Thanks for that confirmation. Always tough to figure out what you noticed because something is different vs what you noticed because you are paying more attention!

 

I doubt it as we went through so many heated windshields on our LR4s. I need a new windshield on one of our Defenders as well. Took a hard hit from a rock or road debris. Now that chip has turned into a running crack.

 

This is when it pays off to have two Defenders because I tell the service advisor “my other one doesn’t have this” 😁

 

My new windshield lasted two weeks. Took a rock strike yesterday and it is cracked again.

 

I have an older LR and have replaced the windshield at least twice. I don't care too much, as the almost vertical windshield has expected drawbacks, but I like the visibility it provides, so I deal. Can't LR use stronger glass?! I can't imagine the quality, thickness, or strength of the glass in your ND is any less than what I have in my older LR.

 

Most vehicle windshields will break if hit by a rock while driving on the highway.

l am not sure there is a solution.

 

OMG - sorry to see you had a crack in your panoramic window!? These shouldn't be doing that! As you've probably seen from other posts, although I LOVE the ND interior & driving, I've had to hold off on my ND build order until JLR offers again a full roof feature, as they do in other (non US) markets. I know it's fun to drive with a glass roof, but there are trade-offs. After weighing the pros & cons I simply don't want to care for a glass roof - it's that simple. But I was more afraid of stuff falling from above on top of a parked ND; I hadn't considered road hazards to the roof, possibly from an 18 wheeler you passed... Oh well, I hope you can fix it easily enough. Is there a deductible? (I want to say when I replaced a windshield it was "free" because of a mandatory replacement clause in my state.) I doubt my insurance would cover the cost of a roof window, but what was your experience on the claim? I hope JLR figures out that a glass roof ND is not for everyone and sells them again with solid roofs!

 

In 33 years of driving I have never had two windshields have to be replaced within the first 8,000 miles. While I do agree with you that rocks hitting the glass at interstate speeds can result in a cracked windshield I cant tell you how many I have had over the years that just left a tiny chip as apposed to a huge chip with a run. The two hits that I have didn't even sound like much. Maybe it is the angle, but without questions these windshields crack easy.

 

I was in the same boat as you until my last 3 MB vehicles which were coincidentally tall SUVs (2 GLS and 1 GLE) and I had to replace cracked windshields 5 times in 4 years. Thankfully I had the insurance but it sucked every time I had to take them in.

 

I just bought a 2022 Dynamic SE that had a nice chip in the windshield. It passed inspection in Virginia but no such luck here in Maryland. Only had to pay $500 for a new factory windshield. Safelite did the replacement at one of their larger facilities. Everything seems good so far.