[djacinto]

Hey y'all,

So yesterday I had taken off that bmw warranty sticker in the top left since it was a little annoying and came to my car to clean up the residue today, and came across a decently sized crack

What's worse is that it's not on the outside but in. I can't feel it from the outside but can from the inside but I have no idea what caused it.

My girlfriend thinks it could be the heat/cold temperature changes as my car sits outside but I'm just surprised if that's the case it didn't happen before

Has anyone else experienced this? What did you say to insurance?

Edit: I just realized it wasn't yesterday I took the sticker off but it definitely was not because I took the sticker off if thats even remotely a consideration XD

[Wires]

Never seen that, but having it inside, exactly where you had the sticker that you pulled off sort of points the smoking gun to you removing the sticker.

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by Wires

Never seen that, but having it inside, exactly where you had the sticker that you pulled off sort of points the smoking gun to you removing the sticker.

Ha ha very true, however it was like a week and half ago and I had driven from dallas to Austin and there was nothing

And I drove yesterday with no crack

[bavarianride]

I do wonder if insurance covers this as it is not external flying object that cracks the exterior glass.

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by bavarianride

I do wonder if insurance covers this as it is not external flying object that cracks the exterior glass.

I guess one can only hope…

[Billfitz]

Since the crack extends to both sides of where the sticker was you should have seen it when the sticker was there. Is that the windshield? If it's a side window it's really odd, as a crack in a side window should cause it to shatter. Looking at the picture I thought it was a scratch going though tint.

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Since the crack extends to both sides of where the sticker was you should have seen it when the sticker was there. Is that the windshield? If it's a side window it's really odd, as a crack in a side window should cause it to shatter. Looking at the picture I thought it was a scratch going though tint.

Yes it is the windshield.

Yeah this just happened yesterday as I drove a couple times yesterday with no crack, I definitely would have seen it as it's in the upper portion of my vision

I don't think it's just the tint? As far as I can tell when I run my fingernail across it I can feel it but it doesn't feel deep, but I'm not an expert on that so I could be wrong there too

[auburnf30x]

To me, it looks like the crack started at the top right and spread down to the bottom left. Very odd for it to have come from the inside. Extreme frame flexion can crack glass, but I'm pretty sure you'd know if that were the case.

The only other thing I can think of is that the sticker was covering a defect in the glass and sort of dampening road vibrations, and removing the sticker made the defect split. But I don't see any evidence of that and it would be very unlikely, anyway.

You didn't make your girlfriend mad recently by chance, did you?

[Psi5]

Maybe if there is a problem with the outside windshield gasket/seal, pulling on the sticker flexed and cracked the glass? Weird.

Regardless, make sure you clean off that adhesive residue *before* the adjuster sees it ;-)

[Icarium81]

Extreme heat can definitely blow out a window. Usually it's a side or rear window though and also usually need to have tint for the heat to be trapped inside. With the windshield though I doubt it would be heat/pressure causing that since the front window is multi layered and reinforced.

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by auburnf30x

To me, it looks like the crack started at the top right and spread down to the bottom left. Very odd for it to have come from the inside. Extreme frame flexion can crack glass, but I'm pretty sure you'd know if that were the case.

The only other thing I can think of is that the sticker was covering a defect in the glass and sort of dampening road vibrations, and removing the sticker made the defect split. But I don't see any evidence of that and it would be very unlikely, anyway.

You didn't make your girlfriend mad recently by chance, did you?

XD no I have yet to, but if she was secretly mad this would be one fun way to tell me

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by Psi5

Maybe if there is a problem with the outside windshield gasket/seal, pulling on the sticker flexed and cracked the glass? Weird.

Regardless, make sure you clean off that adhesive residue *before* the adjuster sees it ;-)

Lol put the sticker back on!!

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by Icarium81

Extreme heat can definitely blow out a window. Usually it's a side or rear window though and also usually need to have tint for the heat to be trapped inside. With the windshield though I doubt it would be heat/pressure causing that since the front window is multi layered and reinforced.

I agree here too that's why I'm so confused. We did do tinting back in 2018 when I first got the car but there's no sign of anything wrong with the tint on the front window

[djacinto]

Quick update for anyone who may have this problem, it seems the issue is most likely a stress crack due to temperature.

While I haven't had any confirmations yet, I'm in the process of communicating with safelite and progressive to figure out what to do

There's no damage around the crack but knowing Texas, anything can happen and a sudden temperature or pressure shift could definitely cause this, especially with the recent storms we've had, going from 90 to 60/70's with storms seems like a probable cause

Will update again hopefully later this week with good news

Update: appointment is scheduled, none for the next month basically, but we're scheduled for July 2nd. To limit my over caring nature for my car and any risk of the crack developing further I will try limiting my driving only to groceries, since I don't go out much other than that anyways

Thanks for all the advice so far, and let's hope my rates don't go up

[njdangelo]

Originally Posted by djacinto

Quick update for anyone who may have this problem, it seems the issue is most likely a stress crack due to temperature.

While I haven't had any confirmations yet, I'm in the process of communicating with safelite and progressive to figure out what to do

There's no damage around the crack but knowing Texas, anything can happen and a sudden temperature or pressure shift could definitely cause this, especially with the recent storms we've had, going from 90 to 60/70's with storms seems like a probable cause

Will update again hopefully later this week with good news

Just make sure you use OEM and ONLY OEM windshield replacement... or your next post will be titled "HELP: Floor mats are wet after rain and loud wind noise when driving on highway"

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by djacinto

Hey y'all,

So yesterday I had taken off that bmw warranty sticker in the top left since it was a little annoying and came to my car to clean up the residue today, and came across a decently sized crack

What's worse is that it's not on the outside but in. I can't feel it from the outside but can from the inside but I have no idea what caused it.

My girlfriend thinks it could be the heat/cold temperature changes as my car sits outside but I'm just surprised if that's the case it didn't happen before

Has anyone else experienced this? What did you say to insurance?

Edit: I just realized it wasn't yesterday I took the sticker off but it definitely was not because I took the sticker off if thats even remotely a consideration XD

Why do you need to "say" anything to insurance other than "My windshield is cracked"? It happens all the time; could be a rock; could be heat/cold, I guess. Your ins co won't care; you don't need to get a "story" straight.

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by tex2670

Why do you need to "say" anything to insurance other than "My windshield is cracked"? It happens all the time; could be a rock; could be heat/cold, I guess. Your ins co won't care; you don't need to get a "story" straight.

Not necessarily for the sake of "having my story straight", more so for me to know what to say since it's not accident related and I haven't made a claim relating to this so I was unsure how to approach the situation

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

Just make sure you use OEM and ONLY OEM windshield replacement... or your next post will be titled "HELP: Floor mats are wet after rain and loud wind noise when driving on highway"

Ha ha very funny

[culpability]

Mine is a little different but I had a decent sized chip in my windshield from a rock that had struck the windshield maybe a year prior. It was at the very bottom and was a very minor chip so I didn't bother having it patched (rookie mistake).

The day my son was born I was dropping off my dogs etc. with the folks before I went to the hospital, probably about 30 degrees outside, car had been outside overnight. I left the car running with the defroster running full blast for about 20 minutes and when I came back, that tiny chip had turned into a massive crack that spanned essentially the entire windshield.

Point being, the factory windshield seems prone to cracking in extreme temperature swings, at least when its already been damaged. Very possible you had an extremely minor chip or crack at the VERY TOP of the windshield from some debris damage and a major temperature swing caused it to spread.

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by culpability

Mine is a little different but I had a decent sized chip in my windshield from a rock that had struck the windshield maybe a year prior. It was at the very bottom and was a very minor chip so I didn't bother having it patched (rookie mistake).

The day my son was born I was dropping off my dogs etc. with the folks before I went to the hospital, probably about 30 degrees outside, car had been outside overnight. I left the car running with the defroster running full blast for about 20 minutes and when I came back, that tiny chip had turned into a massive crack that spanned essentially the entire windshield.

Point being, the factory windshield seems prone to cracking in extreme temperature swings, at least when its already been damaged. Very possible you had an extremely minor chip or crack at the VERY TOP of the windshield from some debris damage and a major temperature swing caused it to spread.

Damn I'm so sorry to hear that!

Since the chip was on the outside, I assume the crack was only on the outside as well?

Such a crazy situation, I definitely could see that being a cause for me as well, the only trips I usually take long distance are between Austin and Dallas to see the fam, but rarely have I heard something large enough to concern me hitting the window

I can only hope they can repair it, I'd much rather not pay another cost after doing all my maintenance a couple weeks ago now lol

[joesid]

Originally Posted by djacinto

Not necessarily for the sake of "having my story straight", more so for me to know what to say since it's not accident related and I haven't made a claim relating to this so I was unsure how to approach the situation

I wouldn't put too much thought into it. I've had about 5 windshields replaced over the last 20 years. Glass is typically a comprehensive claim, and insurance (Geico for me) doesn't care how it happened. Let them know the day you noticed the crack and you should be good to go.

As far as the type of glass - I let Safelite install the generic Fuyao and it's been absolutely fine. I do not have HUD so can not offer any help with that.

Definitely make a point to chat up the installer, as the care taken during the install is just as important, if not more so than the brand of glass. I was extremely impressed and have no complaints (very rare for me…) with my F30 replacement.

[mdchris]

Anyone from a cold climate will tell you that has nothing to do with the factory glass, it's ANY glass. If you have a windshield with a chip on it, get it cold and then blow hot air on it, it cracks, and if it's already cracked the crack will grow. Gotta get the stone chips fixed immediately before a crack starts.

A crack on the inside though? I'm guessing the edge of the windshield was damaged during install or transport and the timing of the crack forming in relation to removing the sticker is just a coincidence.

Originally Posted by culpability

Mine is a little different but I had a decent sized chip in my windshield from a rock that had struck the windshield maybe a year prior. It was at the very bottom and was a very minor chip so I didn't bother having it patched (rookie mistake).

The day my son was born I was dropping off my dogs etc. with the folks before I went to the hospital, probably about 30 degrees outside, car had been outside overnight. I left the car running with the defroster running full blast for about 20 minutes and when I came back, that tiny chip had turned into a massive crack that spanned essentially the entire windshield.

Point being, the factory windshield seems prone to cracking in extreme temperature swings, at least when its already been damaged. Very possible you had an extremely minor chip or crack at the VERY TOP of the windshield from some debris damage and a major temperature swing caused it to spread.