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Scion xB Windshield cracks
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Comments
Look this all stems as I call it from the Microsoft syndrome. Make a product and if it doesn’t work run for cover till the next version.
Each “CUSTOMER SERVICE” person I talked to had the same canned line a rock hit the window. This rock had to be the size of a needle head cause the hole was the size of a needle point. But did anyone really care HELL NO AS LONG AS WE CAN NOT BE SEEN BY A PERSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS they could give a #@!#$$%^.
SO what I say is rather then foruming or blogging be active go down to your dealership and complain in front on the perspective customer I am this Saturday at Crown Toyota in Cali .I want to at least save one soul from this hell .think of it as your good deed for the day. You may even want to return each Saturday till those dumb [non-permissible content removed] salesmen get the point ..make a happy customer and you will get great returns ..a DUH!!!!!!!
Picketing the dealership to make them replace your cracked windshield?
We are not permitted to discuss a certain other approach here. But if you will be needing reimbursement for your cracked windshield, you might be interested in how that could happen. allanatherton -at- yahoo -dot- com.
However, the fun didn't end there. The dealership had me come in and drop off the car, only to call me back 5 hours later to tell me they had to give me the car back because the replacement glass was cracked in the box. At least the service manageropened the next box before calling me to tell me to come in. Monkeys CAN be trained after all.
I have noticed that many older xBs I see parked around town have cracked windshields. One even had three cracks. Yikes.
Oh yeah, they haven't heard of this problem either before this.
...for $410, not yen, American dollars...
...hopefully that service manage knows where he can put his replacement quote...
...and you others who have experienced the same problem? You also are irrelevant according to my Novato, CA dealership. Because, "You can read anything you want on the Internet. It doesn't mean it's true." Shame on you for leading me astray! ::big laugh::
Dennis
Thx
clemmons
Thx
clemmons
"... I got a new windshield because my insurance does not cover it unless I pay 250.00 deductible."
You can do something that may eventually reimburse you, but cannot be discussed in this commercial forum. Send me an email at allanatherton (at) yahoo (dot) com.
I have an xB without a cracked windshield and no loose rods
in the engine. As soon as I got it home, I made a one piece strut bar with no adjustments. I thought that possibly the
front end and body was shifting, causing the windshield to flex and crack. I have read a couple of messages about loose
rods after running 4000 rpm for several hours. That sounded like a lack of proper lubrication. I changed the oil from 5w-30 to 15w-40 Castrol Diesel oil. The fuel mileage did drop
slightly, but no loose rods. If my windshield cracks it will
be posted here. 43,161 miles.
I understand that I live in Arizona, so of course there is going to be more rocks on the road, but I have never in my life had some many cracks on a windshield. It seems that the smallest particle of dust will cause the windshield to crack. I have lived here for 5 years and with my other vehicle I only had 1 chip. My wife has only had 1 crack. My parents have never had any problems, nor have my friends, coworkers, or friendly animated neighborhood muppets.
I know the glass installers on a first name basis and it is embarrassing to have your glass replaced every month, or for a week straight for that matter. I finally broke down and asked them if they see anybody else with this problem and they told me that the Scion xB is the largest volume of calls they get to replace the windshield. The runner-up is a jeep. This is a national company, so that is pretty alarming. They said because the windshield has such a steep grade and because the car sits so low to the ground it is asking to be cracked and chipped.
Not only did the glass installers tell me this, but people on the street, at the car wash, at the gas station, and even other Scion xB owners have this same problem. Most of the time people will just come up and look at the windshield to see if there are chips or cracks. You know you are speaking to either an xB owner or friend of an xB owner when that happens.
I called the Toyota/Scion dealership where I purchased the car and they said they had never heard anything about it and blamed it on where I lived. Yeah, nice try there guys but I have lived here 5 years and have never in my life had to replace 3 windshields in 1 week. You would think I was getting these tailgaiting people but most of the cracks have occured 5-10 car lenghts away from the car in front of me, with no cars around me, traveling at speeds between 40-70mph.
I finally gave up with the last crack that just happened yesterday. I am having the windshield replaced right now and after work I am heading to a Chevrolet dealership to look at the HHR. All I ever wanted was an xB and it was fun for a while, but sadly it is just turning into a big headache month after month. Yeah, I am going to take a loss on the car and even though it makes me mad at least I won't have to drive like I am in a ceramic egg. I am sure the HHR will have its own unique set of problems, but hopefully they won't be as frustrating as the xB. :mad:
I have to admit, three times in a week is ridiculous. I'd be pretty upset, too.
My windshield cracked at 16 days and I managed to harass my way through Toyota's coroprate ladder until they replaced it for free. The winning line was "My 35 year old Datsun still has the factory glass and it is covered in pits and chips, bu the xB's cracked in 16 days." That was over 8,000 miles ago, no more cracks.
Brenda
The design of the car would make it seem a lot more prone to getting hit - and when it does the lack of a lot of angle/slope to the glass would seem to make it more vulnerable to getting a chip or break rather than just having the object bounce off. Is that a "defect" in design? Not really, that is the "style" or the car.
Now if there is a problem with some xB's that the frame is not made right or there is too much flex that is placed on the glass or something. Or maybe Toyota got a bad batch of glass and you have had several of those? Something like that would be a fault that might could be addressed via the lemon law.
If you are getting yourself stressed out over this, you need to calm down and relax.
As to getting a new, free, car - I think that is only in your dreams. The best you can hope for is for them to just buy yours back from you.
Dennis
also looks beefier. It's obvious too anyone, except Toyota, that the windshield on the '03-'06 xB carries to much structural load. It's under constant stress load. One little nick, or sometimes nothing at all the windshield gives in the form of a crack to reduce the stress. David
National Center for Dispute Settlement
22500 Metropolitian Parkway - Suite 200
Clinton Township, MI 48035
Good Luck
clemmons1953
clemmons1953
The rock chipped the glass just behind and kinda to the right of the rear view mirror... there is also a crack that runs from the chip to the top of the glass (about 2 inches) and from the chip down and curves across to the left, towards the driver's side (24+ inches)
Needless to say I was very bummed out when this happened but after I got over the shock of what happened, I made a few calls. My friend told me that auto insurance coverage out here in Arizona covers windshields... I called my insurance company and inquired about this "windshield" policy... they told me I had it, and tomorrow someone is coming out to replace the glass... for free!
I'm really stoked about that BUT...
After finding this forum and reading the posts, I am in shock to discover that Toyota has disclosed a design flaw in the scion xB.
This makes me wonder how many time I may have to replace the glass in my car...
I have two choices:
A. Just deal with what I have
B. Make something happen
Please advise
Ths
bclemmons
I don't think that is correct. What did you see that? Even in the Nov 2006 settlement to reimburse Element owners for cracks, Toyota did not admit a flaw. There is no reason why Toyota should now admit or will ever admit a flaw in the xB. Even if they ever pay for the windshields.
Also, has anyone contacted "Fazio Micheletti"?
It m,ay be that the xB's windshield allows a faster propagation of the crack, but if there aren't repair records, I can't see that Toyota or any manufacturer would replace the windshield.
I have also posted with law firm that was successful in it's class action suit re: Honda Element. Also the NHTSA. Just talking about this situation on these forums will not be enough to resolve this issue.
Now if your glass was cracking due to stress or flex that is something else.
How to prove it either way could be a problem.
Next time I am talking with my agent I will ask how this is covered under my insurance - it is 100% covered or a deductible or what. What does your insurance say?
Dennis
http://www.fazmiclaw.com/classactions.html
I had a LOT of documentation that I provided to my lawyer along with audio recordings of Scion and Toyota representatives saying that the stress crack issue is a problem, but one they are not officially recognizing. This was just a few audio clips out of a dozen gems I have collected about this issue. All my attorney did was send a letter with my intent to take them to court over the issue and they caved. He didn’t even have to file a complaint.
What happened? Toyota repurchased my car. It took about 20 days for them to line up all the paperwork on their end. If anyone has questions please feel free to email me. lavarious@lavarious.com
As if the particular car itself was a lemon. This is more expedient and cheaper than admiting that all the cars have the inherent problem, and agreeing to replace any and all windshields that crack.
It seems to indicate that Honda Element settlement approach will not go anywhere for our out-of-production xBs, and that people should collect windshield crack documentation in anticipation of when their crack may happen, so they have something to give their lawyer for a letter, in case the dealer does not agree to replace the windshield.
A) Act like nothing is wrong and repurchase the cars of a few people who actually hire an attorney to take them to court.
or
Acknowledge there is a design defect in the vehicle and either replace/refund everyone for their windshields or have a class action suit to pay out to.
They could care less about their customers; they are more concerned about their bottom line. The 2008 xB is completely redesigned in terms of its windshield. It is 4" shorter and has a longer grade to help with deflection. I have a Scion rep recorded telling me they did this because of the windshield issue. I have all sorts of interesting audio clips and documentation. I will be launching a website shortly to show everyone exactly what I did to win my case, what I used to collect evidence, and who my attorney was in case you'd like some advice from him as well.
Scion/Toyota could have easily just taken care of this straight away, but instead they played games and pissed me off. I want to make sure those of you who are serious about this and want to hire an attorney have the evidence you need to win your case. I believe that if you use my attorney, or possibly one of his contacts in your local state, you can use the evidence I have already collected against them on this issue.
What do I get out of it? Satisfaction. That is all. My website will be completely free and used as an informational source. I know what a headache it was for me to go through this entire deal and how much stress I was under, so I want to help out fellow drivers who have done nothing wrong other than purchase a car that is obviously flawed.
The primary reason for the xB windshield cracks, etc. is the more vertical "stance" of its design. And, the probability of the tempering level of the safety glass.
But it seems that some folks either drive in the worst conditions constantly, have really rotten luck, or do have some flex or weakness in their xBs that cause them go through many, many windshields. I guess it could be that the OEM FACTORY glass works best at handling the stress and strain of the design, but once this breaks (maybe from road junk?) the aftermarket or OEM dealer replacement glass just can't hack it and breaks for both road junk and from stress and strain? I would be for cost reasons, the majority of folks have gone aftermarket for the glass and not even tried another OEM replacement. Even if they did, is the dealer installed glass the same as the factory glass?
There are plenty of xBs on the road with the original glass in them, so if it is a "design flaw" it does not affect that many of the cars. Maybe the problem comes in after you have had to replace the glass for any reason, then your box becomes a glass eater?
Just wondering.
Dennis
I have used around 3 different makes of glass in the car and none of them would stop the cracking. I got it replaced through a 3rd party vendor because my dealership refused to replace the glass in it because they claimed it was caused by impacts, which it was not. It cracked the 2nd day I had it. They actually told me to use my insurance and a 3rd party vendor.
To give you an example of the cracking: I got into my car on a Monday, after the glass had been replaced on the following Friday, the car sat all weekend and was never moved. I got into the car and there is a crack in it running from center about 6 inches, taking a 90 degree turn heading towards the passengers side about 14 inches. We are talking like a 20 inch crack caused by nothing. Sure, I had impacts almost on a bi-weekly basis causing chips, pits, cracks, and stars, but these were always after the stress crack appeared. I finally gave up replacing the glass and decided I would just drive it until I could no longer see out of the windshield. Luckily I no longer own the car, but I am sure some sad sap is going to go to that dealership, purchase it, and have a big headache on his/her hands.
My 2006 xB windshield has not cracked in 12,000 miles only because I don't drive where it is likely to be hit by a pebble to make a pit, and the car is parked all day in a garage out of the sun.
If I was unable to protect my xB in these ways, and if/when I started replacing windshields, I would get another car.
I was going my normal 60-70mph in the Sportage. Suddenly some hick in a logging truck goes flying by me in the fast lane(I was in the middle lane). He was really accelerating to storm up a large and long hill just south of Mt.Vernon.
Pock! A good-sized rock, probably off of one of the logs on his truck, or his tires kicked it up, came flying into and off of my windshield. It was a bad ping-ding, one that started to spread soon after impact.
I notice here in Arizona that there are no flying rocks or even pebbles. Missouri had some but not like Washington and South Dakota also had very few. Driving in Washington state requires protective equipment for your rig. No kidding.
I am not kidding but I have not had a single pebble or rock(or a bone...that's right...once again, going south on I-5 in Everett, WA, north of Seattle, I was driving to work one morning and a loud SMACK bonks my windshield. An dork in a pickup truck with a dog in the back let loose somehow of a bone...talking cattle bones here. It bounced up high on the freeway and back in to the air again and found a nice place on my rig's windshield to bounce off of. Another crack that needed professional repair. I'm glad to be out of that state for more reasons than rocks, pebbles and bones)in Arizona bounce into and off of my windshield.
I should just drop it(pardon any pun)and hope that I don't find any window-pockers down here. I do feel bad for those that are having problems with their Scion windshields. A big boy company like Toyota/Scion should be stepping up to the plate and compensating you. Sounds like a bad design idea that's already out and they can't just pull the plug on the vehicle because it's out and sold already.
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