09 Honda Fit windshield crack

Discussion in 'Fit' started by c, Jan 6, 2009.

  1. c

    c Guest

    Yesterday morning at 20 degrees my wife slapped the driver side wiper
    against the windshield to break off some ice and snow and we cracked
    the windshield!

    Anyone else had this problem? Seems like the long windshield design
    will be prone to cracks, etc.

    Other than that we're happy as larks with our Fit.

    c
     
    c, Jan 6, 2009
    #1
  2. Worth a trip to the dealer seeking warranty replacement. It shouldn't have
    done that.

    Be prepared to (politely) escalate your claim if dealer says no...
     
    Sharp Dressed Man, Jan 6, 2009
    #2
  3. c

    Steve L Guest

    May be fully covered under your auto insurance plan. Call your
    insurance company and ask.
     
    Steve L, Jan 6, 2009
    #3
  4. c

    Tegger Guest



    NO! Not on a car this new and very much under warranty!

    If the dealer doesn't find a stone chip in the crack, the glass is a
    warranty replacement.
     
    Tegger, Jan 6, 2009
    #4
  5. c

    Dillon Pyron Guest

    Go to the dealer first. In most cases, if you even inquire, the
    insurance company will treat it as a claim, of sorts, which will
    inevitably result in a premium increase.

    If it was a stone chip or such, the dealer might (MIGHT) be able to
    say no, but that could be bad PR for them. And this certainly sounds
    like a fault.

    The length of the windshield isn't the issue. It's probably the
    material (the composition of the glass). It probably became very
    brittle.
    --
    - dillon I am not invalid

    When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams come true.
    Unless it's really a meteorite hurtling to the Earth which
    will destroy all life. Then you're pretty much hosed no
    matter what you wish for. Unless it's death by meteor.
     
    Dillon Pyron, Jan 7, 2009
    #5
  6. When our Toyota had a similar issue (cracked windshield within the warranty
    period) the service writer ran a ball point pen along the crack to check for
    a chip. When the pen snagged in a chip he explained it wasn't a defect, it
    was damage and referred us to our insurance.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Jan 7, 2009
    #6
  7. c

    Dano58 Guest

    I Googled it and came up with this -

    http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f143540/0

    Seems like there might be an issue with the windshields anyways. Of
    course, in your case, you caused the crack so you probably don't have
    a leg to stand on.

    Dan D
    '07 Ody EX
    Central NJ USA
     
    Dano58, Jan 7, 2009
    #7
  8. c

    c Guest

    thanks for info. Dealer said because we slapped wiper on windshiled
    it's not covered.

    Amazingly, Elite glass in Denver wants $700 for a new windshield! Holy
    crap. Still doing research though, obviously not gonna pay that.

    c
     
    c, Jan 9, 2009
    #8
  9. c

    News Guest


    Theory of contributory negligence?
     
    News, Jan 9, 2009
    #9
  10. c

    Al Guest

    Not at all. No theories are involved, just facts. She broke the
    windshield - he pays to replace it. It's zero percent the car's fault
    and 100% the operator's. But they can claim it on their comprehensive
    insurance because it was done accidentally.
     
    Al, Jan 9, 2009
    #10
  11. c

    News Guest


    Mayhaps; given the track record to-date, deficient design looms large.
     
    News, Jan 9, 2009
    #11
  12. c

    Tegger Guest

    @p36g2000prp.googlegroups.com:




    This is impossible to believe, frankly.

    Was the rubber blade attached, or did the steel arm itself slap the glass?




    Problem is, you get what you pay for. Want rust around the pinchweld? Then
    go cheap.

    Plus, the car so new that the available glass is all OEM. Aftermarket
    hasn't got around to making glass for this car yet. $200 windshield jobs
    are thus unobtainable at this point.
     
    Tegger, Jan 9, 2009
    #12
  13. c

    a Guest

    That seems like a rather un-scientific and arbitrary way to test for a chip...

    a
     
    a, Jan 11, 2009
    #13
  14. Dunno what the actual false positive / false negative rates would be, but it
    is a decent field test. If the crack was not initiated by the chip, what are
    the odds it would run through one on any windshield young enough to be
    considered for warranty? An alternative explanation would be that the chip
    was a product of the crack, but the presence of similar chips in the
    windshield where it was not cracked militates against that. Then there is
    the possibility that the two are coincidental; that there is a mechanism
    (possibly a flaw in the original glass) that caused chips to form such that
    they would be mistaken for small rock chips, and that those cracked. In any
    case the onus would be on the owner to demonstrate that it was not the
    obvious: pebbles impacting the windshield seeded a crack. The test was the
    one Toyota wanted run.

    It could be a whole lot more complicated, I guess:
    http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=5136

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Jan 12, 2009
    #14
  15. c

    dgk Guest

    I disagree. I have often just let the wipers smack the windshield. Not
    too hard of course, but I also don't place them gently back on the
    glass. It seems to me that windshield glass should take a bigger
    impact than rubber blades hitting it, even at 20F.
     
    dgk, Jan 12, 2009
    #15
  16. c

    Tegger Guest




    That's the way they do it, like it or not.


    And it's more scientific than you think. Since a ballpoint pen has a sphere
    on the end, it can find the very tiniest chips in the glass.
     
    Tegger, Jan 12, 2009
    #16
  17. c

    Al Guest

    Yes, but did you read the original post? "....my wife slapped the
    driver side wiper against the windshield to break off some ice..."
    There is a big difference between a rubber blade and an ice encrusted one.
     
    Al, Jan 12, 2009
    #17
  18. c

    c Guest

    I think it's a combination of a LONG windshield, and a slap on a
    frigid morning. Anyone who lives in a cold area knows you slap your
    blades on the windshield to get off the ice. My wife did that but she
    picked an area too high on the windshiled, IMHO. She should have done
    it at the base, not about 1 ft. from the base as she did.

    I can't say it's defective, but can say it's a fragile design
    probably. Very long windshield and I bet the thickness of that glass
    is minimal. Add to it a cold morning and some ice on the wiper and
    you're asking for trouble.

    The good news is that I found a glass dealer who can replace for $250.

    c
     
    c, Jan 12, 2009
    #18
  19. c

    Tegger Guest



    I live in the Canadian province of Ontario. I am EXTREMELY familiar with
    ice on the wipers!





    No it's not. Honda's not stupid enough to make a windshield that's so
    very fragile as to crack from the impact of a rubber wiper blade, no
    matter where it hits on the glass.





    Make sure these people cover /each and every/ nick they make in the
    paint with their brush-on primer, otherwise you will have rust in the
    frame in no time and your corrosion warranty will be invalid.

    You DID read the corrosion warranty, did you not...?
     
    Tegger, Jan 13, 2009
    #19
  20. c

    c Guest

    Update, there is no after market windshield for the 09 Fit yet (as of
    Jan 13, 09). So everyone has to buy from Honda and I can't find it for
    cheper than $750!!!!

    We're going to live with the crack and wait for after market to become
    available.

    c
     
    c, Jan 13, 2009
    #20
Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments (here). After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.