There was some frost on my windshield today so i turned on my wipers and defrost to get it off. after about 2 minutes it was mostly gone and i went on my way to work. about halfway to work i notice this glint on my windshield and by the time i got to park it had spread all the way across the windshield and into my viewing path. I went to the dealership and they decided it was from a chip and then proceded to dig into the chip to "show me better" thus i'm not covered by warrenty and the replacement cost being an estimated 300 means that my insurance won't be covering it either due to my deductable being higher. Any suggestions other than just eating this thing?

 

The car insurance that I have has an option for $0 deductible glass replacement for any glass damage. If you can get that for your insurance I would highly recommend it. It only adds a couple bucks a year to the premium and usually pays for itself the first time your windshield cracks.

It wouldn't cover this time, You will just have to replace it yourself. Which you should do rather quickly, driving with a cracked windshield is very dangerous.

 

nothing you can do at this point other than replace it.

 

Problems & Issues - Honda Element Owners Club Forums

See the forum on bad Honda windshields and their deceptive practices on the Element. I own an 2004 Element and got a crack at just a few hundred miles. Before I went to the dealer, the Element forum had already warned about the famous "ball point pen" test. So when I got to the Honda dealer the first the service manager did was, of course, take out a ball point pen and roll it up and down the crack until it found the slightest dimple and then forced a tiny piece of glass out of the crack and said: "See, it was a rock!". To which I added, I am going to the sales manager because we already know what you are up to. The sales manager paid for a replacement out of his budget.

In the meantime a class action lawsuit was commenced and then settled recently by Honda that covers all 03 and 04 Elements for any crack for six years or 60,000 miles regardless of the reason for the crack. The main premise of the lawsuit was that due to defects the glass cracked too easy from even the slightest little chip. Be it stress from the window frame or cheap Honda glass.

We'll have to watch this one and see if the same problem for the FIT. I would go to the sales manager or owner like I did and say "Look, this tiny of a chip should not result in the windshield cracking. Obviously the glass is defective and you are obligated under warranty to replace it as a defect. Glass should only crack from bigger chips. It is clear there is something wrong with this particular piece of glass. I just bought this 400 miles ago and now I am very disappointed in the car and you as a dealer."

If they won't respond, call Customer Service at Honda and at least give that a try.

 

The location described in alot of those posts is the exact same place as mine. I don't believe that it was hit by anything and the small little chip that was enlarged by Mr. bic and his ballpoint pen is so super small that i cannot cannot believe it would lead to a crack that runs the entire distace of the windshield. I've had several cars with pits way larger than this little miniscule thing that havn't caused turned into cracks even after years of hot and cold kansas weather. I'm more determined than ever now to fight this as much as i can.

 

I have a stress crack in the corner. it is quite obvious that no rock hit it because there are no chips or scratches on the surface at all...I am going to take it to the dealer....

 

Mine had a stress crack 4 days after I got the car, it was replaced no problem. Try a search for "stress crack" and see what you find that you can take to the dealer if need be.

 

Hey Marix,

Which dealer are you working with? Jay Wolfe? Frank Ancona?

BTW, I'd definitely push for a warranty replacement...