A month old. Cracked Windshield????!??

mentalcase · Mar 31, 2014

I took delivery on 2/26 and today as I'm leaving my office I noticed a huge crack in my windshield. The funny part was I did not notice it on my commute in or when I stepped out for lunch.

There does not appear to be any kind of impact. There's no indent from a rock or other piece of debris. It just looks like it started at the edge of the glass and continued out from there.

I'm calling the dealership now, but I can imagine how hard they are going to fight me on this one. Think I have a shot?

Pictures are being loaded as I type this.

Edit: Pics included

cthew0rld · Mar 31, 2014

there are a few threads about this. should be on the first page.

look at the thread 'windshield scrath'. a couple people have had spontaneous cracks fixed under warranty.

mentalcase · Mar 31, 2014

Definitely a lot of windshields problems.

I took a better pic. And I can't really see any impact. It looks like it started at the edge and spread.

CX-SV · Mar 31, 2014

mentalcase - Let us know the outcome via dealer service on this issue. For some reason the complaint seems more common that usual with 2014's.

paris1 · Mar 31, 2014

mentalcase said:
Definitely a lot of windshields problems. I took a better pic. And I can't really see any impact. It looks like it started at the edge and spread.

Wow, that is nasty! I have to agree w/CX-SV above, except this problem goes back to 2013s as well. There seem to be too many cases of broken windshields wherein the driver is totally unaware of anything striking the glass to cause it. I had a rock hit mine which caused the typical "angel wing" chip. Had it repaired, but it seems like cases like mine are the exception here. What's going on???

Caliche · Mar 31, 2014

mentalcase said:
I took delivery on 2/26 and today as I'm leaving my office I noticed a huge crack in my windshield. The funny part was I did not notice it on my commute in or when I stepped out for lunch.

There does not appear to be any kind of impact. There's no indent from a rock or other piece of debris. It just looks like it started at the edge of the glass and continued out from there.

Dude that is definitely a stress crack of some sort, insist on it being a defect. Notice how it starts at the top edge and goes down and spreads, not the other way around. It'd be impossible for it to start in the middle (from say, a chip from a flying rock), all spread out as it is, to then run upward into one single line fracture to the top edge. They better fix this for you at no cost and no questions asked. Best of luck, you have a case though.

zorobg · Mar 31, 2014

mentalcase said:
Definitely a lot of windshields problems.

I took a better pic. And I can't really see any impact. It looks like it started at the edge and spread.

This is a nice shot. Note how wide the gap is. This windshield must be under tremendous stress for the two sides to be this far apart. There is no way this was caused by a stone and the dealer should not fight you but bring it to Mazda. There are too many of this type of cracks happening for it to be random isolated cases.

Chris_Top_Her · Mar 31, 2014

Yea, I had problems with two aftermarket glass supplied by insurance after the OEM got a rock crack. The first was a chunk of the glass fell taking the rearview with it, and the second was a stress crack that started at the edge.

CC58 · Mar 31, 2014

This has been happening to many CX-5s. I'm beginning to wonder if the high tensile steel they use to lighten the chassis also introduced more flex than previous chassis. This could be cracking the windshields. A windshield can be installed with a tar like adhesive or a roll of special double back foam tape. If this happens to me, I'll demand the new windshield be installed with the roll of double back foam tape adhesive. That should prevent stress cracks.

IronMan0737 · Apr 1, 2014

That's an excellent theory, as there could be few reasons why stuff like this is happening in the 2010s. Hopefully someone gets to the bottom of the issue, if indeed there's an ideal installation method. If glass from different makers is breaking under stress, too much or uneven tension would be the likely cause.

And mirrors falling off into the driver area would be cause for a TSB, IMO.

mentalcase · Apr 1, 2014

I'll keep everyone updated. I'm heading to the dealer in 20 min

Edit: Update! Well for a second they tried to put the pen in the crack and say "Ohhh here's your point of impact". Then I asked them to run the pen down the entire top part of the crack and ohh boy it fell into the entire thing. It was at that point that they said we'll take care of you, but please mark us favorably on the survey. Should have the new windshield in early next week.

mentalcase · Apr 2, 2014

Gotta give it to the dealer here. They said yesterday it would take a week for the windshield to arrive, but I got a call today and it's already at the dealer ship.

Made my appointment for monday. Not a bad experience at all.

CX-SV · Apr 2, 2014

mentalcase said:
I'll keep everyone updated. I'm heading to the dealer in 20 min

Edit: Update! Well for a second they tried to put the pen in the crack and say "Ohhh here's your point of impact". Then I asked them to run the pen down the entire top part of the crack and ohh boy it fell into the entire thing. It was at that point that they said we'll take care of you, but please mark us favorably on the survey. Should have the new windshield in early next week.

It's sad that you had to disprove the SA (service ass) in order to get warranty coverage. But thanks for the report, I've learned something from your report.

Did they make any mention of what's causing these problems, etc.?

mentalcase · Apr 2, 2014

CX-SV said:
It's sad that you had to disprove the SA (service ass) in order to get warranty coverage. But thanks for the report, I've learned something from your report.

Did they make any mention of what's causing these problems, etc.?

They had no clue and this was the first one they've seen.

If this happens to anyone else do you due diligence. Take a bunch of pictures before bringing it to the dealer and print them out or load them on your phone/tablet. Also zoom in of the potential areas of impact to prove your point.

It is a shame that it was my responsibility to prove fault here, but I guess anytime there is an issue with a windshield it's most likely impact damage.

craigo · Apr 3, 2014

Anyone noticed the thickness of the windshield? The rest of the windows are quite thin to save weight. Could be this is a new type of glass with some defects in the process to be worked out.

minnesotaart · Apr 3, 2014

mentalcase said:
Gotta give it to the dealer here. They said yesterday it would take a week for the windshield to arrive, but I got a call today and it's already at the dealer ship.

On the other hand, sounds like they are stocking up in a warehouse someplace because they are needed more frequently! (wink)

NorCal_MP3 · Apr 3, 2014

Hyundai is having problems with the glass roofs on the Velosters blowing up. I imagine the roof is flexing too much and unless the glass is made to flex and is laminated will eventually give up. They might have to just chalk it up to chassis flex and jut know that they are going to have to replace a lot of windshields. Hyundai doesn't really have a fox, they claim it is chassis to glass interference. So maybe a rubber insulated redesign is necessary.

CX-SV · Apr 7, 2014

I'm not thinking CX-5 windshield issue (which seems to be reported mostly on 2014's) as related to chassis flex. The chassis seems to be about as stiff as any crossover SUV chassis available today. I'd like to hear what Mazda eventually says now that more of these are showing up at dealership.

mentalcase · Apr 7, 2014

Just got home from the dealer and all seems well. It's raining here and there were no leaks, but the tape they told me to keep on obviously came off with the rain. I'm also supposed to keep my windows down for the next 24 hrs which is impossible with this rain. I have the sunroof venting to alleviate the pressure.

The price if it wasn't covered under warranty??? A whopping $803 dollars. The windshield alone runs for $500.

CX-SV · Apr 7, 2014

mentalcase - Thanks for followup report, glad to hear about good Mazda warranty coverage.

Too bad dealership service is not telling you anything about cause...

A month old. Cracked Windshield????!??

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