doubt Dealer will ok without MB approval, though worth a try.

benyl

It is a german thing. Pilkington is soft IMO.

The 3 last BMWs I have had have the same issue.

My Honda Accord and Ford Ranger had much stronger and less pitted windshields... haha

black-clk500

Yes BMW uses the Pilkington glass and it is soft.
My wife's new 3 series wagon I bought her had multiple "chips" the first week.
And I've owned a couple BMWs over the years and they're the same "soft" glass.
My CLK hasn't been as bad, but I don't drive it much and I never tailgate on the highway.

When I had a windshield replaced on one of my bimmers I mentioned it to the glass guy and he said that the german manufacturers use the soft glas because it's less likely to crack when impacted (autobahn sppeds), I guess the softer glass is less fragile? Downside is it shows every little blemish. Kinda makes sense.

You could always try polishing and clay barring the glass, it may reduce some of the lighter stuff.

ATL_MB

I have had several M-Bs, some with PPG glass and some with Pilkington. The Pilkington is far, far, far better - but still shows a lot of chips, IMO. I have never heard that it is "softer", but if it is, it would seem that would lead to LESS chipping, not more - and that has been my experience vs. the PPG glass (which was terrible).

This is not just a German problem. Hondas and especially Toyotas are (or were) known to have terrible glass. I believe that Toyota (many years ago) recalled some cars for windshield glass that become a hazard at night due to tiny chips etc. after just a year or two.

Try the dealer. If they won't help, talk to your insurance company. If it is really hazardous (like at night), many insurance companies will replace the glass without charging a deductible.

ELO168

You can cover the windshield with 3M
going for that next month
Think it cost around $500

mikekuriger

just wait till your car is 5 years old! it's much worse lol

Even Money

I've had the same issue, and I tried this: http://www.autogeek.net/lc-pro-glass-kit.html

It worked fairly well with my porter cable, but you'll probably have to do it a few times a year.

hhughes1

Early morning and late afternoon my windshield gets a prism effect from what appears to be hundreds of tiny imperfections. Outside of these lighting conditions they are invisible.

chief63

I'll see if anyone offers this service here, it will be worth it when I get a brand new windshield in the future. For now I'll tough it out. I did get the front bumper, hood and wheel panels covered with something similar to 3m called Protex and I'm very glad I did.

I'm happy to see that this is not just my driving but very common. I'm just surprised I'm seing so much small dents so soon. Don't have as much problems with the Audi or Honda, but then again the Honda windshield is not stock so it could be harder than stock.

When replacing the windshield for a C63, do they offer different levels of hardness for our cars or do they have to go with the exact same one (manufacturer's specs).

thanks!

chief63

Looks good, I'll see how bad it gets first in the upcoming months. It's true that I also noticed it early in the morning and it doesn't show as much usually.

c63canada

chief,

did you drive your car this winter???

winters will do a great job of messing up your windshield in montreal.

ZephyrAMG

Are you serious??? Hmmm...never though of that...might have to call up the 'ol clear bra guy...

ELO168

Yeah my clear bra guy have it on his 240
And last month hit a rock
Guess what? no crack, just the film got scratched
Beside changing windshield is NEVER going be the same as original

Only downside with clear bra the windshield is you can see it
You can't cover all the way to the trim, unless you take off the molding

bhamg

Agreed, the number of small chips that have accumulated from just normal driving is very disconcerting...it's at a level of what I would expect from a car with two or three times the mileage than what I have.

MB_Forever

The clear bra really helps especially against fine scratches and fine cracks. There is also a diamond-like coating procedure that may help you out, but that one would have to be applied once a year I believe.

NS_C63

I have done 52000 km and I am on my 3rd windscreen.

New one is about 2 months old and already looks like i is 5 years old.

chief63

No that's the thing I got it mid march of 2010... Seems I'm not the only one. Thanks a lot to everyone for their input, mbworld has one of the best communities out there.

chief63

Damn I've never seen that!

chief63

For the coating, do you have an idea of the product or name of the process so I can look it up here? thanks

ATT

All MB's windshields are thinner than before in order to cut weight, that also applied to most makes now-a-day. My E, ML and Mini are all have their 2nd and 3rd windshields replaced or repaired, replace is expensive and no more $25 insurance deductable ($500-$1000) in Canada, in most case you need to pay from your own pocket. The insurance company will conside you have a claim against you policy if you report for such a claim.