Unusual Cracks Appeared On Windscreen

[KeithJLambert]

Hi Folks,

I've had my S3 since December.

Whilst sat in traffic on the M25 yesterday I had a WTF moment as, seemingly from nowhere, I noticed two identical horizontal cracks at either side of my windscreen. They come from the edge and are at head height, both are exactly the same 'shape' and appx. 6 inches in length.

I'm at a complete loss as to how this has happened and I know that they weren't there the day before as I spent 6 hours in the car driving to Crawley.

Have any other forum members experienced these types of cracks? I did have a stone hit my windscreen about a month ago but it didn't even make a mark. All I can think of is that perhaps the stone caused a stress fracture at either edge which have finally manifested themselves.

Many Thanks,

Keith.

 

[S32B]

I work in a car factory, the windscreens in there are fitted by a robot (it used to be by hand and a 6 man job years back!) anyway, sometimes the robot can have a blip and push them on too hard! this can cause them to crack or just fit them with more pressure on the top or bottom which throws them out, they are checked manually and can easily be missed! I'm just wondering if it's a badly fitted screen and more pressure has been applied to top/bottom causing a slight bend/stress and over the last few months it's come to a head and pop...split the screen.

Think of it as putting a ruler on a flat surface, then do the same only with a coin under the middle of it.

It's hard to explain until you see it, but the sealer that is used goes solid within 10-15 minutes, in the past I've seen a screen sitting high at the top and just hit it with the palm of my hand to knock it down and cracked the screen right across....doesn't take much! When you then take the screen out the robot has applied more sealer at the top than the bottom causing a slight curve.

Be careful as the crack will travel like cracked ice, you can put sellotape over the crack to top it running.

I'd nip into Audi and just mention you think it's been a badly fitted screen and see what they say.

 

[Dan Halen]

I'd nip into Audi and just mention you think it's been a badly fitted screen and see what they say.

Yep. If there's no evidence of an impact, you have a pretty solid case for a defect in workmanship.

 

[KeithJLambert]

I work in a car factory, the windscreens in there are fitted by a robot (it used to be by hand and a 6 man job years back!) anyway, sometimes the robot can have a blip and push them on too hard! this can cause them to crack or just fit them with more pressure on the top or bottom which throws them out, they are checked manually and can easily be missed! I'm just wondering if it's a badly fitted screen and more pressure has been applied to top/bottom causing a slight bend/stress and over the last few months it's come to a head and pop...split the screen.

Think of it as putting a ruler on a flat surface, then do the same only with a coin under the middle of it.

It's hard to explain until you see it, but the sealer that is used goes solid within 10-15 minutes, in the past I've seen a screen sitting high at the top and just hit it with the palm of my hand to knock it down and cracked the screen right across....doesn't take much! When you then take the screen out the robot has applied more sealer at the top than the bottom causing a slight curve.

Be careful as the crack will travel like cracked ice, you can put sellotape over the crack to top it running.

I'd nip into Audi and just mention you think it's been a badly fitted screen and see what they say.

Yep. If there's no evidence of an impact, you have a pretty solid case for a defect in workmanship.

Thanks both, I really appreciate those responses. I'll call in to the Audi dealership tomorrow........

 

[Glassman]

I work in a car factory

Interesting. What is your role?

Be careful as the crack will travel like cracked ice, you can put sellotape over the crack to top it running.

What are the mechanics behind this?

I'd nip into Audi and just mention you think it's been a badly fitted screen and see what they say.

Most dealers/manufacturers will state that glass and seals are not covered under warranty. Stress fractures are a bit of a myth insofar as if they do occur, they're usually shortly after fitting and can usually be attributed to either damage on the glass edge or poor fitting (as you rightly do say).

 

[KeithJLambert]

Not a good start for me as far as Audi after sales service goes. Despite a number of e-mails/calls, Audi at Bury St Edmunds didn't get back to me to confirm that I could take the car in tomorrow. As such, I cancelled a work commitment in Suffolk and stuck with my original appointment at Preston Audi. I took the car there this afternoon for my appointment tomorrow, only to be told that the car wasn't booked in! One of the service guys came out to look at the windscreen and effectively called me a liar, saying that he could see where there had been an impact. What? Two identical impacts/cracks at exactly the same height at either side of the screen, occurring in stationary traffic? I do understand that there are folks out there that try it on but I can honestly and categorically say (even if just to myself) that my windscreen has not been subject to any impact from stones, etc. but he was having none of it. I even asked if the cracks could have been caused by a pothole as I have hit a couple of those recently. Nope. It was definitely an impact that caused it, according to Paul at Preston Audi.

Very disappointed but not surprised as this is the outcome that I expected. The car is my pride and joy and I can't wait to get the screen replaced.

The only course of action that I can think of now is getting the second opinion of a windscreen replacement company and/or escalating the matter to Audi customer service. That said, I can already foresee that this is going to come out of my bank account and not Audi's.

 

[Glassman]

Images, please.

 

[KeithJLambert]

 

[Glassman]

Thank-you.

Sorry to be a nuisance, but could you capture them from the outside, please? Place your finger next to the pillar side of the crack to help with the resolution and AF. Or place a small object next to it like a coin or pencil tip.

 

[Datastorm]

Hi Folks,

I've had my S3 since December.

Whilst sat in traffic on the M25 yesterday I had a WTF moment as, seemingly from nowhere, I noticed two identical horizontal cracks at either side of my windscreen. They come from the edge and are at head height, both are exactly the same 'shape' and appx. 6 inches in length.

I'm at a complete loss as to how this has happened and I know that they weren't there the day before as I spent 6 hours in the car driving to Crawley.

Have any other forum members experienced these types of cracks? I did have a stone hit my windscreen about a month ago but it didn't even make a mark. All I can think of is that perhaps the stone caused a stress fracture at either edge which have finally manifested themselves.

Many Thanks,

Keith.

I had exactly the same thing happen to my A3, a huge crack appeared overnight on the drivers side.... I posted a pic of it on here somewhere a while back.

Jeff

 

[KeithJLambert]

Thank-you.

Sorry to be a nuisance, but could you capture them from the outside, please? Place your finger next to the pillar side of the crack to help with the resolution and AF. Or place a small object next to it like a coin or pencil tip.

Hi, thanks for taking an interest in this, I appreciate it. It was tipping down yesterday so I didn't try to get the shots. I've just been out to try and capture them but unfortunately, I just can't get a clear photo from the outside due to the reflections.

I did call a local windscreen replacement company yesterday who fit Pilkington Glass. I was really surprised at the price, not nearly as much as I thought it would be. He did tell me that the glass on these cars is very thin and that, even if your screen I subject to an impact such as a stone that leaves no trace, the screens can crack afterwards (especially with acute variances in temperature such as we've had recently). On that basis, I don't think that I'm going to get anywhere with Audi and I'm just going to get it replaced.

I'm still a bit annoyed that my local dealer got it so wrong though (see above) and wasn't prepared to investigate further. I'd be quite happy to accept it if it wasn't Audi's liability but I'd have appreciated a little more interest rather than the "take my decision or leave it" attitude. Even my 84 year-old Mother commented that the likelihood of two separate impacts at exactly the same height and at exactly the same time whilst at a standstill (and at the furthest edges of the windscreen) is stretching the imagination somewhat.

 

[winrya]

Hi, why aren’t you claiming on your insurance? Excess is usually £80 and doesn’t class as a claim so has no effect on your premiums

 

[Glassman]

Hi, why aren’t you claiming on your insurance? Excess is usually £80 and doesn’t class as a claim so has no effect on your premiums

Not entirely true.

 

[winrya]

Unless you’re with the admiral group of insurance companies who load premiums with anything. Aviva makes no difference

 

[KeithJLambert]

Hi, why aren’t you claiming on your insurance? Excess is usually £80 and doesn’t class as a claim so has no effect on your premiums

Hi, I did look into that but as my excess was £160 and the windscreen isn't that much more, I decided to avoid the hassle and stick with the local fitters who have a great reputation (my insurance company use Autoglass and I didn't really want to go with them).

 

[Reznor]

A similar thing is happening to me right now. I had a crack spontaneously appear in the upper passenger side of the windshield overnight while it was in my garage! No impacts or anything dropping on it, the surface in general has some minor pitting from all the gravel they put on the roads here in winter but no marks near the crack. Mine is diagonal and goes from top to side, about 6" away from the corner in the upper area, making a triangular shape as the crack goes right across.
What I have also noticed is that there are other parts of my windshield that seem to be warping. The lower center section and about halfway up the driver's side there are concave sections roughly 6" in diameter that the wipers can never seem to wipe.
I'll be making an appointment to get it replaced ASAP but I thought I would check on here first and see if anyone else has experienced similar issues.

 

[Glassman]

A similar thing is happening to me right now. I had a crack spontaneously appear in the upper passenger side of the windshield overnight while it was in my garage! No impacts or anything dropping on it, the surface in general has some minor pitting from all the gravel they put on the roads here in winter but no marks near the crack. Mine is diagonal and goes from top to side, about 6" away from the corner in the upper area, making a triangular shape as the crack goes right across.
What I have also noticed is that there are other parts of my windshield that seem to be warping. The lower center section and about halfway up the driver's side there are concave sections roughly 6" in diameter that the wipers can never seem to wipe.
I'll be making an appointment to get it replaced ASAP but I thought I would check on here first and see if anyone else has experienced similar issues.

* is it a genuine, Audi branded screen?

* how long have you had the car (or has windscreen has been replaced recently)?

* I acknowledge that you say there are no visible impact marks on/near the crack, and the 'crack suddenly appeared' <-- but it's this. There has to be a cause. For cracks to suddenly appear, first suspect would be impact. Second would be stress fracture. Third, thermal... All determined by a time element. For example, if there was a pin-point size impact in the silkprint area of the windscreen, you won't see it. There may even be some fracture mechanics working below the surface which won't actually manifest (to the eye) until hours/days/weeks later.

 

[Reznor]

* is it a genuine, Audi branded screen?
It's the original OEM

* how long have you had the car (or has windscreen has been replaced recently)?
2.5 years

* I acknowledge that you say there are no visible impact marks on/near the crack, and the 'crack suddenly appeared' <-- but it's this. There has to be a cause. For cracks to suddenly appear, first suspect would be impact. Second would be stress fracture. Third, thermal... All determined by a time element. For example, if there was a pin-point size impact in the silkprint area of the windscreen, you won't see it. There may even be some fracture mechanics working below the surface which won't actually manifest (to the eye) until hours/days/weeks later.
I've booked an appointment to see what my dealer says about it, although I checked my insurance also and I only have a $250 deductible so it's not a huge deal.

 

[Zubair Shah]

Hi guys...

So last Friday 01/03/2019 I picked up my brand new Audi Q2. After three days of owning the vehicle I noticed a huge crack on the lower passenger side of the windscreen. There’s no evidence of anything impacting the screen, I have a dashcam fitted too and there’s nothing on there to show something has damaged the windscreen.

It’s a clean sort of crack measuring at least 6-8 inches. Starts from the very bottom of the windscreen.

The car also had a sound system problem upon initial pickup which the salesman did mention.

Audi are certain that it isn’t a manufacturing defect.

 

[AlS3BE]

It’s a new windscreen I’m afraid.
There’s no way to tell what could have caused that. A blunt object with enough force would crack it without leaving a mark. Like someone punching it or a rubber mallet. Only defect manufacturers will entertain is if the laminate between the glass was starting to split.