My wife was driving the 2010 Fit Sport to work this morning during a heavy thunderstorm. She thinks that lightning either struck the car or nearby, and either that or something else broke the windshied (though it is still in one piece). She continued driving to work (was almost there) and hasn't checked the car for other damages. I'll take a look at it tonight. I opted for the windshield glass warranty when I bought the Fit, so I'll see how that works out. I'm a little worried about what effect the lightning would have on the rest of the car.

 

Also was bad hail this morning in places...could be a piece of hail hit the windshield and broke it then melted. It was all over by the time I got up this morning...

I am in Falls Church also.

I usually see two fits parked on the side of the road on the way to Falls Church HS taking my son to practice.

 

Well, technically it would be the thunder(aka sonic boom) that might have cracked the windshield but that definitely has the possibility of doing it.

If anyone has had the experience of a real close lightening strike they will tell you the sonic boom packs quite a punch that will hit you through your core.

 

technically thunder from lightning is not a 'sonic boom' sonic booms are created by aircrafts that travel faster than the speed of sound creating a waves behind it "booms". Thunder is the sound of the lightings 50,000 degree temperature vaporizing/super heating the air and then it re-cooling, that process creates shock-waves aka thunder.

car should be okay, cars act as faraday-cages directing the lightning down and into the ground.

 

I'll post a photo tomorrow. Now that I see it, the mystery deepens- there was no hail at the time, but there is a definite singular point of impact- right up at the roofline trim, but not damaging any part of the car other than the windshield. The impact must have been severe, as the glass at the impact point is really shredded- but not melted as you might expect if lightning had hit it. I see no scorch marks on the car anywhere. The cracks in the windshield emanate from the point of impact and run almost the length of the windshield- it's amazing it didn't shatter. In the heavy rain it is possible that it was hit by a rock that couldn't be seen 'till it struck the car, since the visibility was low. But she says that there was a huge lightning strike. Weird.

 

My guess... the lightning struck nearby, knocking up a rock or some other debris into the car.

 

okay... now we're getting into JFK 2nd gunman scenarios.

 

While I'm not much on "conspiracy"... both are possible. I say possible, whether likely or not, I dunno... I wasn't there.

 

I wasn't there either, but it sounds as if it happened very quickly, and with the low visibility at the time, who knows. She says it coincided with the lightning strike.



O.K., here it is, right at the roofline but not a scratch on the trim or roof. Looks like a single, but significant point of impact. What do you think? Could it possibly be lightning?

 

Hi Keith, my place is between Great Falls Street and Westmoreland. If you find yourself on a street with three '64 and '65 Valiants and a blue Fit, that's me. I have the road hazard warranty that the the dealership sold me, and they directed me to Safelite Auto Glass in Ballston. I'm about to find out how good this warranty is.

 

God hath smited your windshield and obscured the vision of those that have angered him!

Just kidding.

Wow, looks like an singular impact to me. Since it seems to have an impact center and radiate outward.

I'm just suspicious that it could be lightening. Why would lightening hit the glass instead of the metal? Plus if lightening itself hit the vehicle, I think you'd have more damage or incident then what happened.

I'd think sonic boom but then I'd just expect a more generalized cracking.

I'm leaning towards the "second gunman" theory that it was a storm and debris.

Or that your wife is having a secret affair, and her lover got upset when she said you were better in bed, and he went out and attacked her vehicle as she sped away from the hotel...so she made up the story about "Lightening" or the hand of god causing the damage.

But who am I to cause trouble?

Good thing you got the windshield insurance. I passed on mine because the dealership seemed vague when I pressed them about circumstances inwhich they would replace.

Let us know how replacement goes, so I can feel bad about not buying the coverage.

 

Your son was playing baseball and hit the windshield and your wife is covering for him.

 

Used them for my Jags and they replaced the front windshield for less than $200.

But I did an on-line estimate for the Fit and the price was $442.95-wow!

The difference between the Safelite glass and the original glass on the Jag was the tinting at the top of the windshield. It looks like they use tinting on the top of the Fit windshield as well.

The local news reports had hail in the area...my money still is on a piece of hail!

 

I'd say that was a rock that did that damage..

A few years back, I was on Rt 80, sandwiched between 2 semi's, when one of them kicked up a rock, and I saw it coming straight at the windshield (I had a Scion xB at the time) - it put a hole just like the one you have in your picture in my windshield, and I even had glass land on the inside on my dash! Sounded like a gun went off in my car.


It could have been a rock hitting the windshield the same time the lightning struck...just adding my 2 cents!

 

Years ago I had lightning strike 20 feet from me. I was in the garage with the door open when lightning struck a palm tree 20 feet from me. WOW!!!! Loud!!! Scared the c**p out of me. The bolt hit the tree, ran 4 feet along the ground to the edge of the driveway, broke off a piece of concrete driveway 2 feet long, 6 inches wide and about 3 inches thick and deposited it 2 feet away in the grass.

I'm betting that lightning hit the street real close to her car and lifted a piece of concrete onto her windshield.

In my case, other damage was a burned up garage door opener, burned up phone answering machine, burned up TV cable and TV, a dead palm tree, and a pair of soild underwear.


Flea

 

Holy hail - though I did enjoy the conspiracy.