Soft windshields

[nupe10123]

No chips or 'sandblasting' on the X in 4 years. My e39 took a rock not even an hour after I had her. Took her in to a glass repair shop and haven't had a problem since - I can't even tell where the rock hit anymore.

[msammy]

Originally Posted by X5 in AK

Rock chips and pitting are usually two different issues. If a rock hits the windshield with enough force, it will chip (star, crack, whatever you want to call it) regardless of how 'hard' the glass is.
Pitting, or your windshield looking like it was sandblasted, probably is a function of glass quality. The windshield on my '85 728i was terribly pitted when I bought it as a 12 year old car, so bad that I couldn't see out it when the sun hit it just right. No rock chips, though. I had a new PPG windshield installed, no problems after 6 years. Still looks new.

So if you have a sandblasted looking windshield, I would vote for poor glass quality. A rock chipped windshield, that's just bad luck.

I have a sandblasted-looking windshield and you guys are going to think I'm crazy as to what I'm about to suggest. I hate seeing my X5 dirty during the winter months up here in the Northeast (where they heavily sand & salt the roads during snowstorms), so I frequent a new super high-pressure, touchless car wash after each and every snow storm. When they first installed this new car wash during the summer, I was especially impressed on how clean the X was after a 4 minute high-pressure wash. Now it's winter, and every carwash in our area is required to recycle water (as per law). Well, I wonder how much filtering is going on with this dirty; sand & salt infested water during the wash cycle. After a wash last month, as I pulled out into the street to drive away, I noticed a "starfield" of small pitts on my windshield that would rival some planetariums. Boy was I PO'd. A few days later, I noticed small pits & tiny dents on the hood surface and rear hatch - like I was doing 70 mph in reverse and hit a stone??? It's got to be this car wash. When I attempted to contact the owner of the car wash/gas station, his response was "the sign says enter at your own risk". Nice. Anyway, I'm curious, anyone else out there with a pitted windshield frequent a high-pressure car wash, or am I and my theory just plain crazy?

[SilverBullet]

I have a few rock chips.

[X5 in AK]

I would say that you are correct, the car wash did it. Which doesn't make you feel any better, or your X look any better. I have a friend in Minnesota that owns a gas station/ car wash, and having helped him work on it, I can tell you that if the owner of your car wash isn't keeping up on his filter maintenance, then lots of dirty water is getting cycled thru.

I can't think of any good options to persue, other than make a really huge stink about it. Or make friends with a lawyer. Or a hit man.

[Thunder22]

Originally Posted by X5Jay

I have the same issues with my windshield. Anyone know to what extent the damage has to be before ins. will cover replacement? I have 2 small (about 1/16")rock chips about 1/4" apart from each other. While they're small, they're right in my line of sight and very annoying...

if they're in your line of sight, it's usually covered.

[cpatzer]

I would say, contact a lawyer. Depends on your state but those signs don't usually hold up in court. A friend of my had his ///M5 damaged in a car wash that said they "hand wash" well it was a guy with a rag that wipes the car before it goes into the "touchless carwash".

They ended up paying for the repairs to his ///M5.

If they won't budge, your lawyer could always argue that it was supposed to be a "touchless carwash". Seems to me that the rocks did a lot of "touching".

On another note, I would never recommend using those "touchless" carwashes, ever, if you value your paint job. All of the sand and dirt under that high of pressure turns into sandpaper or a virtual sandblaster. Eventually you will peal off the clearcoat. Winter or not I would hand wash.

What I do if I am feeling especially lazy is bring a bucket and wash mit to the local pull in and do it yourself car wash. It says no handwashing, but they don't seem to mind so long as you are paying the whole time you are handwashing.

Originally Posted by msammy

I have a sandblasted-looking windshield and you guys are going to think I'm crazy as to what I'm about to suggest. I hate seeing my X5 dirty during the winter months up here in the Northeast (where they heavily sand & salt the roads during snowstorms), so I frequent a new super high-pressure, touchless car wash after each and every snow storm. When they first installed this new car wash during the summer, I was especially impressed on how clean the X was after a 4 minute high-pressure wash. Now it's winter, and every carwash in our area is required to recycle water (as per law). Well, I wonder how much filtering is going on with this dirty; sand & salt infested water during the wash cycle. After a wash last month, as I pulled out into the street to drive away, I noticed a "starfield" of small pitts on my windshield that would rival some planetariums. Boy was I PO'd. A few days later, I noticed small pits & tiny dents on the hood surface and rear hatch - like I was doing 70 mph in reverse and hit a stone??? It's got to be this car wash. When I attempted to contact the owner of the car wash/gas station, his response was "the sign says enter at your own risk". Nice. Anyway, I'm curious, anyone else out there with a pitted windshield frequent a high-pressure car wash, or am I and my theory just plain crazy?

[msammy]

X5 in AK and cpatzer, Thanks for the response. I'm even more embarrassed to tell you I have the same problem with my new 550i I purchased 6 months ago - I only have 7K miles on it and paid $66K! You're right, I should get a very good attorney involved in this. This "touchless" car wash just sandblasted both my cars, which cost me $112K for both. My wife's new X3 will NEVER go through this car wash - I asked her to tolerate the filthy vehicle and don't go through the car wash. I'll hand wash in the driveway now that the weather has warmed up a bit. In the mean time, I need to find out how much the repairs will cost me and go from there...

[jpnut]

Nice, I got pitting in 2 spots in sets of three right smack in the driver's view. The fixes look hit or miss. Haver there been any recent updates? The pitting looks like white spots that you can feel with your fingernail. Sucks so bad, especially when it rains and the wipers leave streaks against those spots.

[Islands52]

fixes are hit and miss.

German OE glass (Audi and BMW) are notoriously "soft". I've had to replace windshields on both a Z3 and A4 in the past, and I talked to a few glass shop owners about it and they agree. You can elect to go with a windshield from PPG, which will stand up to chips better, but it will not have the etched BMW logos.

If damage is on the larger side and in the drivers' field of vision talk to your auto insurance carrier as some will replace the glass for free or with a minimal charge, depending on your policy.

[jpnut]

Originally Posted by Islands52

fixes are hit and miss.

German OE glass (Audi and BMW) are notoriously "soft". I've had to replace them on both a Z3 and A4 in the past, and I talked to a few glass shop owners about it and they agree. You can elect to go with a windshield from PPG, which will stand up to chips better, but it will not have the etched BMW logos.

If damage is on the larger side and in the drivers' field of vision talk to your auto insurance carrier as some will replace the glass for free or with a minimal charge, depending on your policy.

Thanks for the tips I will get on this through my insurance.