I've had my new Fit for about a week now, generally getting used to it and like it a lot. However I have a question about the windshield that perhaps someone can help with. I've read descriptions online of normal distortions and cross-car viewing angles, etc, but not sure that what I'm seeing is the same thing...

During regular daylight looking out from inside the car, the front windshield looks like it has tiny dried water spots covering the whole glass. I tried cleaning the inside, cleaning the outside, no change. It's especially noticeable when looking at something dark in front of the car. I wasn't too worried about it, figured it'd be just another thing to get used to in a new vehicle.

Then last night I was driving towards the setting sun at a certain angle and the little bubbles (or whatever it is) made such a harsh light out of the windshield, it almost looked like the glass was temporarily covered by something that had crystallized ~ it was quite startling and almost blinding until I could turn the car.

I figure it might be related to either the annealing process of the glass itself, or more likely the layer of whatever it is between the two pieces of glass. I'm taking it to the dealer tomorrow or Saturday so they can check it out, but just wondered if anyone else has had similar experience with any of their cars?

Thanks!

 

Sounds pretty annoying. I'd complain about it to the dealer. "Car isn't safe to drive." Hopefully they are a good dealership and will give you an honest answer of what is going on, and more importantly, will fix it for you without too much trouble.

 

Mine has no distortions of any kind. Get thee to a dealer..safety hazard. Should be covered by warranty.

 

ADVphotography - the dealer already said they'd "do whatever it takes to fix it" so I'm pleased about that, just not sure why it's like that, very strange!

 

Out of curiosity, were you wearing sunglasses when you saw this? I bought a pair of sun glasses a couple years ago and could see a similar thing on all my side windows, took glasses off and they went away. I assume something about the polarazation glass. If not then, no i have not noticed it but will pay a little closer attention today.

 

I would have them install a new honda OEM windshield. It might take a little while to get one since these cars have just been released. Sounds like you have a defective piece of glass. It happens and should have been caught on QC. Post up and let us know how it goes.
Good luck!

 

Thanks for checking - my sunglasses DO make the rear window look funny due to the tint, so I'm used to that - however the windshield is definitely something different. If I could figure out how to capture it with camera I'd try to show it to you, maybe a "Macro" setting would work...

 

Once the glass issue is solved by the dealership, go over it carefully before you drive away. Am glad they took immediate responsibility.
Pls. take pics so we can see the before and after. Before you know it, you'll be back to driving your new Fit, issueless!!!

 

Went to check my windshield last night after reading this thread. When I look diagonally across my windshield (towards the passenger side), the glass is a bit wavy and distorted. Anyone else get this?

I do not have specs, though. I suspect it may be bad watermarks or improperly formed glass.

 

A little bit of waviness at fairly steep off-axis angles (like this) is not unexpected distortion from making a window, particularly one with curved glass. The windshield is not made to the same standards as optical lenses. I suspect mine is the same way, though I haven't really looked for it nor noticed it while driving.

 

Debbie, is it a defined pattern or just like random spots?

 

Definitely more random spots, but all very close together. Like a mosaic over the entire windshield with tiny pebbles - there's space between the spots, but they are not regularly shaped, most about the size of a capital "O" in this font or tiny bit larger. I'm headed out to the car from work now, will try to get a photo...

 

I was not able to focus properly on the spots with my simple camera, but luckily my brother is a part-time photographer and with one of his giant camera lenses he was able to get the correct focus... I kept some dried water / wiper fluid spots on the left of the picture for comparison, indicated where the blue text is - then the center of the windshield you can see where the problem is... That extends over the entire front glass. When driving in normal light, where you are watching the road, etc. it just appears a little bit dirty, until it refracted in the odd sunlight which was then blindingly opaque.



When I stopped by the dealership yesterday morning, the service manager confirmed it was definitely something between the layers of glass. He will contact "the Honda guy" who needs to approve the defect/replacement - hopefully this photo will help keep me from having to show the car to "the guy" in person... The service manager said he'd never seen anything like it before and he's been working for Honda for over 30 years.

 

I have never seen anything like that in car glass before! Weird

 

Yup, almost all cars are like this but it's more noticeable in some cars than others. I test drove a new 3 series one day and the distortion was enough to make me carsick

 

Well the photo did the trick, the Honda rep said "yup, replace it" so now I just have to wait for the new windshield to arrive and get it swapped out, hopefully next week.

 

Good news!

 

interesting. I detailed my car last weekend, and there is this 'film' on the inside of the windows. did lots of scrubbing to try to get it off. left lots of speckles all over the windows when looking at an angle. I wonder if maybe I have the same issue as you? I didn't get a chance to try cleaning the windows again yet

 

Well I finally got the new windshield for the car, and holy cats, does it ever look clear! I guess I hadn't realized how slightly dirty all those spots made it after all, a definite improvement. Anyway, word from the guys who did the glass work (sub-contracted by the Honda dealer) is that they had seen one windshield with similar spots - 10 years ago - so it's reasonably rare, which is great news for the rest of you with new Fits!

 

It is a manufacturing problem with that piece of glass. Not a common occurrence and most people, even in the auto industry, will never see it in person.


Windshields, for the USA market since the 1960's, are laminated glass. That is two layers of glass sandwiched together with a thin flexible sheet of clear plastic in between the glass layers. If, in the manufacturing process, the plastic sheet has any markings (or dried water droplets) on it, those will be trapped and visible inside the glass windshield.


This will not happen in side or back windows, which are made of tempered glass. Tempered glass is a single thickness of glass that will shatter into little chunks when it breaks (no plastic sheet inside it).


Laminated glass (sometimes called Safety Glass) has been required on windshields of USA market vehicles and is probably also used in other markets now as well. It used to be that European market vehicle windshields were made of tempered glass and not laminated glass. I don't know if that is still the case.


My folks bought a late model used Chrysler at a Chrysler dealership 25 years ago. Within the first few weeks of ownership they had noticed that part of the windshield just wouldn't get clean. The windshield was clear, but I could see the ghostly image of 1/2 inch wide lettering visible on the passenger side of the windshield in the right light. There was no color to the image, it was transparent. It looked like the lettering that some dealerships painted onto windshields to advertise the price of the car on their lot. Turns out the lettering/numbering image was on the laminated plastic film inside the windshield and not sales information from the dealer. It definitely would not clean off. The dealership got the windshield replaced promptly.


There are likely manufacturer's batch markings (or potential dried water spots) at the start of each roll of the laminating film used at a windshield manufacturing plant. I imagine the rolls of film are fairly large diameter, so they don't need to be replaced every few minutes. If the person changing out the roll doesn't advance it past the outer layer to fresh, clean material... but only wipes off the batch lettering or water spots (from the roll getting caught outside in a sprinkling..it won't melt.. it's only plastic..) ... you probably get a couple of windshields with ghostly markings that will not wipe off.

See?