Anyone else experience a lot of windshield breaks in their L663? I've had mine for almost a year now and am going to replace a 3rd windshield due to breaks from small rock strikes, two on the highway and one on a dirty road. It seems weird but are these windshields somehow more fragile? I even got an ExoShield put on after the 2nd break and just got a crack through the shield! Could having a heated windshield have anything to do with it? So far I've replaced with OEM glass but now I'm thinking about trying an aftermarket to just see if it holds up better.

In 25 years of driving lots of boxy SUV's and trucks, I've only had one other windshield break, so I don't think it's my driving habits or my location. Just asking for anybody else's experiences.

 

Which brings up a question I have been thinking about: has anyone used either Invisible Glass ceramic windshield coating or the two step Crystal Fusion treatment?

Any problems / interactions with RainX or Quix Mix Rain Shield?

 

Im not a Defender 2020 owner, but I have seen several threads on these windshields being an issue. I think there is/was a class action lawsuit.
edit: Yup, here it is...

https://www.classaction.org/news/202...ss-action-says

 

We're averaging a new windshield every 10K miles. That's more than our LR4 average which was a new windshield about every 20K miles. According to my trusted auto glass guy, it's simply because the steep angle of the Defender windshield is more prone to damage. He said he keeps at least 50 Jeep Wrangler windshields in inventory since he does 2-3 Wrangler windshields a week for the same reason. He said that auto glass in general has similar thickness to meet safety standards. JLR windshields are not any thinner than other windshields. But you do bring up a good point about if being heated makes them more prone (or less prone or no different) to damage.

Who would create a class action lawsuit over this? My auto insurance has a zero glass deductible and I noticed the wipers work better on a new windshield that isn't pitted. We never had to replace our steeply raked Q7 windshield and it was so pitted you could barely see out of it when driving into the sun. I wished it would have broken more often.

 

There are many of these windshield class-actions out there for different vehicles. The Kia Telluride and Jeep Wrangler both have them currently, and if you look around at most vehicle-specific forums, you'll find people complaining about their defective "broke on its own" / "broke with the smallest of pebbles hitting" windshields.

I had two replaced in a Ford Escape and I've had none replaced in my 2022 Defender (purchased Sept 2021) so far. I also go out of my way to steer clear of large work trucks and anything that looks like it has tires that could trap and later eject a large stone. It's possible the glass is not as thick these days to save weight / fuel, or maybe gravel is a lot sharper these days. Hard to say, but I don't see the lawsuits going anywhere.

 

So.......The big question is, Are only the heated Defender windshields cracking?? I think a poll is a good idea.

I have owned two Defenders, both with non heated windshields and had no cracks.

 

non heated windshield and I have had 3 replacements

 

I agree with the synopsis from the PaulLR’s auto glass guy. The angle of the glass has a lot to do with the higher percentage of breakage. And like D-Fens said, I also avoid trucks and other vehicles that could pick up and toss a rock my way. Don’t know about your neck of the woods, but here in Florida we have a lot of modified trucks who think that the bigger tires, often using spacers or larger offsets which extend them far past the protection of the fenders which are there for a reason, will make them more manly or something. Hint: it doesn’t, just makes it look more goofy, and makes the driver seem to be craving attention. And unfortunately, there is no enforcement of the law requiring tires not to extend past the fenders.

 

Ditto. Here in Texas, we are plagued with the same "lifted-truck-gigantic-spaced-tires-black-smoke-gushing-exhaust" crew. I do some highway driving and also like you guys go out of my way to avoid these things and the dump trucks, semi, 18wheelers, etc. I usually accelerate past them as fast I can and never linger behind them - even if it seems to be distant enough. Even doing all that, I got a rock in the windshield, but fortunately it looks, as least in my case, the Defender windshield was strong enough to only get the traditional star-shaped chip and not spread the crack like a spider web.

However (and this would be my advise to anyone that gets a chip) I did not wait too long to go and get it fixed at Safelite. In fact, I called my insurance when I got at the office and set an appointment to that very same day to get it fixed. The longer you wait higher the chances of temperature changes and vibrations that spread the crack and you are done with that windshield.

 

Saw my heated windshield crack from a pebble strike coming from a car going 15 mph. Was shocked that it actually cracked it.