Windshield glass weak/soft

[vindiesel]

Anyone else have issues with Rock chips and increased peppering of wear on the windshield then other vehicles you have owned?

My gf and I both have our own 23 brz’s and she has rock chips and peppering and I just have accelerated amounts of pits. I understand we’re lower but seems like the windshield glass is extra soft compared to anything I’ve ever owned.

[DarkPira7e]

What are your other vehicles? The nose of this car is lower and it's shorter so you may feel more inclined to be closer to vehicles in front of you.

[vindiesel]

I know it’s subjective to measure such a thing unless Subaru releases it’s windshield density or something like that. Closest car I’ve had to compare would be a 2005 350z… I’ll have to take some pics of “peppering” in the light. I don’t follow people close but I do 90% hwy driving.

[OkieSnuffBox]

Unlikely. But avoid situations where it's likely. Coming up on semi whose riding the dirty shoulder is more likely to kick stuff up. Dirty work truck? Likely to have dried mud, concrete chunks fall off and out of the bed, so I keep my distance, etc.

The only windshield I ever had a problem with was my V8 4Runner. Turned the defrost on, on a cold day, CRACK!

[22 BRZ]

I've found the glass (and the paint for that matter) on my BRZ and my wife's VA WRX to be much more prone to chipping/peppering than anything else I've owned (and I've had cars at a similar height to the WRX).

Not a huge issue for us as we typically don't get more than about 3-4 years on a windshield before it cracks (lots of grit on the road in winter, combined with -30 temps is bad news for the front of cars here - but I'll take it over the mountains of salt used elsewhere).

[Jaylyons1]

The glass has been fine for me. I'm sitting at around 3750 miles on my '22. Paint chips are still a pain, but all 8 of my Subaru's over the years have struggled with that.

[raisingAnarchy]

Subaru uses fairly cheap glass. It doesn't crack easily, but it does develop pitting. After 60k miles, my STI almost needed a new windshield just because of how bad the pitting was.


Should you decide to replace the glass early, or need a replacement for other reasons, see if you can request Pilkington or Saint-Gobain glass. They're much more resilient, high quality brands. My wife's mazda 3 has Saint-gobain and the acoustic properties are very good, and with over 90k miles there's still minimal pitting.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by vindiesel

I know it’s subjective to measure such a thing unless Subaru releases it’s windshield density or something like that. Closest car I’ve had to compare would be a 2005 350z… I’ll have to take some pics of “peppering” in the light. I don’t follow people close but I do 90% hwy driving.

That may contribute to a lot of it.

My FRS's windshield has held up better than the windshield on my 2006 Miata did.

How many miles on your car?

[vindiesel]

Originally Posted by humfrz

That may contribute to a lot of it.

My FRS's windshield has held up better than the windshield on my 2006 Miata did.

How many miles on your car?

1600 miles on my brz… I have a 09 300c hemi with 200k miles that have shallower pits in the glass then my brz. Guess when it gets terrible I’ll just replace it with more resilient glass. I’m planning on full front ppf to combat paint chips.

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by raisingAnarchy

Subaru uses fairly cheap glass. It doesn't crack easily, but it does develop pitting. After 60k miles, my STI almost needed a new windshield just because of how bad the pitting was.


Should you decide to replace the glass early, or need a replacement for other reasons, see if you can request Pilkington or Saint-Gobain glass. They're much more resilient, high quality brands. My wife's mazda 3 has Saint-gobain and the acoustic properties are very good, and with over 90k miles there's still minimal pitting.

This is bizarre to me. My 1st gen BRZ had 40k when I traded it in, no pitting on the windshield.

I'm starting to wonder how some of you drive, or if you don't understand normal wear and tear.

[Proxy_J]

I just got a 2023, and not ONE DAY LATER I got two tiny pits in it. Normally I wouldn't care that much as they're small, but they're both right in front of me while driving

[sato]

FWIW, my '14 has over 160k miles on it but quite a lot of small pits. My other car has over 250k and not as much pits as this. Might take into consideration the info on brands for replacement windshield, if future requires it.

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by Proxy_J

I just got a 2023, and not ONE DAY LATER I got two tiny pits in it. Normally I wouldn't care that much as they're small, but they're both right in front of me while driving

They won't bother you once the rest of the windshield is filled in.

All of my vehicles have pitted windshields after a couple of years.

[Desertnate]

The glass, from what I've experienced, is average compared to other cars I've owned. The worst has been OEM glass from BMW. Those seem so soft a snowflake will pit them. Both times I owned one, I prayed for the day the windshield would need replacement so I could go with aftermarket glass.

My BRZ windshield looks pretty good after a year...except for the one rock chip I got the first week of ownership. It's small, but the frustrating anyway.