Cracked Windshield

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Jaxballard

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I would like to know how many people have experienced a stress crack in their Land Rover's windshield. We have had two Land Rover Sports, 2013 and 2015, and both have had stress fractures from the top of the windshield that resulted in huge cracks from top to bottom and side to side in the course of one day that are extremely unsafe. The people at our Land Rover dealership had a rep from Satellite look at it while he was there. He said that there was a break at the top and surmised that it was from a rock. However, the car wasn't driven and had been parked in our house miles and miles from any road traffic.

Though I understand that cracks can occur over time, we have a comparison--fortunately or unfortunately-- of an ACTUAL rock chip right on the windshield and the result is what you would expect, a central strike with radiating lines and a discernible point of impact.

Having the same stress fracture at the exact same place on not one, but two Land Rovers is really beyond coincidence. Forget that these windshields cost $1400 to replace. The fact that a strike that was apparently so tiny that a picture had to be taken and enlarged to find the point of impact would create in less than 24 hours a complete bisection of the windshield from side to side is uncanny. Not on one car. But on two cars.

We are having it looked at independently and will upload pictures and video from those interviews here. This is very distressing.
 

joey

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First welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear about the windshields, my first question since I know the sports ride very rough, do you still have the factory wheels and tires and has anything been done to the suspension at all?
 

Jaxballard

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Land Rover Sport Cracked Windshield

:eekNope. Nothing like that. I drive it for carpool and to go to the grocery store. They obviously know it's a huge issue because they have closed my thread on every site they can and are moderating the posts. I think these windshields are very unsafe.

Here's what happened most recently:

When my heated 2015 Land Rover Sport windshield cracked at the top, I knew there was something wrong. My Land Rover 2013 Sport had done the EXACT same thing while I was on the road on the way to a funeral. It was cold outside and I was heading North. It had been warm and then a cold front passed through, the rain came, I turned on the Land Rover authorized Pilkington heated windshield and it popped--no, it was not an impact, it was a 'Pop" from the split-- and it split from the top. No rock, no strike, no aliens. There has to be something around the edges that causes these to split. I have seen countless forums where they split at the top and at the bottom.

My service rep, upon looking at said "We've never seen break like that." We paid to replace it. It's a $1500 windshield through Land Rover.

In 2016, my Land Rover Sport 2015 was sitting in the driveway, acres away from everyone and everything except birds. And the windshield broke. That morning, it was just a little crack right at the top. That afternoon, it had cracked down, cracked sideway, and bisected the entire windshield.

I took it into Land Rover. The service rep said their standard reply to any problem, "WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS." Find that on every Land Rover forum from a thousand owners. It must be in the training manual.

"Oh, really?" I said.

By now the crack had spread so that to even drive the car would be incredibly unsafe. In less than 24 hours, it was completely broken.

Our Land Rover dealership had a third party auto glass company take a look at the windshield when they were out to repair yet ANOTHER Land Rover windshield. I asked both my service rep and the service manager for the name of the person who looked at the windshield. "Colton" was the name they gave me. "No one else?" "Nope, no one else."

Colton, it turns out, is a trainee. A trainee looked at it and "determined" that it was a rock hit that broke the windshield.

I called the auto glass dealership to speak with the owner. The woman on the phone said it wasn't a trainee who looked at the windshield, but the owner of the company.

I asked to speak with the owner. Remember, my windshield is bisected from top to bottom and side to side in less than 24 hours from a "rock hit" that took a picture magnification to find.

The owner then called and the story changed again. It wasn't he who looked at the windshield. Now, it was someone named "Josh" who had over a year's worth of experience. The owner then hemmed and hawed saying that "determining a rock strike wasn't an exact science. It was rather like being a lawyer or a doctor. Many things were 'open to interpretation'." Actual. Statement.

So my completely broken, unsafe, $1500 windshield now has had a three story change, and it was Josh that looked at it in spite of everything the service rep and the service manager said and confirmed in a call, not once, but twice.

Back to Land Rover corporate, who is handling my case. Janie or Jennie depending on how she pronounces her name that day, does not have a voicemail set up. So I had to keep calling to get her. It took my own rep three days to get to her.

I asked to speak with someone who would be able to make a determination based on this being the second windshield that had cracked in the same place.

This, I was informed, is never done. I asked to escalate it as the windshield was unsafe.

There is, I was informed, no such thing as an escalation.

I asked who I would speak to if I felt after speaking to her, my problem was not cleared up.

That would be the manager, but they only handle administration, not problems.

I asked to be contacted by a manager.

ONE WEEK LATER. Four calls to request follow-up later.

Kathleen called. Lo and behold! If you have two Land Rovers, two windshields that break in the same place, then yes, by all means, they should at least be looked at. But please send confirmation that you actually paid for at least one replacement. Sent, with pictures, the same day.

Still waiting for a reply.
 

joey

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All I can say is that sucks. I don't recall on this forum at least anyone else mentioning a windshield cracking is such a manner. And I read just about every post in the Discovery and Range Rover section.
 

Jaxballard

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Really? There are many on this forum alone. Not to mention the countless other forums where precisely the same thing happened to other Land Rober owners. Have a look at how the service managers at Land Rover "magically" find rock chips at the seams of the windshields. How many people do you know that have had rocks hit more than once at the precise merging of the windshield and seam? Major flaw cover up. Should be reported to the NTHSA. Incredibly dangerous Plinkington heated windshield. Photos and video of mine are soon to be posted since Land Rover refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem.

Check a quick search of Land Rover cracked windshield to find Evoque owners all over the UK who already know this is a problem.

Have a look at how the service guys magically
Find cracks at the top and bottom:

http://www.evoqueownersclub.co.uk/forum/cracked-windscreen_topic1116.html
 

catman

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You may want to check with your insurance, I have never had to pay anything for windshield repair or replacement. Not even a deductible. Maybe it is buried in my policy, I am not sure, but I would be livid if I were paying that kind of money for a windshield!

I bet if the insurance company were paying it twice they would be contacting LR and getting resolution from them very quickly!
 

Jeff Patuto

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I just discovered a windshield crack on my 2015 Range Rover sport that started from the rearview mirror downward 2” and then across 4”
Called service depot asking if there was an issue with 2015 RRsport windshields cracking near the mirror and he said that never heard of it before.
Same as forum member above noted.
Will bring it in for Landrover to look at next week- pretty scary stuff!
 

Remo

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I bought a 2018 RR SPORT HSE less than 2 weeks ago. Had been driven from the dealership to our garage and stayed there as I was not able to drive for a few days for medical reasons.
No object hit it on the way home.
A small linear crack was noted in the upper mid area of the windscreen that quickly spread horizontally almost to the edges. There was no defect that could be felt on either side.
It was taken back to the delearship and the crack confirmed.....
I’m not a windshield expert but it looks like a stress fracture.... or some type of manufacturers defect or it was damaged while being transported to the dealer.
We are certain it was there when we bought it.
We had fortunately bought windshield protection. The car salesman came to see us when we were signing the financial paperwork and said that it was a really good idea to get it.

We had to go back and forth with the dealership and insurance Co, as the dealership never submitted the insurance paperwork that was signed and paid for.
We had so much difficulty going back and forth that my husband said he was going to take the car back. Then the car salesman had the audacity to say “well you cracked the windshield”.
Now if something hit the glass we would have remembered!!!! And we would have remembered if we threw something at it to break it... lol.

When we entered the dealership initially when decided to get the car, we were given a salesman who was clearly prejudiced against us. He got agitated with us when he was noted to be saying something dishonest.

The manager never came to speak with us to apologize for the poor behavior of the salesman.
Then we were given a second salesman who seemed sweet and made promises wrt discounts he would give us.... which he denied when we were ready to sign all the paperwork.
The entire thing was so unacceptable after paying so much for a vehicle and to be disrespected in such an awful manner.
We will never go back to that dealership because they clearly are not really about GREAT customer service wrt the salesmen and they clearly have issues with people of a different ethnicity.... and I am putting it nicely.
This was my dream car and a present from my husband for my birthday.... I am so disappointed. Land Rover should be made aware of this.
ENSURE THAT YOU INSPECT THE CAR YOURSELF before leaving the dealer!!!! As once you leave there is a chance that they won’t give a care about you after.
I have had several new “luxury” cars and THIS WAS MY WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. The only genuine and nice person was the initial finance lady who we dealt with.
 

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