I wonder how many Fit owners are having cracking windshield problems? I don't mean from stone chips or even acorns, I mean spontaneously cracking.

As a former optical glass factory worker (summer job) I know a little about glass. Imagine my surprise when I was cleaning my window for a road trip with family visiting from Calgary and discover an 18 inch long crack emanating from the passenger side of the front windscreen about a foot up from the lower corner. It began under the side trim strip. Ran into the house and accused my wife. That didn't work so grabbed my jewelers loop (10X) and ran back out to the car. I moved the car for optimum light angle and searched the crack for point of impact - none.

At Apple Auto Glass the expert could not find a chip, or anything that would have caused that crack to form. It passed the 'pen test'. For $250 deductible I waited for a windshield from Montreal and in a few days was
the proud owner of new, thinner and less optically correct glass than was OEM on the car. Checked with Honda Canada and the price for a windshield was $1348.00 cdn dollars. Plus installation.

Apple did a perfect job installing the new replacement glass and used a Honda fit kit (pun?). My insurance person said I could have taken the car anywhere to have it replaced and thus could have had original glass from Honda!!! Thus said, there is no telling if the $1348 windshield Honda part would be the same quality, thickness as the OEM.

Anyone else have this spontaneous breakage issue???

ps
the way to test for optical correctness is to look thru glass in question and pick an object with straight lines. Move you head up down left right. If the line bends and torques there may be a glass issue. Thinner glass is noiser glass. Even 10% thinner. VW Golf brags about how their 10% thicker glass makes the car 6db quieter (that is a lot quieter).

 

Thanks for the tip on how to check windshield quality. I have not seen a Fit with a windshield crack but have seen many other vehicles with cracks.

Clifton

 

Im beginning to think that honda really skimped on the quality of the glass on the fit. I had to replace mine just last week when a small pebble was projected onto my windshield on the expressway. What started as a small chip began to form into a nice 6 inch crack within seconds of impact. Anyways, a local place installed a cheapo chinese made aftermarket windshield which was hit again just the other day only this time no issues resulted from the impact.

 

Just noticed a small 1/2" crack in the center of the passenger side. No impact mark or chip that I can tell. I'm taking it in to get filled/repaired at an auto glass shop this week to try and keep if from growing. Really don't wait to have to replace the glass or the tint strip I currently have on it.

Would be nice if we could confirm if the honda replacement is OEM quality or if it's just as good to go with aftermarket. My insurance deductible would be the same regardless.

 

All manufacturers use very thin glass to save weight. Glass in cars during the 70's
and earlier had glass almost two times the thickness of current glass. Vehicles
like the Fit are big and have more exposure to flying objects. Fortunately most
newer cars have a very stiff body and do not flex as much as the bodies on older
vehicles.

Don't know where most glass is made now, I haven't had to replace a windshield
in over 10 years. Probably it's made in the far east like everything else.

Clifton