Windscreen replacement horror!

Ash187

Ash187

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Hi guys,

so finally i got around to replacing the windscreen on my A3 to finally complete the auto lights install... i had this planned a while ago but things kept on coming up that was spending all the money and not to mentions issues i had with the insurance companies.

anyway i have changed insurance companies and i finally booked it in for National windscreens to come out and replace it whilst i was at work.

Now once the car was parked up he had said to me that it should take about an hour to complete and so i left him to it. he did scare me a little when he said that i have asked for the wrong windscreen as i DON'T have the auto lights sensor windscreen but i quickly showed him the parts and he was happy to continue.

i went inside to work but to my surprise i get a phone call about 20 minutes later saying the job is complete!
i went down to see the work and asked him how me managed it so quickly... he showed me my old windscreen...

he says that the windscreen was not OEM and had been changed at some point in the past... the problem was that there was only bonding at the top and bottom and no bonding on the sides of the glass :ohmy:


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he also said he was surprised that i didnt have any water inside the car or lots of wind noise... just makes me think what kind of cowboys are fitting windscreens without bonding it properly!

its all sorted out now and im so happy to finally have a nice clean windscreen without any silly bug marks, splats or scratches. also finally have the auto dimming mirror fitted :)

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cowboys! dimming mirror looks good, i've just had my screen replaced, should have put a dimming mirror in!
 
I take it your not feeling the rain sensor. Also I'm about to Re-new my insurance ... How much you paying ? and have you declared any mods ?
 
audi upgrades
FranA3 said:
:no::wtf::scared2: i think whoever fitted that needs to go back to screen fitting school
Click to expand...

i know i was shocked.. and to think i have had the car over a year and half... its scary!

digzz said:
I take it your not feeling the rain sensor. Also I'm about to Re-new my insurance ... How much you paying ? and have you declared any mods ?
Click to expand...

is this to me? i have the rain sensor installed as i did the whole pack... this was the last part i needed to do to fully complete the light and rain sensing package. with 3 yrs no claims and 2 accidents (both non fault) on file i am paying £750 ish...
mods? all my mods are OEM so in my eyes no need to declare... they wont know its a mod if its OEM :)
 
How you finding the auto dimming mirror? I had one in my last car but not in the A3. It worked really well but it worried me that it dimmed to the point where you couldn't tell if the car behind was old bill.
 
the auto dimming mirror is good! at one point on my way home it got really dark but that was because some guy was right behind me with glaring headlights... the good thing is that at any point you can just hit the button and turn it back off. i noticed that it dims slowly depending on how much light the sensor picks up so most of the time when it is dimming the reflection has a slight bluey/green look to it.
 
my screen has a tiny chip but has some other little scratches so gonna get it replaced ( prob when it cracks) if i say mine is heated ( its not realy) is it posible to retro fit ?
 
Not good about the windscreen. :ohmy:

Liking the auto dimming mirror.:thumbsup:

Had a hire car with one the other week, now need one in my Sline.
 
nally said:
my screen has a tiny chip but has some other little scratches so gonna get it replaced ( prob when it cracks) if i say mine is heated ( its not realy) is it posible to retro fit ?
Click to expand...

Audi dont do heated windscreens on the A3 afaik


also for anyone that is thinking of getting a auto dimming mirror on their car and replacing the windscreen i advise you also get the light and rain sensor and install the wiring at the same time since its not much more work or money to do it but the end effect is auto lights and the rain sensor that makes the wipers go automatically when there is any rain :)
as that most expensive part of the auto lights install is the windscreen!
 
FranA3 said:
:no::wtf::scared2: i think whoever fitted that needs to go back to screen fitting school
Click to expand...

More like not fit windscreens at all, thats unbelievable tbh.

1inchpunch said:
It worked really well but it worried me that it dimmed to the point where you couldn't tell if the car behind was old bill.
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Remind me not to get into your car :p

nally said:
if i say mine is heated ( its not realy) is it posible to retro fit ?
Click to expand...

No can do on 8P.

Heated screens iirc were a ford thing & afaik they stuck a patent on it & knowing vag, they probably didnt want to admit it was innovative enough to pay ford royalties.
 
NHN said:
More like not fit windscreens at all, thats unbelievable tbh.


Heated screens iirc were a ford thing & afaik they stuck a patent on it & knowing vag, they probably didnt want to admit it was innovative enough to pay ford royalties.
Click to expand...

that patent expired ages ago... lots of car manufactures now have the heated windscreens... iirc VAG do have some cars in the range that are heated too, just not on our Audi's :(
 
itwasntme187 said:
that patent expired ages ago... lots of car manufactures now have the heated windscreens... iirc VAG do have some cars in the range that are heated too, just not on our Audi's :(
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I need to double check this but bout a year ago I was looking at windscreens and found a place that did heated windscreens for different cars.
Cars as old as my B5.
You can get them but needs a bit of searching, wiring and a bit of extra cost.
Well worth it for the winter months.
I loved it on my Sierra.
 
it shows here on the PDF of the Passat CC that heated windscreen comes as an option on page 8
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i too loved it on my Ford Focus... though i heard that now the newer ones have an almost invisible heating element on the front windscreen
 
your V5C should have the previous owners address, maybe they know who fitted it if you want to vent spleen? It is shocking!
 
LOL im not that obsessed about it to go and find out who the monkey is... though i know where the previous owner lives as i bought the car off him from his house (private sale)

it might have been a one off but then again who knows? and its not something that you think to check when buying the car...
"oh by the way, just wanted to know is the windscreen fitted properly?"
 
NHN said:
More like not fit windscreens at all, thats unbelievable tbh.



Remind me not to get into your car :p



No can do on 8P.

Heated screens iirc were a ford thing & afaik they stuck a patent on it & knowing vag, they probably didnt want to admit it was innovative enough to pay ford royalties.
Click to expand...
thats gay
 
Sounds like autoglass !! Totally crap company.
 
Haven't had a problem with the screen yet but who else could you get Paddy ?

All insurance companies use them by default don't they and if you use someone else (if you can find them ) then the insurance won't pay for it

Rock and a hard place comes to mind !!lol
 
mike foster said:
Haven't had a problem with the screen yet but who else could you get Paddy ?

All insurance companies use them by default don't they and if you use someone else (if you can find them ) then the insurance won't pay for it

Rock and a hard place comes to mind !!lol
Click to expand...

Im with Admiral Insurance and they use National windscreens... apparently they terminated the contract with Autoglass a couple years back.
 
mike foster said:
All insurance companies use them by default don't they and if you use someone else (if you can find them ) then the insurance won't pay for it
Click to expand...

TBH allot of companies do pay if you use an alternative, but wont advertise it openly, but you have to claim back the £100 or so after excess paid from them, been there myself.
 
help! hi , i have audi a3 2litre tdi sportback with rain and light sensor windscreen /rear view mirror. the rear view mirror has snapped off windscreen and the connections to fit them together are broken. have been told will need to replace windscreen and mirror. very expensive . any one have any other way round this.
 
Helen Laurent said:
help! hi , i have audi a3 2litre tdi sportback with rain and light sensor windscreen /rear view mirror. the rear view mirror has snapped off windscreen and the connections to fit them together are broken. have been told will need to replace windscreen and mirror. very expensive . any one have any other way round this.
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I doubt the mirror is damaged, possibly the bonded bracket has come of the screen as how else would be just snap of unless someone whacked it.

If the wires have been damaged, dont worry they can be repaired without to much trouble, as requested, show us some pics of the said damage then we can ascertain the extent of repair needed.
 
That's a lot of work re-tro fitting those options. Well done. Normally the adhesive is applied to the windscreen area on the car. God knows what that cowboy was up to??? Least you'll now have a water, wind and noise tight one.

My car's screen being replaced Sat morn. Previous owner speced it up to included an acoustic screen. Thank god the car's already kitted out with auto wipers and lights. Plus, a newbie for me, auto dim side mirrors, which I'm so so about. They dim okay, but do not have the blind spot wide mirror section at the tips.

My last car, Mini Cooper had heated front screen, great on damp or cold days with the heating filaments causing little distraction.
 
Looking at that picture the windscreen had bonding all the way round (you can see where he cut it), average time to remove & replace one of these screens is around 30mins, the main issue is when the person replacing the screen doesnt leave enough time for the primer on the glass or the bodywork to dry before appling the adhesive.

With regards to your mirror, just go to your local auto window replacement co & ask if they can reglue the boss on. If it is broken ask if they have any spare as any glass-tech worth his salt will have a bag full of old ones removed from broken screens (just in case) they're needed... At least thats what we used to do when I worked for Autoglass!
 
I have the auto dimming mirror but never see the benefit of it as the back window is tinted so i dont know how well it even works lol
I kmow there not cheap so maybe the first owner broke it and found it cheaper to tint lol
 
AndyA3170 said:
I have the auto dimming mirror but never see the benefit of it as the back window is tinted so i dont know how well it even works lol
I kmow there not cheap so maybe the first owner broke it and found it cheaper to tint lol
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, I had it on my previous S3 and yeh it looked great, wooo a green light on it :)....

but on my new one its not on there and back windows tinted and i honestly dont have a problem. No dazzles from anyone and if there is a stupid Corsa behind with ultra blue HID kit on it, i'm off. problem solved.
 
It helps when you also have the dimming mirror glass on the wing mirrors as your side windows won't be tinted and it helps the glare
 
I'm not sure what we're looking at with the windscreen pictures. If there was no bonding on long stretches of the glass you will geneally have had some windnoise (or at the very least a sensation that window is open) and leaks. Plus there is a chance the glass may have cracked too not being supported evenly.

It looks to me that the areas you have photographed are areas where his knife has cut the bonding back to the glass which is normal. A photo of the windscreen frame on the car with the glass removed would give you a better idea of the bonding bead.

20minutes is quick though! as it takes time to remove the scuttle, weather strips, protect the dash, cut the old screen out, cut the old bond around the frame down, touch up any cuts from removal, and fit the new glass the scuttle and refit scuttle and weather strips.
 
Chap from AA just finished replacing the "acoustic" windscreen. Total time at job 1hr 15mins. He seemed very conscientious and methodical. 10/10 for a great job. He commented A3 was one of the easier screens to fit with very little trim , sensors etc to remove.

Oh and they used an original Audi screen :)
 
If someone took half an hour on my screen change I'd be concerned tbh
 
I've just witnessed a chap break a rear screen on a Peugeot 205 with his CHIN!!

it was a young bloke that reversed straight into this 75 year old man.

Mental.
 
Do you think the 75yr old will claim for whip lash?
 
turns out he just broke his ankle...

he could probably claim for all sorts!
 
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