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Completely unexpected windshield crack

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Old Apr 16, 2017 | 02:40 PM
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Completely unexpected windshield crack

So I de-wintered, washed and put summer tires on my car yesterday. All went well, drove it ans left her in the garage last night.

Wake up this morning: windshield crack extending from driver's side bottom corner diagonal through the driver's field of view. No impact marks anywhere.

What could have caused this? It feels like a stress fracture, but what stress? How to diagnose and prevent my next windshield from doing same?
Temperature was mild 15C during the day to 8C at night. Car is stored in a garage.

Also, where is place to get an RX8 windshield installed in eastern Canada or NE US?



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Thanks!

Last edited by Loki; Apr 16, 2017 at 03:02 PM.
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Old Apr 16, 2017 | 09:46 PM
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I cannot believe that spraying a hot windshield with cold water would do this (or any other maintenance you did)....I've washed many cars before. Perhaps this was just a coincidence that it coincided with your maintenance work. Stored in your own personal garage or shared parking garage?
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Old Apr 16, 2017 | 09:58 PM
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That's​ it. It wasn't even hot and I've washed many cars on much hotter days with much less care.

The garage is shared with my 3 neighbors. Pretty private.

The only thing I can think of is I jacked the car wrong somehow. I lifted the rear altogether by the diff housing, but I did the fronts individually using the pinchweld jacking points. Also far from the first time doing that...
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Old Apr 17, 2017 | 12:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Loki
That's​ it. It wasn't even hot and I've washed many cars on much hotter days with much less care.

The garage is shared with my 3 neighbors. Pretty private.

The only thing I can think of is I jacked the car wrong somehow. I lifted the rear altogether by the diff housing, but I did the fronts individually using the pinchweld jacking points. Also far from the first time doing that...
look for the smallest of rock ticks. add h20 freeze then thaw..

i have jacked my car up every way you can. some of them wrong. never had a windshield issue. and i have one big repair on mine..

beers
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Old Apr 19, 2017 | 02:04 PM
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The windshield place is as mystified as me. No apparent chips. Hope I didn't bend the car :/
Insurance only covers an aftermarket glass, so I'll have to pay a bit extra to get the last OEM 2004 GT windshield in North America
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Old Apr 26, 2017 | 12:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Loki
The windshield place is as mystified as me. No apparent chips. Hope I didn't bend the car :/
Insurance only covers an aftermarket glass, so I'll have to pay a bit extra to get the last OEM 2004 GT windshield in North America
so you should get a kick out of this. have a track weekend coming up. have been very proactive for the first time..

new motor in jan.. check
rotors and pads last weekend
recall for fuel ring. last week, waiting on ring

on way home from recall check. i notice a nick in windshield. make a few calls and get it into safelite for repair. new windshield on thur.

best made plans.

beers
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Old Apr 26, 2017 | 08:00 AM
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Beers!
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Old Apr 26, 2017 | 08:12 AM
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Originally Posted by swoope
so you should get a kick out of this. have a track weekend coming up. have been very proactive for the first time..

new motor in jan.. check
rotors and pads last weekend
recall for fuel ring. last week, waiting on ring

on way home from recall check. i notice a nick in windshield. make a few calls and get it into safelite for repair. new windshield on thur.

best made plans.

beers
Obviously, your windshield is angry about having to look at that dash mat all the time!

:P
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Old Apr 27, 2017 | 02:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Steve Dallas
Obviously, your windshield is angry about having to look at that dash mat all the time!

:P
yea i just slapped it up there. not sure if it will last. but right now better than looking a the cracks!

my rx8 right now is trying really hard not to back to the track.. windshield goes in tomorrow. hopefully fuel rings will go in late tomorrow..

if not i will kill more tires with the gti..

you see the note about almost free caliper paint?

beers
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Old May 3, 2017 | 02:43 PM
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In case anyone pays attention to stuff like this, that last OEM S1 GT windshield in Mazda North America inventory arrived to my shop the other day... in pieces. Apparently there will not be any more, so it's all aftermarket from here. Sure hope the new windshield is not going to be problematic :/
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Old May 5, 2017 | 01:21 PM
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Final resolution: significant rust developed under the windshield at the A-pillar corner. The guy who replaced the glass is mystified by how it got there because water doesn't flow up and under the windshield... if anyone has ideas, let them out

Perhaps it was damaged during initial assembly of the car back in '03.

Last edited by Loki; May 5, 2017 at 01:23 PM.
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Old Jun 12, 2017 | 07:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Loki
In case anyone pays attention to stuff like this, that last OEM S1 GT windshield in Mazda North America inventory arrived to my shop the other day... in pieces. Apparently there will not be any more, so it's all aftermarket from here. Sure hope the new windshield is not going to be problematic :/

I found this pretty funny as I probably almost ordered the same windshield in mid-march. The dealership I was talking to made the whole situation seem pretty urgent but never told me anything like "this is the last one". In the end I decided it wasn't worth the extra $800. Glad I didn't opt for the box of broken glass instead.

Aftermarket glass has been doing fine. I honestly can't tell the difference. Was the OEM windshield tinted in any kind of way? That's the only thing that seems slightly different to me.
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Old Jun 12, 2017 | 11:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Reoze
I found this pretty funny as I probably almost ordered the same windshield in mid-march. The dealership I was talking to made the whole situation seem pretty urgent but never told me anything like "this is the last one". In the end I decided it wasn't worth the extra $800. Glad I didn't opt for the box of broken glass instead.

Aftermarket glass has been doing fine. I honestly can't tell the difference. Was the OEM windshield tinted in any kind of way? That's the only thing that seems slightly different to me.
Holy crap, extra $800? My whole replacement including labour was around 700 Canadian with or without the OE glass. That's what, like a hot dog in USD?

I didn't notice any tint difference, but I do notice a difference in water repulsion. May need to Aquapel it.
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Old Jun 13, 2017 | 12:32 AM
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The piece I was looking at was $800-850 just for the glass iirc. Figure another $100 for the install, at least.

Aftermarket glass installed was $225.
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Old Jun 13, 2017 | 05:26 AM
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I went to a glass shop to fill up a tiny crack in the windshield. I asked how much it is to replace the entire windshield out of curosity, and they estimated CAN$800 due to all the electronics attached to the windshield like the rain/daylight sensor.

Luckily, I have a CAN$200 comprehensive windshield insurance, so I can get small cracks fixed for free and the whole thing replaced if necessary for CAN$200. The plan isn't much more expensive than the old one I would have gone with.
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Old Jun 13, 2017 | 12:51 PM
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FWIW, I'm not totally enamored of my original, OEM windshield. It's slightly distorted. Nothing obvious or major, but if you had my car for awhile you'd probably notice it.
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Old Jun 26, 2017 | 03:01 PM
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Dang that is crazy.
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