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Subaru Forester Windshield Cracks

64 messages,  Last post on Apr 22, 2013 at 10:11 AM

You are in the Subaru Forester Maintenance & Repair Forum.

What is this discussion about? Auto Repair, Wagon

Messages Page 2 of 8

#3 of 64 Re: As predicted... [dstew1] by tidester

Mar 15, 2006 (12:04 am)

Replying to: dstew1 (Mar 14, 2006 5:11 pm)
...at this rate...
 
I'm sure it is simply a statistical anomaly. Even if the probability of having your windshield crack is 1 in 1,000 over 3 months it becomes a virtual certainty that of 100,000,000 drivers on the road someone, somewhere and sometime will have it happen twice. It just happened to be you this time.
 
tidester, host

#4 of 64 Re: As predicted... [tidester] by dstew1

Mar 15, 2006 (9:02 am)

Replying to: tidester (Mar 15, 2006 12:04 am)
I understand that at this point it's easy to pass off as an anomaly... but I'd wager that it cracks again within the next six months.
 
I wasn't surprised the first time it cracked (like I said, it gets hit relatively often), and I'm not really surprised that it happened again.
 
Maybe it's an anomaly. Then again, maybe some unfortunte combo of the mediocre aerodynamics of a boxy SUV shaped vehicle, mixed with the in-between ride height, make it more prone to this sort of thing. My brother for instance drives the taller, even boxier Pathfinder and says that most stray rocks hit his front fascia or the hood.
 
On the other hand I haven't heard too many Forester drivers lament about this, so I could just have s*** luck.
 
Doug

#5 of 64 Re: As predicted... [dstew1] by tidester

Mar 15, 2006 (10:37 am)

Replying to: dstew1 (Mar 15, 2006 9:02 am)
It may not be entirely scientific, but you may try asking the folks who replaced your windshields whether it's a common problem with Foresters.
 
tidester, host

#6 of 64 Re: As predicted... [tidester] by dstew1

Mar 15, 2006 (11:00 am)

Replying to: tidester (Mar 15, 2006 10:37 am)
Since both windshield cracks have resulted from a rock striking the glass down low, on the wiper heating element, it may be due to a weakness in that area of the glass. I'm not sure exactly how the element is constructed, though, to know whether this is a legitimate theory.
 
I'm no physicist either, but I've also been considering the fact that the dash/console sits flat up against the bottom few inches of the windshield where these breaks have occured - would this make the rock's energy more difficult to transfer through the glass (as it might if there were only the open cabin on the other side of the glass), resulting in the glass taking the brunt of the force?
 
I'm analyzing too much. One thing I know for sure is I need to stop thinking and get back to work!

#7 of 64 Re: As predicted... [dstew1] by tidester

Mar 15, 2006 (2:18 pm)

Replying to: dstew1 (Mar 15, 2006 11:00 am)
Stew, get back to work! (just kidding!)
 
Seriously, yes, there may be some systemic problem resulting in extraordinary stress on the glass. I only offered the "statistical anomaly" hypothesis because I haven't heard of any unusual incidence of windshield cracks in the Forester. Of course, that does not exclude the possibility of "real" problems.
 
tidester, host

#8 of 64 Re: As predicted... [dstew1] by p0926

Mar 16, 2006 (6:48 pm)

Replying to: dstew1 (Mar 15, 2006 11:00 am)
I'm analyzing too much
 
Bingo! Between my two Foresters I've driven over 100k and while I've had two chips repaired, I've not had to replace the windshield. Most of my miles are hwy miles in heavy traffic doing 70-80mph so it's not like my windshield glass doesn't take a lot of abuse either!
 
Does your commute include a lot of trucks hauling dirt, gravel etc? For sure I avoid following behind any type dump truck and always try to keep at least one lane between us when passing (obviously not an option on a rural 4-lane hwy).
 
-Frank

#9 of 64 Re: As predicted... [p0926] by dstew1

Mar 16, 2006 (8:43 pm)

Replying to: p0926 (Mar 16, 2006 6:48 pm)
Does your commute include a lot of trucks hauling dirt, gravel etc? For sure I avoid following behind any type dump truck and always try to keep at least one lane between us when passing (obviously not an option on a rural 4-lane hwy).
 
Both times the guilty rock was kicked up by either a passenger car or SUV, if I remember right. Divided interstate, three lanes on each side, relatively straight and clean. In fact both happened on the same two-mile section; part of my daily 11 mile commute.
 
For now I'll pass it off as bad luck. If it happens again soon, rest assured I'll be back to let you all know about it.
 
Doug

#10 of 64 Re: As predicted... [tidester] by quigll

Apr 18, 2006 (2:24 pm)

Replying to: tidester (Mar 15, 2006 12:04 am)
I think there is a problem with the Forrester and windshields. In Oct 2002 I bought a 2001 Forrester. Two weeks after, my first large crack in the windshield. Should have been replaced. I soon got another crack. I went a year and finally replaced it. 3 days after my first replacement...again...crack, the size of a CD along the bottom. I ignored it for over a year (Dings here and there) After a year, I woke up one morning to find it had spiderwebed along the bottom.....time to replace AGAIN!!! One week after the replacement I bought a 2006 Forrester. Exactly 14 days later a ding which has now become a crack along the entire width of the windshield. In 3 and a half years I have gone a total of 4 weeks without a cracked windshield in my Forresters. I don't know what to do. I am sick about getting this fixed. Thankfully I have glass insurance but once you replace a windshield, the part where the inside of the roof and glass meet is never the same.

#11 of 64 Re: As predicted... [quigll] by dstew1

Apr 18, 2006 (9:21 pm)

Replying to: quigll (Apr 18, 2006 2:24 pm)
Four weeks in 3.5 years of ownership without a cracked windshield? Wow. I've been patient with fixing my latest crack - it's been there a month and stopped spreading at about 16 inches - but I'm not sure I could be as patient as you've been.
 
I haven't gotten mine fixed in large part because I knew I'd be driving over 2000 miles in April (a normal month for me is about 1200) and with that kind of mileage didn't want to risk cracking a new windshield.
 
Doug

#12 of 64 Re: As predicted... [quigll] by pretzelb

Apr 19, 2006 (6:32 am)

Replying to: quigll (Apr 18, 2006 2:24 pm)
think there is a problem with the Forrester and windshields.
 
As someone who may buy an 06 X I really hope this isn't true.

Messages Page 2 of 8

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