These Thing's Happen!

[Fujisan]

I've been shot!

Travelling home Tuesday evening, I heard a stone (or something) bang of the windscreen, probably for the Transit in front but he was a good distance ahead, who knows, it could have come from anywhere on a fast moving, congested motorway.

I did'nt see any damage and thought that I'd gotten away with that one.

Yesterday evening do the same journey, I noticed a crack snaking up the windscreen, in front of me. :(

Today, in daylight, I can see that the impact point is by the inside tip of the driver's side wiper. I can see several chunks of glass are missing from this impact crater and there are half a dozen or more cracks radiating from it.

Two cracks, head towards the bottom of the screen, a few more head east and west but the main one is working it's way up the screen! :o And it's growing!

At the moment, from top to bottom the cracks are roughly 22 cm's long (9 inches, for those of you that still sail in Gallion's ). But everytime I drive the car, I can literally see the crack growing bigger before my eyes.

From what I've read today, there was little chance of repairing it, even if it hadn't cracked the screen, the impact point is too large and it's to close to the edge of the screen. So I've had a quick read of my insurance policy and arranged (weather permitting) for a replacement to be fitted tomorrow, for the princely sum of £50.

Maybe if it was just chipped I could have lived with it for a while, but that crack growing in front of me worry's me a little, so better to do it now.

Anyway, such is life, worst thing's happen at sea! ;)

[anchorman]

Fuj

At least you can find a reason! The US owners have horendous problems with windscreens cracking for no reason. They are slightly longer wheel base and I wonder if the extra twist in the body stresses the glass. On a body with a bonded windscreen it is the glass that stiffens the body.

Cheers

[llith]

Fuji

Bad luck mate ,makes sense to sort it out ASAP.Do you have places in your area (under cover) where you take it to them rather than have the fitters come out to you .This is what I did with my previous car a few years ago.

Most insurers now ask for £50 for an item that could cost up to £400 but you wont lose your no claims bonus.

Regards

Llith

[sywy]

Bad luck Fuj. Hope you get it all fixed tomorrow.

BTW, are those the reflection of the 2 sensors on top of the instrument binnacle?

I'm not 100% sure, but the one on the right, as you look at the picture, looks different from mine. I think both mine look the same, except one is slightly translucent?

I'll have to check tomorrow, if I remember, when I go to work.

[anchorman]

Sy

Yours is different. It is the sensor for the auto lights which we lessor mortals don't have. We have to hang our heads in shame while we turn ours on.

anchorpeasant

[Lazlo Woodbine]

Not nice, Fujisan, but not quite as bad as the experience I had in my old 309 where the entire back windscreen spontaneously shattered into lots of little pieces!

[Fujisan]

Thanks everyone

Didn't fancy steaming up the motorway to work tonight with the screen in that state, so I'm giving the wife's little car it's annual workout

Fuji

Bad luck mate ,makes sense to sort it out ASAP.Do you have places in your area (under cover) where you take it to them rather than have the fitters come out to you .This is what I did with my previous car a few years ago.

Most insurers now ask for £50 for an item that could cost up to £400 but you wont lose your no claims bonus.

Regards

Llith

Unfortunately I have no where undercover but if the weather turns bad I'll go to them instead of the planned arrangement of them coming to me.

It was only those comforting words "You will not lose your no claims bonus" that made my mind up so quickly! But I really think one way or the other it would have had to be done this week

Not nice, Fujisan, but not quite as bad as the experience I had in my old 309 where the entire back windscreen spontaneously shattered into lots of little pieces!

Ouch, that sounds really nasty. I've heard of people closing tailgates and the glass smashing (early Corsa's if I remember right) but that sounds really bad.

[dave.m]

Blooming eck Fuj you must have been cackin it :o luckilly not such a big job to fix, so you will be up and running soon

[sywy]

Sy

Yours is different. It is the sensor for the auto lights which we lessor mortals don't have. We have to hang our heads in shame while we turn ours on.

anchorpeasant

Thanks anchorpeasant!! :D

Autolights is not all it's cracked up to be. It's OK now, when it's definitely dark when i go to work, and when I come home. But during the lighter days, they can go on or off randomly, eg: going under a wide bridge. I've been thinking of covering the sensor to force the lights on regardless, but can't think of what to use, that will look reasonable as well.

[jonbr]

Autolights is not all it's cracked up to be. It's OK now, when it's definitely dark when i go to work, and when I come home. But during the lighter days, they can go on or off randomly, eg: going under a wide bridge. I've been thinking of covering the sensor to force the lights on regardless, but can't think of what to use, that will look reasonable as well.

Most cars with auto lights have some mechanism to disable them such as turn the lights on and off threee times. Might be worth a double check of the manual?

[sywy]

Yes, the lights switch has 4 positions. Off, sidelights, full lights, and autolights.

[Uncle Bob]

Bad luck on the screen damage :( , so next challenge is getting it replaced, hope you don't get some young monkey fitter that has never seen a RAV4 before ,let alone fitted a screen to one

My guess is it will follow the pattern of all modern cars, off with the wiper arms, remove plastic trim , cut old screen out with a cheese wire looking tool etc ect....anyway good luck :) .

[bothwell_buyer]

Thanks everyone

Didn't fancy steaming up the motorway to work tonight with the screen in that state, so I'm giving the wife's little car it's annual workout

Fuji

Bad luck mate ,makes sense to sort it out ASAP.Do you have places in your area (under cover) where you take it to them rather than have the fitters come out to you .This is what I did with my previous car a few years ago.

Most insurers now ask for £50 for an item that could cost up to £400 but you wont lose your no claims bonus.

Regards

Llith

Unfortunately I have no where undercover but if the weather turns bad I'll go to them instead of the planned arrangement of them coming to me.

It was only those comforting words "You will not lose your no claims bonus" that made my mind up so quickly! But I really think one way or the other it would have had to be done this week

Not nice, Fujisan, but not quite as bad as the experience I had in my old 309 where the entire back windscreen spontaneously shattered into lots of little pieces!

Ouch, that sounds really nasty. I've heard of people closing tailgates and the glass smashing (early Corsa's if I remember right) but that sounds really bad.

Maybe yuv got the work done now, but make sure the sealant seals all of the windscreen and not the half hearted jobby a well known company made of mine. They ran out of sealant on the top corner and I found out months later after stripping the dashboard out to find where the water was entering the passenger footwell. There's a small crack in my windscreen, but it is worth getting the whole thing done so I can remove the temporary sealant around the top corner. I used a sealant called CT-1 which I get from City electrical factors (made in Ireland I think) which seals and bonds even under water - brilliant stuff. No smell from it either like wot silicon gives. Good luck...

[Fujisan]

All done and it look's a good job to me

Not one but two lads (mid thirties and mid forties I guess, so alright there Bob ) from Autoglass came around this afternoon in two vans packed with all sorts of gears and did a great job as far as I can see.

All in all it took them less than an hour (including having a brew :D ) to remove the old screen and fit the new screen.

Another hour for curing the sealant and my lovely RAV was ready for the road again

I've checked all around the frame, I can't see any scratches to the paintwork or any blobs of sealant or anything amiss.

It have a good water / rain test on the motorway tonight and again seems fine.

So hopefully that's the end of this story.

Just got to avoid low flying brick's now

[Uncle Bob]

All done and it look's a good job to me

Not one but two lads (mid thirties and mid forties I guess, so alright there Bob ) from Autoglass came around this afternoon in two vans packed with all sorts of gears and did a great job as far as I can see.

All in all it took them less than an hour (including having a brew :D ) to remove the old screen and fit the new screen.

Another hour for curing the sealant and my lovely RAV was ready for the road again

I've checked all around the frame, I can't see any scratches to the paintwork or any blobs of sealant or anything amiss.

It have a good water / rain test on the motorway tonight and again seems fine.

So hopefully that's the end of this story.

Just got to avoid low flying brick's now

Good news, sound like they sent out a mature team to do the job :D

My Supra could do with a new screen ( scratched ), but how old would the fitters have to be to have works on several of them in the past

[shcm]

Glad it was relatively painless Fuj. Do you think you will be picking small cubes of glass out of the carpet, vents, hair, ears, navel :D for the next few weeks or is it reasonably good in that respect?

Cheers

[Fujisan]

Glad it was relatively painless Fuj. Do you think you will be picking small cubes of glass out of the carpet, vents, hair, ears, navel :D for the next few weeks or is it reasonably good in that respect?

Cheers

I was watching them remove the old screen (didn't see them put in the new screen) and thankfully the old screen came out in one piece, which I was rather surprised about....but in a very happy way :D

I had feared that were the lower cracks had reached the bottom edge of the screen, it was going to break up into a thousand pieces but luckily it all held together

[bothwell_buyer]

Glad it was relatively painless Fuj. Do you think you will be picking small cubes of glass out of the carpet, vents, hair, ears, navel :D for the next few weeks or is it reasonably good in that respect?

Cheers

I was watching them remove the old screen (didn't see them put in the new screen) and thankfully the old screen came out in one piece, which I was rather surprised about....but in a very happy way :D

I had feared that were the lower cracks had reached the bottom edge of the screen, it was going to break up into a thousand pieces but luckily it all held together

Och aye the noo - send it up if its wan piece an ah'll glue thon tgither. Nae point wastin a bargin!

[anchorman]

Glad it was relatively painless Fuj. Do you think you will be picking small cubes of glass out of the carpet, vents, hair, ears, navel :D for the next few weeks or is it reasonably good in that respect?

Cheers

I was watching them remove the old screen (didn't see them put in the new screen) and thankfully the old screen came out in one piece, which I was rather surprised about....but in a very happy way :D

I had feared that were the lower cracks had reached the bottom edge of the screen, it was going to break up into a thousand pieces but luckily it all held together

Och aye the noo - send it up if its wan piece an ah'll glue thon tgither. Nae point wastin a bargin!

He will you know

[bothwell_buyer]

Ahm no signing the carrier form if it arrives broken! Think ahm stupid??