My Whitney Houston problem
 

With the summer teaser heat over the last couple days, a stone chip :mad: morphed into a windshield replacement yesterday. After searching "glass", "windshield", and "crack" here (had to wade through a lot of FF stuff), be assred that I will be putting my foot down as concerns OEM glass; while I know we Bikinians down here are covered with no deductable :) , where is my ammo as concerns OEM versus generic? Or does an '04 with rain sensor automaticaly kick the spec to OEM status?

Will my original window sticker or VIN state whether I already have comfort glass? Anybody had experience with comfort/non-comfort?

I am going to drop the X at the dealer next week for a couple of service issues (blinking LED on the light switch, door handles, maybe check for tranny and nav updates, etc) and have Safelite or Satellite do the job there.

Does the vehicle need to remain parked for 24 hours or is this urban legend?

Edit: "assred" should should actually read "assured". It still kinda works though....

I had a Jeep that came with a rock magnet in the windshield (it was OEM and standard equipment, no extra charge) Never had to leave it sitting.

Do these word associations come to you in the middle of the night - you crack me up :rofl:

Go for the comfort glass. Some members here have taken the opportunity to move to comfort glass. Check here

I agree! Defintely go for the comfort glass! My ML has "solar glass" on the windshield and 2 front doors, while everything behind is tinted. I don't have to tint the fronts because of this! :) :thumbup:

Just had comfort glass installed at the stealer, and yes, the do indeed clamp and apply heat for the instal, needs to sit for 24 hours. The anti-glare and UV protection are totally awesome!! Thumbs up on the comfort glass!!!!

Thanks for that link LeMans, I missed that one. And everone els so far for the input. I must not have comfort as there is no radar detector cutout. I am particular about color values-does the comfort glass make things look more orange or brown? I like my greens and blues to look like greens and blues.

From inside looking out, I would say brownish. From outside looking in, it's purplish. Very kewl!

Comfort glass did not come OEM on U.S. bound vehicles. So you don't have one unless it has already been replaced with one. You should not drive the vehicle for 24 hours if you can help it. They use a urethane adhesive that takes that long to fully cure. Windshields these days actually add structural rigidity to the frame due to the installation methods/adhesives used now. If driven too quickly, the adhesive bond could shift and you could get an air leak etc...I don't think you want to take that chance. DEMAND OEM glass, PPG is ok too since they make the glass for BMW. If you do get comfort glass this will be a non-issue as it is probably only available from BMW.

I switched to comfort glass and saved a ton of money on my car insurance! ;)

When I switched it did it under my Geico glass coverage. Make sure you tell them the exact model # of the comfort glass if doing it by insurance. Dont let them try to match vin to glass. After specifying the type of glass I wanted and even giving insurance part #, safelite managed to installed the regular glass I had and it was even aftermarket. I was at work and my wife (at the time) didnt know the difference and let them install it. They had to replace it and the second time came back with the wrong glass again. Thrid time the charm though.

Also, make sure you cover your nav screen yourself. I think they got some glue on the lcd and rubbed it off with a chemical and also removed the anti-glare coating on the nav screen. It was days later before I noticed so I didnt make a big stink about it.

Just got off the phone with Safelite and with Noelle my very very helpful service advisor at the dealer. (perhaps she will oblige us with a photo...)Gave safelite the part number (thanks x5w) and were going in Wednesday. I am going to mask the dash...good idea.