Anyone else have numerous pinhead sized pits in windshield?

[CarawayDJ]

My Genesis Sedan 4.6 only has 10,000 miles on it, is never driven on dirt roads, and in fact, not very often driven. When I'm driving facing the sun my visibility is terrible due to numerous small "pinhead" sized pits all over the windshield. I figured the windshield was just dirty, but upon a good hand cleaning I realized it was pitted.

Of course the Hyundai dealer explained that this is caused by dirt and dust and all. My response; I live in the city and do not drive anywhere that I haven't driven any other car I have owned. No windshield should be pitted like this with only 10,000 miles. I'm disappointed to hear this answer with a new car.

Am I the only one with this problem?

 

[STREETS]

Should not occur if car is not driven- but you have 10K on the odometer...no highway driving?
Pitting is unavoidable when sand, road debris is stired up by the simple act of driving on the road- especially on highways at speed. Winters in the North with salt & sand is sandblasting the glass and when driving west at sunset- it really becomes noticable. If I don't have a crack or large stone damage on my windshield, somehow a ballpeened hammer somehow makes me call my local glass company for replacement!

 

[jwaters943]

From your description, this is completely normal. I've owned several new cars and this has occurred on every one of them. Then again, I do live in a dusty area of the country and we sand our roads in the winter.

 

[DesertGen]

I have the same. Here in AZ we are glad to just have pits in the windshield. Avoiding rocks is the challenge!

 

[ttsig]

I noticed this pitting very early in my ownership experience as well. Within the first few thousand miles my Genesis windshield was covered with almost as many pits as my previous vehicle which had over 170,000 miles. It didn't bother me too much, but subjectively it seemed worse than other vehicles I've owned. I wish I would have noticed if it had them on delivery.

 

[dataguy]

The windshield is laminated glass, so while it's likely that the laminate is more susceptible to pitting, it cuts down on noise and (based on my own rock strike experience) improves rock survivability. It might also be possible the pitting is the result of some sort of chemical damage to the laminate?

 

[CarawayDJ]

OK, I guess I should have rewritten the thread title to say "Anyone else have numerous pinhead sized pits in the windshield that seem to have appeared extremely early; in fact earlier than a Yugo in the Sonoran desert?"

I know dust and all can cause pits. What I'm saying is that the pit level on my windshield is more indicative of a car with 100,000+ miles, not 10,000. I worked in Kuwait for 2 years. I purchased a new Daewoo Lanos (el cheapo) over there. In an area with constant dust storms and sand everywhere, even its windshield looked better after a year.

 

[jwaters943]

Do they show up in pics? I'm curious to see how bad your windshield looks. Mine looks spotless unless the sun catches it just right, and even then, it's not bad or distracting.

 

[STREETS]

Check with a glass guy or Hyundai. Perhaps the extra laminate is softer than most. If so, Hyundai may offer to do a windscreen swap.
I have 10K on mine and have pits from sand, road debris, stones. I once replaced windshield, very same day, behind a truck- you guessed it- SMACK- CRACK! Beats a 18 wheeler truck retread bouncing off the hood into the windshield!

 

[Nabber]

It is my understanding that the laminate is between layers, thus not subject to wear or affecting the hardness of the outer layer of glass.

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[Ron Veenker]

I only have 1250 mi on my 3.8 sedan and have no problems, but I remember that my Mercedes E320 had those pits within 10K. Seems to be part of the modern safety glass culture.

Ron

 

[joe215]

I have noticed what I would call "excessive" pitting as well.

On another note, I had two rock strikes in one week. The first one spidered the windshield about the size of a nickel (right in my eye line, naturally). Then next one hit within a quarter of an inch from the first one on the same stretch of road just five days later. What are the odds?

 

[Sayantsi]

Yes, the glass is pure glass on the exterior, the lamination is on the inside. The upright shape up the windshield will make it more susceptible to pitting, and driving in one bad situation can do permanent damage early. Maybe Hyundai glass is just soft, I don't know, but I have some large pits already at under 10k mi.

One solution is to put a 3M film on the windshield - this film takes the sandblasting and can be peeled up and replaced.

Where in the US do you live?

 

[FIAT]

I don't know if this would help but it's worth a try. http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/126539-bon-ami-clean-glass.html

 

[Ron Veenker]

My dealer offered me a special treatment for the windshield saying that it would harden the glass and aid in heavy rain runoff much like Rain-X. Has anyone had experience with this treatment?

Ron Veenker

 

[CarawayDJ]

Yes, the glass is pure glass on the exterior, the lamination is on the inside. The upright shape up the windshield will make it more susceptible to pitting, and driving in one bad situation can do permanent damage early. Maybe Hyundai glass is just soft, I don't know, but I have some large pits already at under 10k mi.

One solution is to put a 3M film on the windshield - this film takes the sandblasting and can be peeled up and replaced.

Where in the US do you live?

I'm in Temecula, CA. It is a semi-desert area, but I haven't noticed so much pitting in any other car I have owned. I'm going to chalk it up to sub-standard glass; part of the 20K I saved over a premium brand. I guess I can buy a new windshield for those savings...

 

[TNTitan]

OK, I guess I should have rewritten the thread title to say "Anyone else have numerous pinhead sized pits in the windshield that seem to have appeared extremely early; in fact earlier than a Yugo in the Sonoran desert?"

I know dust and all can cause pits. What I'm saying is that the pit level on my windshield is more indicative of a car with 100,000+ miles, not 10,000. I worked in Kuwait for 2 years. I purchased a new Daewoo Lanos (el cheapo) over there. In an area with constant dust storms and sand everywhere, even its windshield looked better after a year.

Let me chime in with a "YES"

I have noticed excessive pitting on the windshield. Normal city driving only for me. Just rolled over 15K on the clock and when driving into direct sunlight, you can really see all the little chips. My guess is really soft (cheap?) glass. I wonder if we will see a TSB replacement out there as more and more of these cars accrue mileage and suffer similarly.

 

[msitter]

Glass is glass. The windshield is 2 sheets of annealed float glass with a sheet of optically clear plastic laminated in between. Sand pitting is a normal occurrence on car windshields. The hardness of the glass is the same for all windshields due to the federal specs for automotive glazing. There is no cheap or expensive glass or high or low quality when it comes to meeting the spec. In fact, the windshield for a BMW 760Li could come from the same production line as a VW Polo. Tempered glass, as used for the side and back lites has twice the impact strength of annealed glass but seeming no better resistance to sand pitting. The reason tempered is not used for the windshield is simple, imagine flying down the road at 75 mph and having a rock hit your windshield. Annealed glass will crack and and be held together by the inner plastic layer. If it were tempered, you would go instantly blind as the windshield broke into millions of glass shards and showered them on you. When I used to work around Palm Springs, windshield pitting was severe. I used to minimize it with one of those plexiglass wind diverters on the leading edge of the hood. It would deflect the wind and all the road crap higher up and over the car.

 

[JDC]

I'm in Temecula, CA. It is a semi-desert area, but I haven't noticed so much pitting in any other car I have owned. I'm going to chalk it up to sub-standard glass; part of the 20K I saved over a premium brand. I guess I can buy a new windshield for those savings...

Live in Chino and work in Palm Desert 1 day/week. Only took one sand storm 10 minutes to ruin the windshield on this car. I had a Land Cruiser for 18 years, living in the desert, and too many sand storms to count, and that windshield was inpenetrable.

I agree with CarawayDJ... the Genesis glass is very soft.

and I understand what you are saying Msitter, but I can't argue with the history of those storms over all those years.

I believe some glass is just not at the same level.

Perhaps this may explain a possibility, in the way these are manufactured, as it appears hardness can be controlled:

"Windshields are made of laminated glass. There are three layers--two outer glass sheets with a urethane plastic center bonded in-between. The plastic inner layer reduces the chance of occupant penetration in a crash, and keeps the glass from separating into flying shards. Some side and back glass is laminated as well.

Side and back safety glass is usually tempered glass. This means that a solid sheet of glass is cooled quickly in the manufacturing process, which creates a different hardness in the outside and center of the window. As a result, the glass shatters into square pebbles rather than sharp shards in an accident. Risk of laceration and abrasion is reduced."

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...+auto+glass+hardness&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

I'm wondering if there is some sort of 'hardness' 'range' which the manuf's can use, with a minimum and an approx max, and so then perhaps a difference in tempering hardness.

This is from Dinitrol Urethane Technical Terms.

"Hardness Shore A a measure of hardness reported by means of an instrument called a durometer. The expression is without units. Relationship to Vehicle Glass Urethane:

Most all automotive urethane specifications for the vehicle glass state a Hardness Shore A with a usual range of plus or minus 5 units. For example the new Ford specification WSSM2G316-B2 states a value at 70 +/- 5."

 

[msitter]

"Hardness Shore A a measure of hardness reported by means of an instrument called a durometer. The expression is without units. Relationship to Vehicle Glass Urethane:

Most all automotive urethane specifications for the vehicle glass state a Hardness Shore A with a usual range of plus or minus 5 units. For example the new Ford specification WSSM2G316-B2 states a value at 70 +/- 5."


This spec is for the urethane adhesive that bonds the windshield into the car not the hardness of the glass. The adhesive has to reach a certain hardness in a certain amount of time. In new cars the windshield is now a structural part of the roof system and as such must not pop out of the car when force is applied to try to crush it as in a rollover. The Shore A hardness is for relatively soft items like elastomerics, sealants, adhesives, etc. Glass hardness is tested on the Mohs scale which tests scratch resistance of minerals. Glass would fall somewhere between 6 and 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. The inner layer of laminated glass is either EVA, PVB or polyurethane. I don't think there is such a thing as "soft" glass. Glass is, however unbelievable, actually a liquid. Its break resistance is altered by changing the surface tension. This is illustrated by glass cutting. The glass is simply scratched and it will break at the scratch because the surface tension has been broken. If however the glass is scored and then left to sit for a couple of days, it will invariably break somewhere other than where the scratch was. This is due to the fact that the scratch even though still visible has healed and the surface tension somewhat restored. Tempered glass is produced from float glass sheet(float glass is a process to make very optically clear glass patented by Ford Motor Co. at the Dearborn glass plant) that is cut, has the cut edges sanded smooth and is then put through an oven, brought almost to the melting point and then quick cooled. What this does is to greatly increase the surface tension. The newly tempered glass cannot now be cut because of this increased surface tension. The act of a cutting wheel or an attempt to penetrate this increased surface tension results in catastrophic failure of the glass surface and the glass shatters into millions of square edged shards. This is another reason tempered glass is not used for windshields. A rock hit that would merely chip an annealed laminated windshield would cause a catastrophic failure of a tempered one.