Scion xB Windshield cracks

justgina

Has anyone had their windshield crack yet? The tiniest pebble hit my windshield just under the windshield wipers and I could literally watch the crack get longer and longer as I was driving the car. I know everyone in Texas drives around with cracked windshields, but I just bought this car and I am so upset.

aatherton

An unusually high percentage of xB owners experience cracked windshields. Usually a pebble impact is known to be the cause. Sometimes a pebble causes a chip, from which a crack later spreads. Sometimes people report cracks with no apparent cause, but it is likely there was an unnoticed chip to start the crack.

The xB is probably prone to windshsield damage and cracking partly because of the relatively vertical angle of the glass, and possibly because of a relative weakness of the OEM glass itself, and possibly because of some stressing of the glass by flexing of the boxy body.

To avoid windshield cracks, it is important to avoid vehicles and roads that can cause rock damage. Stay far away from gravel trucks and equipment haulers where every bump can dislodge more stones. Don't follow anything if there is gravel on the road.

When replacing the windshield, many people report that Pilkington does not fit well and has wavy places, PPG is OK, while Fuyao is the best with a perfect fit, a better gasket, better optical quality and resists impacts better.

tundradude

I had to replace my rear window about 3 months after I got it. A rock hit it from the other side of the highway.

miamax

I also have recently noticed a small pit in my windshield that is beginning to grow larger. Can I ask what anyone might have paid to replace or repair their windshield's on the XB?
much thanks!
M.

aatherton

I have heard costs from the low 200's to the high 300's. In my state windshield replacement is automatically covered by insurance.
My 1991 Mazda truck has had two windshields replaced due to rock strikes. They were hard hits with cracks radiating from the impact point. The xB evidently can have a tiny pit that later develops a single crack that grows long. And the xB can also have cracks with no apparent cause, which leads to speculation that they are stress cracks caused by the body flexing.

scionskeptic

Mine cracked the 2nd day! On top of that I wasn't even driving. I was showing my friend the car when the crack started coming from the side, right against the frame and traveled horizontally across the windshield about 2 inches then turned and went straight down about another 8 inches. Looks like there may be an issue with their windshields.

justgina

I've only had my xB a month and haven't made my first payment. From the complaints I've read, I think there may be a defect in the design. Toyota needs to step up to the plate and tell us what the problem is. Maybe the windshields are just really cheap.

aatherton

When a crack starts spontaneously and spreads as you watch in the driveway, there must be a stress being imposed on the glass by the body. The glass may be thin (cheap), but there also seems to be a design flaw. Perhaps the light, flimsy box flexes and puts too much stress on the large thin piece of glass spanning the front end.

improv

I was at work all day, then came out to observe that my 2006 Scion XB had a crack from the top of the glass up by the rear-view mirror, leading down about 10 inches, then turning toward the passenger side. I do not recall any trauma to the glass which may have caused the crack to happen. My Scion is about a month old and has about 2200 miles on it.

I've called the Scion Customer Experience number to open a ticket with them.

justgina

Please keep us informed as to what Scion did/said.

darthclutch

I've had my xB for 16 days/900 miles and a piece of gravel on the freeway split my windshield. The pit is only 1/32" deep, but the glass instantly had a split about 4" long. I started calling the dealership two hours later and found that the split had grown to about 14" long and stopped right in front of the steering column. The dealer told me to put tape on the window to halt the spread of the crack (it worked). During my call to the dealer, someone in the background said "Cracked windshield? Is it an xB?" I eventually was referred to Scion's customer care line and got a reference number for the call. I'm supposed to get an answer by the end of tomorrow.

Apparently Scion considers the windshield a non-warranty item. The other non-warranty items are oil filters, brake pads, etc. So am I supposed to replace my windshield every 2 weeks? How is it that my 35 year old Datsun has the original factory glass and has lots of gravel pits on it, yet the xB can't take a single hit? Clearly this is a design flaw. Even my 1983 Celica could take a hit pretty well. Toyota is slipping on this detail. It's time to step up.

cloud45

Having been in the car business for over 20 yrs. (yep one of THEM) Manufacturers will often cover stress cracks as long as there is no sign of a rock chip present that could cause the crack.

As up on Customer Satisfaction as Toyota/scion seems to be, one should just have to PRESS the issue.

Besides they frequently monitor sights like this to see what people are saying so if they tick you off say so. And of course if they take care of you also say so.

My .02

improv

I took mine back to Beaman Toyota in Nashville where the regional customer satisfaction guy took a .03 millesecond look at my windshield and concluded that it was a rock chip that caused my windshield crack after 2000 miles. I would suggest that the best way to avoid having a cracked windshield with your Scion XB is to park it in the garage and take another car when you want to go on any trip away from the house. I'm really upset that I will have to pay $300 for another windshield....what then? Will I get another 2000 miles on it before another crack happens? Toyota really needs to step up on this one!

darthclutch

I think I have made some progress with Scion. Their customer experience line is (866) 707-2466. It takes a couple minutes to get through the computer system the first time, but once you get a case going and find out who is working your case, you can go directly to their 5 digit extension within 5-10 seconds.

The person handling my case was very good on the phone. She seemed sympathetic and agreed that 16 days is a pretty short time to get such a dramatic crack, so I think I have a shot at getting somewhere with Scion. I took a variety of photos today and e-mailed the best ones to her. She is referring the case to a 'specialist' and is sending this person my pictures. I am supposed to get a response in two business days, which would be Friday afternoon or Monday morning, I guess. I will post again when I have more to tell...

In the mean time, the tape is halting the crack's progress. I am using crystal clear packing tape, since the crack is right in my field of vision. I wasted several inches of it to get a piece with no dust or lint on it, then stuck one end of it on the windshield in a small spot and used a credit card to squeegee it down. I carefully lifted the ends to avoid leaving fingerprints and trimmed with a pair of good scissors and squeegeed the ends down. 15-20 lbs of pressure seemed to be enough; I didn't want to make the crack worse by pushing any harder. Incidentally, it is illegal to drive a car with a cracked windshield in California, but fix-it tickets are only $10 when cleared and the cops here usually have more important things worry about.

xbredhead

i can't believe i waited so long to tune back in to the forum.

my windshield cracked, with no one in the car, and NO CHIP. it had less than 2000 miles when it happened. it came from the passenger side at the seal about half way up the window, and travelled in toward the driver's side horizontally then took a turn 90 degrees upward and then 90 degrees toward the diver's side again.

I IMMEDIATELY CALLED THE DEALER and asked if anyone else had this same issue. mind you i bought the car from kerry scion in florence, ky. they claim the car sells itself and they can't keep them in stock- no one seemed to have reported a similar incident. THE SERVICE TECH LAUGHED AT ME OVER THE PHONE!

they told me it was from a chip, over the telephone. he didn't even see it and was sure it was road rash. well of course there was no chip. i took a ballpoint pen like he told me and followed the crack and no chip!

now here are some other possibilities: i had driven off the pavement onto a grass parking lot(at less than 5 mph i'm sure). perhaps it tweaked the frame a little. perhaps the frame is too forgiving for twisting torque movement? and then about 2 weeks later, i had parked the car most of the way under a carport, where the front 2/3 was shaded as the sun rose that morning but the back 1/3 had sun shining on it. maybe the temperature difference did something funky? which i doubt because i had the front windows down a couple of inches each. :confuse:

you bet i'll be giving my dealer a run for the money, with all the other testimony to back up my claim!

darthclutch

Laughed at you? Ouch! Sounds like you need to call the Scion customer experience number and get a case going.

lalo4

My Scion is a '04. I recently acquired a crack from some sort road debris and I contacted Scion. They said that this is a known problem that will be remedied in the '08 redesign. Great for new Scion owners but what about the safety issue with the '04-'07 models?
I was told that they have a Goodwill Assist program to help with windshield replacement and that I would receive a call in one business day about my claim. No one calles and they still haven't .
So ... I made a complaint on the NHTSA website, Govenor's office of consumer affairs and Clark Howard. I am hoping that maybe this will get us some saaistance.
I love my xB . I just think that we all bought these in good faith. They should do something to help us. This is a safety hazard and costly.

improv

Hey, please let us know what happens with this....maybe we could get enough people on board to get a recall on this.

markolini

In November 2005 a crack appeared in the lower half of the driver's side glass. Within a day or so the crack lengthened from a few inches to 2/3 across the middle of the glass.
There are no evident hits anywhere near the crack.
A tiny stone hit the glass about a week after we bought the car and another after the crack in question.
I asked at the service center and they said it was from a stone without even looking at it.
I believe it is a stress crack owing to the size and angle of the glass from wind pressure.
They deny this and I think they are full of crap.
Help!!

Mark

guest

Just an update to let you all know how it turned out with Scion.
Well, for starters, they are now saying that it is a design "characteristic" that makes the car suseptible to cracks and that the redesign has nothing to do with this problem.
So... They are not wiling to do anything for us. I have taken it to the next level. I am now knocking on Toyota Usa's door. We shall see what happens.

wilson100

My 3 month old XB developed a crack overnight. I took it to the dealer yesterday and asked for the manager. He took out what must have been a 10x magnafying glass as though he were about to cut a diamond and after a couple of seconds said "yep" there's the chip" I cannot believe all of us are developing microscopic chips strategically placed along the rubber of the windshield. I do believe the windshields are flawed, but if I'm going to have to suffer a crack like that and pay $250 to replace it, at least let me have the satisfaction of hearing a rock hit the window or seeing the damned chip that caused it without using a microscope!! Anyway they refused to repair it under warranty. They claimed they never heard of any problems with the XB windshields. That's when I pulled out my folder full of internet claims of others with the same problem. Then he told me to come back in 2 weeks and leave my car all day so the factory rep could look at it. I then called the customer service line and opened a claim, they are supposed to call me today. I'm thinking what's the point, I may as well go ahead and replace it. So much for the gas savings I thought I could get when I bought this car. Can you believe I went from a BMW X5 to a SCION XB just to be treated like this? Unreal! :mad: Please keep us informed of your progress.

aatherton

"... Scion... are now saying that it is a design "characteristic" that makes the car suseptible to cracks..."

Sounds they are saying what many have said all along; that the body flexes and puts stress on the glass which cracks, often without needing a chip as a starting point.
Who do you mean by "Scion". The dealer, or Scion's Goodwill Assist, or Scion Customer Experience, or who? Was this verbal or in writing? If written, can you scan the document to a file and post it?

darthclutch

I am still waiting to talk to the regional rep and the guy fianlly called me today... except he called our house phone and left a message. Grrrrr! Now I have to wait another day for him to call the right number. According to Scion Customer Experience, he is supposed to be contacting me to get the details of my problem (like it changed in the last week!) and set up an inspection at the dealer. I've already told them it was a rock chip, so I don't know why they are dragging this out so long. Oh well, I'm prepared to wait longer if Scion is going to pick up the bill for this one. I'll have to make sure to print up this forum before the inspection!

While I'm waiting, I've started calling around and it seems that some auto glass shops have lifetime warranties on replacement windshields. It sounds like the shops that charge more offer these warranties but the discount shops don't. If I'm going to be stuck with having to pay to have my windshield replaced (over and over again?) this will likely be the route I choose. Liberty Mutual said that these warranties cover rock chips, but not intentional damage, like vandalism. I willl look into this matter further.

kjb2

I just got my xb on Tuesday and I love it. I am wondering about the extended warranties. What has been the experience of other folks with the warrant? So far the windshield is fine, but after reading these messages, I am getting worried. Thanks

justgina

If they won't cover the windshield on the factory warranty, I doubt the extended warranty will cover it either. I have never bought an extended warranty on a Toyota-made vehicle because they are so reliable.

shawnnbecky

My husband and I bought 2 2006 Scion xB's on the same day. We had them for approximately a month and they each had less than 3,000 miles on them. We went on vacation and left one of them in a park and ride at the airport. When we came back, we noticed a crack in the windshield exactly as you describe. It started at the top seam by the rear-view mirror, traveled down about 8-10 inches, then turned towards the passanger side. There had been no known trauma to it. We were about to call the insurance company to have it replaced, when 2 days later the other xB had the exact same crack, only in the opposite direction! I called the dealership and we took both vehicles to the service departement. The technician took a pen and ran it down the crack of the first one. He found some sort of "chip" that was not even apparent to the eye with his pen and stated this one had been hit by a rock. He ran his pen down the second one and said he could not find anything, but still insisted that although we had bought both cars the same day, and they both had the same crack within 2 days of each other, one was hit by a rock and one might not have been. Needless to say, I was livid at his suggestion. I insisted on speaking to a manager, but the service manager was on vacation. I had the manager of the dealership and one of the salesmen come out to look. Neither of them could see anything, but of course, it was not up to them; a Toyota rep had to look at them. They told us that they have never heard of any problems with windshields in this car! That was 2 weeks ago. We got a call from the service manager who said to bring them by in another week for him to look at them, so it does not appear they have even called a Toyota rep to see them yet. We are bringing them there today for him to look at and will write again when we have more news.

improv

That's amazing. I swear, I parked my car at work, after the day was over, I walked to my car, sat in it and immediately saw that it had the crack in it. There is definitely a problem that Toyota and Scion have to step up and admit to. This just can't be coincidental. I got ZERO satisfaction from the Toyota regional rep who looked at my car. He had made his decision on my windshield before even looking at it. He and the service manager, or customer service rep at the Beaman dealership here in Nashville kind of looked at each other and their expressions seemed to say "yep, just like we discussed beforehand, that is rock chip". The regional guy had his mind made up before I even showed up.

Does anyone know any other Scion XB owners? Tell them about this board and have them post their experiences.

MP

hondadave7

Hello,
Has anyone with an xB windshield crack had a front strut bar
brace in place. Toyota has a TRD brace that they sell for
$195.00. If that would solve the flexing, they could fix this problem very cheaply and quick. Looking for answers.

freeduck

I found this board by googling "scion xb windshield crack". You guessed it, I have a scion xb that I bought in April that developed a crack at the seam, right behind the rear view mirror, that goes down a little ways and then curves toward the drivers side. There are no impact marks anywhere. I've been puzzling over what could have caused it and have not called my dealer. I will now that I know it's a common problem.

shawnnbecky

This is Shawn and Becky, the owner of the 2 scion xB's with the same crack, updating our last comment. We took both cars to the dealership (Hurlbert Toyota in Stratham, NH) for the service manager to see. He said he had never heard of anything like this with this type of vehicle. (I had printed this forum for him to read.) He said he could not see any evidence of rock damage and immediately ordered 2 windshields to replace them at no charge. Although I don't think this will be the last time the windshield gets replaced in these vehicles, we at least had a good experience with our dealership and felt they stood behind their cars. Best of all, it does not appear we need to deal directly with Toyota because from what I have read here, no one seems to have had any luck with them. Good luck to the rest of you, you will need it!!

shawnnbecky

Just an FYI, our dealership said the windshield is not covered under warranty or the extended warranty.

darthclutch

The person at Liberty Mutual was misinformed. No one offers a warranty that covers rock chips. :mad:

The regional rep contacted me and we talked in circles about how I was very unhappy about my 16 day old car having a split windshield after 1 rock hit in comparison to my 35 year old Datsun which has several pits but no cracks on the original factory windsheild, and the fact that no one warranties a windshield against damage from rocks. Eventually he offered to split the cost of a windshield with me in a show of good faith, but when I said I wanted to get one from an outside vendor, he changed the offer to half the cost of a non-Toyota windshield or a free Toyota windshield, but just this one time. Naturally, I took the option of the free Toyota glass. I suppose I could go to an outside vendor myself if the new one cracks from another chip. I'm not really happy about the result of this, since I'm right back where I started and it looks very likely that I may have to replace another windshield. Oh well, what's that saying? You can't look a gift horse in the mouth...

So what am I supposed to do if I get another split? :confuse:

aatherton

"Has anyone with an xB windshield crack had a front strut bar
brace in place... If that would solve the flexing, they could fix this problem very cheaply and quick. Looking for answers."

I asked that question on ScionLife last winter in a windshield crack thread, while waiting for my xB to arrive. No one answered. I put on a strut bar at 500 miles, expecting some handling difference, but felt nothing. I took it off at 5000 miles because it interferred with so many service items, and again felt no difference in handling. As to whether and how the strut bar could prevent window cracks, I don't know. In theory it keeps the strut towers from flexing and affecting the camber of the suspension. The towers can only flex under fast, hard, bumpy cornering. Some windshields are cracking spontaneously, with the car parked.

lsticky

My wife and I bought an Xb Sept. 14, our first new car.

It already has 2 cracks in the windshield.

The first happened overnight. It runs straight down from the middle of the windshield and turns toward the passenger side just below the rearview mirror.

I took the car into the dealer a couple of days later, and asked if they would replace it, as the crack happened overnight and my wife could remember nothing hitting the car.

They ran a pen through the crack and when it caught on the tiniest of pits (I couldn't even feel it with my finger, only when it snagged my nail) said they wouldn't replace it.

I chalked it up to dumb luck.

Over the last weekend we went on our first trip in the car. We put about 350 miles on the car and on the way back. We were hit by some pebbles from a truck (not visible to the eye) and low and behold a second crack - it appeared a few minutes after the strike. It again starts at the top of the windshield and moves down in a little curve, but is not as big as the first. I can feel a tiny pit.

I've had many cars and they have been hit by many things, the pebble that hit my xb was NOTHING! There is no way it should have cracked anything.

I decided to do some looking tonight to see if anyone else has had similar problems. I almost wish I hadn't found anything, because then I would assume it was just bad luck.

I no longer think that.

I am going back to the dealer and I am gonna raise hell.

I will let you know the result. :mad:

aatherton

I think there must be some stress on the windshield to cause these cracks. Usually the dealer can find a pit in the crack with a fine ball point pen, establishing the orgin as an impact. However, the cracks are not happening at the time of impact, but appear during the next night or the next few days.
Perhaps this is similar to the action of a glass cutter or tile cutter, where a mere surface scratch weakens the material which can then be split with a little pressure.
Perhaps the large flat windshield is stressed by the light flimsy box body of the xB, and a rock chip becomes the surface imperfection that eventually allows the stress to crack the glass.
In that case, the immediate cause may be the impact, but the ultimate cause is the design defect of that windshield in that body.

PF_Flyer

It does sound like the windshields are under stress. I bought a new pickup truck that had a cracked windshield when I was looking at it on the lot, and the dealer changed out the windshield for me. 10 days later, the windshield cracked with nothing having hit it. They replaced it again, and this replacement cracked the next day. Dealer said there obviously was some kind of stress, whether the frame was slightly out of shape or what, I have no idea. But I assume they either pulled and pushed on things to alleviate that stress, or somehow fractionally reduced the size of the next replacement glass to give it a little room. 150,000 miles later when I got rid of the truck, no leaks, no cracks, and plenty of impacts, both minor and semi-major along the way.

freeduck

Well, I took it to the dealer and he couldn't find any chip in the crack. Instead he points to a "chip" about two inches to the left of the crack and says that the "chip" caused the crack. I asked him how that could be since it wasn't even in the crack. He said that miniscule speck that we're calling a chip weakened the windshield so that it cracked. I asked him if he thought that was reasonable that a windshield would crack from something like that and he said "it happens." I gave him a printout of this board but he wouldn't read it. In the end I implied that he wasn't being honest and asked for the number to Toyota.

So I got back home and started googling some more and I found out that the Honda Element had a similar problem a few years ago. http://www.hondaelementscrack.com/story_rob.html There is a class action suit that is being settled now about it, apparently. I hope it doesn't come to that in our case. I hope they figure out how to fix it and issue a recall.

lsticky

I saw this on the Element crack page freeduck posted

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

improv

Great find lsticky!!

I'm going to call this number and lodge a complaint. I encourage all of you with the cracks to do the same. Maybe we can get these rascals to take a look at this issue. I resold some Japanese made materials in a previous job and you can bet that the good folks at Toyota are aware of this issue, now let's get them to admit that there is a problem.

Thanks in advance to all of you for calling this number.

lsticky

I opened a report and am supposed to hear back tomorrow.

The rep I talked to was professional and courteous. We'll see if they make things right.

PF_Flyer

While I understand the frustration with this problem, the forums cannot be used to solicit participants in a legal action, so I've had to remove the postings that were taking us down that road.

aatherton

Evidently ScionLife.com has no such rule and their thread is still there.
We would just like for Toyota to do for the xB what Honda did for the Element. Until the class action lawsuit, Honda did not realize the extent of the Element's windshield problem. As a result of data collected by the lawsuit, Honda made changes to the 2005 model that greatly reduced windshield cracks, and will reimburse owners for past and future cracks.

2jalama

I have a 2005 XB with an anti-sway bar. I also now have crack in the windshield from a small flying rock on the highway. The crack started out as a "C" shape which I thought was strange. Now the line is traveling across the windshield. Obviously the angle, or lack there of, is one of the reasons why there is more damage than the average shaped windshield. Hopefully Scion will recognize that they have a design problem and will rectify the situation at their expense, not ours.

jogiba

Check out the windshield in this xB from a head on crash.
http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=145837&highlight=windshield

2jalama

I called Scion and spoke to a cust.serv. rep. I told him I was calling with a problem with my XB. He said, "Don't tell me that it has to do with a cracked windshield". I said, "Obviously you're getting a lot of calls about this problem". He said, "Just a few". I tend to think that there are more than a few if that was the first comment the rep made to me without knowing what my problem was about. He went through the "Well, the rock on the highway is not covered under warranty. Try your insurance company". I told him that it was not an issue to take up with my insurance company. He gave me a case # and told me to take it to the dealership to see what they would do about it. So, I'm leaving in a few minutes. Wish me luck.

garykbear

I just took my xB on a trip on the highway and got a chip, I have less than 400 miles on mine, I am sure that this will be the first of many I am going to go to the Glassdoctor, I think that chip repair is probably the only way that this will be taken car of.

scionskeptic

In my first XB the windshield cracked while sitting in my driveway the 2nd day I had it. Now, after numerous problems with it, the dealership gave me a whole new car. Now this windshield has cracked. BOTH times it started from the frame came into the windshield then made a 90 degree turn. At no time did I ever have a chip or rock hit it, both times it happened while just sitting in the driveway. I love the car, but something needs to be done about these windshields.

hondadave7

Hello,
What kind and how many problems did you have that would cause Scion to give you another new xB? Please list them all.
Thanks, David

aatherton

"... something needs to be done about these windshields."
Something is being done.

scionskeptic

It was a number of mostly internal things. Aside from the windshield crack which started at the frame, I noticed the drivers door had touch up paint on it, then when looking at the odometer reading vs. what the paperwork said the odometer should say I noticed it was off by hundreds of miles, then my insurance company contacted me and said they thought they may have a wrong number in the VIN and for me to please check it, I did and all of my paperwork had one VIN on it and the car in my driveway had another. I returned it to the dealership to get the window fixed, new paint job and corrected paperwork and when I returned 3 days later, they had not even as much as moved my vehicle from the spot I had left it. Finally the sales manager told me to just pick out another vehicle and he would swap it out. He did and I was happy with the car until ANOTHER windshield cracked in the same manner, from the frame out and then took a 90 degree turn. Now the past two days I have a light coming on periodically saying that the engine needs maintainance, and I just had the oil changed a week ago and the cars only 2 months old.

aatherton

"... I have a light coming on periodically saying that the engine needs maintainance, and I just had the oil changed a week ago and the cars only 2 months old."
The service light comes on to remind that it's time to change the oil, but the car does not know that the oil has been changed. You have to tell it, by resetting the light as explained on page 80 of your manual. It will come on again at the default of 5,000 miles, unless you want to change that interval. If you would like to know what is being done about cracking windshields, you can email me at allanatherton at yahoo dot com.