Fragile Windshield. On my third replacement

[Mathme]

The best defense against flying rocks is to increase your following distance. I'm not a physicist, but rocks typically either fall off a truck, or are flung upward by a tire where they fly/bounce in a general arc. Taking a rock on a windshield means that it's still about four feet in the air (enough to clear the hood).

If you increase your following distance, you may give your windshield more of a surviving chance.

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[KenMPLS]

Yes. But my driving habits, including following distance haven't changed since I drove my Prius and the to of that windshield is barely 4 feet of the ground. So it should have been broken all the time but it never broke.

 

[Rae11]

Yes. But my driving habits, including following distance haven't changed since I drove my Prius and the to of that windshield is barely 4 feet of the ground. So it should have been broken all the time but it never broke.

Your premise would have to be that windshields closer to the ground are just as likely as higher windshields if not more to get hit by rocks getting flung off the road. I'm not sure that is true.

 

[Mandarin]

After a 2nd Windshield Id get PPF on it

Unfortunately, it won't last long and you will need to replace it every 2-4 months which will equal getting a new windshield once a year. I had it on my ex tesla and it was a nightmare, after a few months of use amount of scratches on it made it impossible to drive safely

 

[Mandarin]

In 47k miles I have a number of small rock chips that don't make any sense to fix, but 2 months later after taking delivery I got a pretty big one and was able to fix it, can't even find it anymore. However, now have a pretty big one in sight line and trying to fix it but the thing that fills the hole keeps getting out ))))) But I'm trying to keep factory windshields as long as I can because dealing with SC is just something special.

But, I have replaced the windshield already... on a loaner Rivian gave me Got a pretty small rock cheap in the corner around VIN number and parked the vehicle outside 1st time and it was 107F outside, when I came back to the car there was a nice crack...

 

[kanundrum]

Unfortunately, it won't last long and you will need to replace it every 2-4 months which will equal getting a new windshield once a year. I had it on my ex tesla and it was a nightmare, after a few months of use amount of scratches on it made it impossible to drive safely

A well Applied PPF lasts a long time not sure why you had to get it replaced.

 

[webfootdawg]

I have a crack in that exact spot. Just shy of a year and 7500 miles. Guess this thread answers my question about cracks in that spot.


What's the latest on replacement options? Are the rivian service centers still the only option, or have Safelite and others started dealing with Rivian glass?

 

[Mandarin]

A well Applied PPF lasts a long time not sure why you had to get it replaced.

It will be scratched heavily when you use your wiper blades. It's not about how it is applied (no issues there), the film is getting scratched. If you don't use wiper blades, then, no questions

 

[Blueassassin]

Glass is Glass. And glass breaks - JerryRigEverything

 

[Blueassassin]

The windshields are fragile.

Ok I will bite what the hell is that an antenna drilled through the windshield?

 

[R1Thor]

Unfortunately, it won't last long and you will need to replace it every 2-4 months which will equal getting a new windshield once a year. I had it on my ex tesla and it was a nightmare, after a few months of use amount of scratches on it made it impossible to drive safely

Your windshield protection film (and it's not 1:1 equivalent--you cannot use the PPF that an installer would use to protect your body panels on your windscreen) will be AS GOOD as your installer.

If you're having yours replaced constantly, get a new installer.

I'm at 15 months on mine, and it's not only holding up perfectly well, I'm relatively confident (based on the sight and sound of rocks that have smacked my windshield straight up) it's worth its weight in lithium. $500 is the best investment I've made, especially given the fact that I live in a notoriously awful state for road conditions and cleanliness. My installer told me they anticipate 3 years. $500 every 3 years to keep the windshield in tact? Yes please

 

[kanundrum]

Your windshield protection film (and it's not 1:1 equivalent--you cannot use the PPF that an installer would use to protect your body panels on your windscreen) will be AS GOOD as your installer.

If you're having yours replaced constantly, get a new installer.

I'm at 15 months on mine, and it's not only holding up perfectly well, I'm relatively confident (based on the sight and sound of rocks that have smacked my windshield straight up) it's worth its weight in lithium. $500 is the best investment I've made, especially given the fact that I live in a notoriously awful state for road conditions and cleanliness. My installer told me they anticipate 3 years. $500 every 3 years to keep the windshield in tact? Yes please

THIS

 

[teartags]

Another CO windshield eater resident here. I'm pretty notorious for being too close to the person in front of me. I don't do it on purpose, I'm just always in a rush. Because of that, all previous trucks get approx a crack per year. I frequently let them go until I can't see anymore because I'm cheap. I've taken a number of hits in my R1T and because of posts like this, I always cringe. However, none of those produced a chip until my road trip in WY this weekend. Got one in the lower middle and it started spreading vertically within 20 minutes. I got full windshield replacement on my insurance since I've heard these windshields cost a 2nd born and I only have 1 kid so I don't want to overpay.

 

[Mandarin]

Your windshield protection film (and it's not 1:1 equivalent--you cannot use the PPF that an installer would use to protect your body panels on your windscreen) will be AS GOOD as your installer.

If you're having yours replaced constantly, get a new installer.

I'm at 15 months on mine, and it's not only holding up perfectly well, I'm relatively confident (based on the sight and sound of rocks that have smacked my windshield straight up) it's worth its weight in lithium. $500 is the best investment I've made, especially given the fact that I live in a notoriously awful state for road conditions and cleanliness. My installer told me they anticipate 3 years. $500 every 3 years to keep the windshield in tact? Yes please

I did not say it is not working, I say it is getting scratched by wiper blades.

When I got mine I used to live in Seattle where it was easier to count days without rain than without it and the film on the windshield got absolutely bad in 3 and a half months. Also, need to count the amount of driving. I drive about 30k miles a year and it is also a huge point. And this is how it ended up, the film is there as you can see

Anyway, your money, your choice, and your experience could be different

 

[R1Thor]

I did not say it is not working, I say it is getting scratched by wiper blades.

When I got mine I used to live in Seattle where it was easier to count days without rain than without it and the film on windshield got absolutely bad in 3 and a half months. Also, need to count the amount of driving. I drive about 30k miles a year and it is also a huge point. And this is how it ended up, the film is there. as you can see

I was instructed, very specifically, not to use the wipers unless there's moisture on the screen.

In other words: don't dry wipe.

I've heeded that advice and have had zero issues.
And it rains here, in case you weren't aware. And this time of year, BUG SMEAR is an issue, so I'm frequently using the windshield washer spray (Average wiper user here)

Again, I'm not like...a shill for big PPF.

I sincerely have had phenomenal experience with mine. It's not perfect, for sure, but it's a huge insurance policy.

Obviously there are exceptions to everything. Life is a normal distribution (bell curve). But insofar as your experience, I believe you're the minority, otherwise, no one would be selling/installing/recommending windscreen protection. I have every confidence I'll get at least another 15 months out of my windscreen protection. And I have a high amount of confidence, as I stated earlier, it's saved my bacon on several occasions.

Or I'm lucky and it's done nothing and I have above average windscreen integrity. Impossible to know for certain.

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