Windshield Stress Crack

[bevedfelker]

Went in to dealer for warranty work on front grill hinge pin sheared -- found stress crack in windshield. Crack was not there when I was driving over and there is no evidence of window being hit by foreign object. They wrote it up as warranty work -- we'll see if Thor approves it.

Damn the bad luck!

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by bevedfalker

Went in to dealer for warranty work on front grill hinge pin sheared

We had one go as well; within a couple months after picking it up. It didn't cause a windshield issue though; hope they cover that for you.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by bevedfelker

....cut.....

Damn the bad luck!

Sorry to hear -- that's very unfortunate.

The Axis/Vegas windshield probably stands out more than any other design detail -- giving the motorhome that unique look -- but it also concerns me more than any other part of the RV. Based on previous failures I'm concerned that down the road when units are out of warranty that windshield replacements could become an expensive part of ownership.

[Dan9841]

Originally Posted by Chance

Sorry to hear -- that's very unfortunate.

The Axis/Vegas windshield probably stands out more than any other design detail -- giving the motorhome that unique look -- but it also concerns me more than any other part of the RV. Based on previous failures I'm concerned that down the road when units are out of warranty that windshield replacements could become an expensive part of ownership.

Isn't that also covered under your regular insurance? I am insured through Geico and it would cost me a $50 deductible.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Dan9841

Isn't that also covered under your regular insurance? I am insured through Geico and it would cost me a $50 deductible.

Good question -- I'm not sure how my insurance would handle this type of claim.

A crack due to a rock chip is covered on mine too, but if cracks are a defect, would it be covered any more so than rust perforations or side panels that delaminate?

[Dan9841]

Originally Posted by Chance

Good question -- I'm not sure how my insurance would handle this type of claim.

A crack due to a rock chip is covered on mine too, but if cracks are a defect, would it be covered any more so than rust perforations or side panels that delaminate?

I just called my insurance and I asked about this issue.
I have to correct what I said about the policy. The windshield is covered under the comprehensive deductible. It doesn't matter if the damage occures from a rock or is caused through stress. The deducable is is not $50 but $1000.

Hope that clears it up.

[bevedfelker]

It would be covered under my comprehensive as well -- $1000 deductible. For that amount of money I just might be forced to drive it and just ignore the crack. The crack starts at the A-pillar about 2' up from the dash. The horizontal part of the crack is about 3". The vertical part is about 10" long and ends about 4" out from the A-pillar. It aligns just about at the spot where my windshield wiper stops. So it is not right in the middle of my vision.

We looked at the glass very carefully and there was not evidence of anything hitting it. Since the crack appears to start right at the A-pillar, I checked it as well and there was nothing to indicate something hit it.

I'm thinking a stress crack happens because somehow stress was put on the glass when it was mounted at the factory. Just because it took 3 months to develop, to me, shouldn't mean that the manufacturer becomes exempt to the warranty claim. Maybe it took 3 months of flexing the coach body to apply enough additional stress to have the crack develop. I know when an L-shaped crack develops in auto glass it is "usually" from undue stress.

We'll see what Thor says, but I'm not confident it will be in my favor. We have Progressive insurance but that is a pretty steep deductible.

[Dan9841]

Originally Posted by bevedfelker

It would be covered under my comprehensive as well -- $1000 deductible. For that amount of money I just might be forced to drive it and just ignore the crack. The crack starts at the A-pillar about 2' up from the dash. The horizontal part of the crack is about 3". The vertical part is about 10" long and ends about 4" out from the A-pillar. It aligns just about at the spot where my windshield wiper stops. So it is not right in the middle of my vision.

We looked at the glass very carefully and there was not evidence of anything hitting it. Since the crack appears to start right at the A-pillar, I checked it as well and there was nothing to indicate something hit it.

I'm thinking a stress crack happens because somehow stress was put on the glass when it was mounted at the factory. Just because it took 3 months to develop, to me, shouldn't mean that the manufacturer becomes exempt to the warranty claim. Maybe it took 3 months of flexing the coach body to apply enough additional stress to have the crack develop. I know when an L-shaped crack develops in auto glass it is "usually" from undue stress.

We'll see what Thor says, but I'm not confident it will be in my favor. We have Progressive insurance but that is a pretty steep deductible.

Sorry to hear that Ed. When I called my insurance and asked them if they overhead a plan with slower deductible they said it varies from state to state. Unfortunately here in SC it's $1000.
Keep us posted and let us know what Thor said.

Thanks.

[Chance]

Any idea what the replacement cost is?

Regular cars and vans can be much lower than $1,000 -- in my area anyway.

[sujim]

While on my very first trip in my new rig last year,my left side window shattered as I was slowly going over the speed b
ump in the RV park. It was covered under warrant,however it took two months to get the replacement window. Good thing the season was over.

[Dan9841]

Originally Posted by Chance

Any idea what the replacement cost is?

Regular cars and vans can be much lower than $1,000 -- in my area anyway.

I was curious what a replacement would cost so I called a RV windshield repair service. They were kind enough to send me an email and break down what the cost could be.
The following is part of the email that I would like to share. Note that this is for a Vegas.

"There are many factors that affect cost. Your particular coach is a glue-set application. Without the VIN number I will not be able to tell if it is a flush mount glue set application or a glue set that requires moldings at the time, but here is a breakdown of the cost by application:

Glue set with moldings:
Glass $1000+
Molding cost may vary from $50-$110
Labor $600
Requires 6 urethane kits at $20 a piece
Crate and freight vary depending on manufacturer

Flush Mount:
Glass $1000+
Labor $700
Requires 6-8 urethane kits at $20 a piece
Crate and freight vary depending on manufacturer

The cost when replacing a one-piece windshield can run from $2200-$4000+ (again, depending on the age and application)."

I hope this post gives you an idea of the cost of replacement.

[Chance]

Thanks Dan, that's good to know. It's a lot more expensive than I expected.

Makes a Class C look a little more attractive.

[Dan9841]

Originally Posted by Chance

Thanks Dan, that's good to know. It's a lot more expensive than I expected.

Makes a Class C look a little more attractive.

Ofcourse you would "only" have to pay whatever your deductible is and the rest would be covered by the insurance.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Dan9841

I was curious what a replacement would cost so I called a RV windshield repair service. They were kind enough to send me an email and break down what the cost could be.
The following is part of the email that I would like to share. Note that this is for a Vegas.

"There are many factors that affect cost. Your particular coach is a glue-set application. Without the VIN number I will not be able to tell if it is a flush mount glue set application or a glue set that requires moldings at the time, but here is a breakdown of the cost by application:

Glue set with moldings:
Glass $1000+
Molding cost may vary from $50-$110
Labor $600
Requires 6 urethane kits at $20 a piece
Crate and freight vary depending on manufacturer

Flush Mount:
Glass $1000+
Labor $700
Requires 6-8 urethane kits at $20 a piece
Crate and freight vary depending on manufacturer

The cost when replacing a one-piece windshield can run from $2200-$4000+ (again, depending on the age and application)."

I hope this post gives you an idea of the cost of replacement.

Reading this it makes me happy that I dumped Progressive and went with the Allstate 250.00 deductible.

I got a rock chip on my windshield during the return phase of the shake down earlier this year. I had Safelite do a repair and have had no issues after an additional 800 miles. Another tripped planned in a few weeks and then the annual safety inspection in January so we'll see how the windshield repair holds up.

[erikdjensen]

Yesterday driving our 2016 Vegas I noticed a small crack under the bottom windshield wiper in the middle of the windshield. It is "L" shaped and looks like it extends down to the edge - hard to tell becuase of the black boarder, but it looked like it grew a little as I continued down the highway. Anyway I was suppoed to take it in for the recall fix today but had to cancel. While I was at camping world arranging another appontment I told the service agent about the windshild. He said it wouldn't be covered under warrenty, and Good Sam doesn't cover glass. He suggested I look at my auto insurance for the rig. He said they are very expensive and for a while they were backordered so hard to get too. Guess I need to call Progresive and find out what my detuctable is.

Bevedfelker - did you ever hear back from Thor?

[bevedfelker]

My dealer sent pix to Thor and they agreed it was s stress crack. It will be fixed under warranty. It's at the dealer's now and they are waiting for Thor to ship the windshield.

[Beatlesman]

We had a 2015 Axis and when I purchased our RV insurance policy from Allied there was a rider for lower deductable on windshield replacement which we purchased. I was especially concerned about the extremely large windshield and cost of replacement. We recently traded the Axis for an ACE. The Thor dealer we traded with inspected the front glass very closely. He said they had seen problems with the windshields on these units.

Good luck with resolving your issues.

Dennis

[Angelo]

Vegas 24.1, Now I'm going out to check my windshield! This post has me concerned. Sorry Ed this had to happen to you guys!

If you do have a crack the first thing I was told to do was to drill a small hole at the end of the crack so it doesn't continue to propagate any further. This can get you thru a few months of camping until new windshield is installed or not. You must find out if the crack is on the inside or outside of the safety glass. If you don't have a small diamond drill to do this yourself I have been told outfits like Glass Doctor can help.

A crack can start at any location on the edge of the glass that might have been chipped or nicked during manufacturing, shipping, or installation. Some times the glass can be positioned on hard locators which keep the glass from moving during the curing process and small chips can occur at those locations if not careful.

By the way my wife has been telling me that the windshield is warped since we brought the RV home. I need to take her comments more serious and have her look for cracks. :

[bevedfelker]

To synopsize again -- I was on my way to the dealer to have some other warranty work performed. The front engine compartment hinge was extremely stiff to open, and the lower hinge rivet had sheared. The dealer was going to replace the hood hinge as a warranty repair.

I drove to the dealership about 30 miles away and noticed no windshield crack, nor did any foreign object strike the windshield on the way over. I parked in the dealer's repair entry covered parking and went in to the service rep to write up the warranty repair on the hinge. We came out in about 15 or 20 minutes, and when the service rep did a visual of the exterior we found the windshield crack. It was on the driver's side. Started at the A-pillar right about even with my field of view. Extended laterally toward the passenger side for about 4 or 5 inches and then did an L-turn downward for another 8 or 10." I told them there was no crack when I drove over because I would have seen it because it would have been right in the middle of my field of vision. The consensus was that it must have cracked while parked under the dealer's entry way while we were writing up the warranty repair.

My dealer sent several pictures to Thor and the factory agreed that this is a stress crack not one caused by a foreign object strike. Thor agreed to replace the windshield as a warranty repair. We are waiting for the new windshield to arrive from Thor.

I have Progressive insurance and it has $1000 deductible on comprehensive. In Florida all auto (and RV) insurance by law has a rider for windshield replacement that requires the insurance companies to do so without any comprehensive deductible. So even if Thor had not agreed to replace the windshield under warranty, I could have made and insurance claim with Progressive whereby I would not have had to pay the $1000 deductible.

This insurance provision varies by states -- some states do not require the provision, some do. Florida luckily requires windshield repair/replacement without any comprehensive deductible.

So if you do have a cracked windshield be sure to check the law in your state regarding any comprehensive deductible.

[bevedfelker]

Talked to Thor Customer Service today. They said the windshield shipped yesterday and is in Atlanta now. Should arrive at dealer within next two days. Dealer was forecasting sometime after New Years (but hadn't checked on shipment status). I'm hoping they can replace the windshield within the next week to 10 days.