I thought this was worthy of its own thread even though we've got a chipped windshield thread--people should be aware.

Quite unfortunately, my beautiful new TCH was struck by a large piece of gravel yesterday on the Dulles Toll Road. I will be going after VDOT with everything I've got because they are doing construction and are not cleaning it.

Anyway, its a pretty large round crack. I called the Toyota dealer today, and they referred me to their windshield specialist who does all brands. He had pretty bad news for me: the TCH windshield is extremely hard to come by and very expensive. There is no aftermarket windshield, it has to be special ordered from the factory. Its made by a company called AP Technology, but they have all they can do to keep up with factory demands.

Bottom line: the glass itself costs $1142, not including the molding and installation. I had a windshield repair specialist check it out. Interestingly, he told me that much of his business is hybrids. He confirmed that my windshield was well beyond repair.

So basically, I'm going to be out of a lot of money. I will probably run this through my insurance...even with the deductible. As I said, I'm also going through VDOT.

So in one week, I have a cracked windshield and a dent in my back door that I had nothing to do with---it just appeared. Makes me want to cry.

 

Holy TCHIT! Thats an enormous sum for a windshield. Are you going to get a second opinion?

 

Well, there's nothing really variable about it. The problem is supply and demand--there simply aren't any TCH windshields out there. The guy I'm working with through the Toyota dealer went right to Toyota's supplier. He first tried to locate the glass and couldn't but then was told by the supplier they have't produced any for anybody but Toyota. So, if he wanted to replace it the only option is to order it direct from the factory.

He then referred me to a repair specialist to see if it couldn't be fixed, but no such luck.

 

So glad that we have glass coverage on our car insurance, because that is PRICEY!

 

OUCH!

Is there any difference between a normal 2007 Camry and a Hybrid Camry windshield?

 

Yes. The Hybrid windsheild is more sound resistant.

 

Yes, apparently there is. I don't know that there is a significant price difference between the two, but the Hyrid does require a special windshield as a result of the "acoustical" design.

The glass person said that if you want factory glass, they do distinguish between the Camry Hybrid and regular Camry. At some point, when "aftermarket" glass is available, you may be able to get regular Camry glass, but you will also lose the benefit to the Hybrid design, which was intended to insulate the car from the high pitched hybrid sounds.

 

I would leave the cracked windshield in place until the road construction is completed and sufficiently cleaned up, unless you are unable to pass a safety inspection. You may even want to wait until next spring so that you don't get your new glass pitted from road salt/sand in the winter.

I got a chip on the driver's side 2 weeks after purchase and a couple of door dings within the first 3 weeks...sheeeesh..... But, nothing since....go figure..... I think the new car demons are waiting to do their damage as soon as we drive off the lot... then they lose interest.

 

My Civic Hybrid did not have any such insulation in the glass, and as a result it was possible to hear the high-pitched whine from the hybrid motor under regenerative braking. I actually experimented however with putting about $20 worth of vinyl foam duct insulation in parts of the hood, and covering the plastic splash guard on the bottom of the car. That alone cut out all of the "whine" from the motor, and almost all of the audible engine noise until ~3000 RPM! If you could find a significantly cheaper "standard" glass windshield, and add your own insulation elsewhere, you may be able to even out the sound levels on your own for much cheaper. Just an idea, the Camry may already have some sort of underhood acoustic insulation already however.

 

Interesting, thanks for the advice all.


Problem is that there's almost no way that the crack doesn't spread across the whole windsheld. There are five fractures coming out of it, they've already gotten incrementally bigger but the heat and cold air from the a/c would cause them to expand. I haven't driven it since so it hasn't gotten too bad yet, but it will.

I decided to run this through insurance. I'll pay the $500 deductible, and AllState will pick up the rest (probably about another $1000). That frees up my glass guy to do what he needs to do get the right glass and moldings.

There is a product out there that costs $150-$200 but protects your glass against chipping, cracking, etc with a 5 year warranty. I'm thinking about it.

Plus, its quite possible the prices will go down in future years as glass becomes more widely available.