Ever have a Windshield crack?

[LeoVampire]

A couple of weeks ago I started to spray the car down with a hose to wash it and when I was wetting down the top of the car heard a fairly loud "Bush" type noise stoped for a second wondering what the hell it was then just moved to the front of the car with the hose to keep wetting it down then I saw it.
The windshield cracked from the top drivers side down below the rear view mirror and then took a right and stretched accross halfway to the passenger side of the car.
In the history of washing cars never had that happen to me or heard anyone else say it either about theirs.
At least I had glass coverage because the whole replacment was $300.00
but Safelite did bring an upgraded windshield that had the sun screen accross the top of it which my windshield didn't have in the first place.
But Progressive and Safelite both said it was a first hearing that the windshield cracked while washing a car.

[justbob]

Just how hot was it outside? hot glass/ice cold water????

[LeoVampire]

Just how hot was it outside? hot glass/ice cold water????

Last days of April it was about 85 or 90 deg. out but I have the wind deflectors on the car and always have the windows cracked until I go to wash her.

Now I always run the AC on the defrost cycle to make sure it cools the windshield down first but until then never once figured I would have to do that. You would figure on an old car from the 70's on back with an original windshield might be brittle enough for that to happen but on one of our Marauder's?

[TiTo35]

Kinda sorta like dont turn your defroster on high when its freezing outside?

[Bluerauder]

A couple of weeks ago I started to spray the car down with a hose to wash it and when I was wetting down the top of the car heard a fairly loud "Bush" type noise stoped for a second wondering what the hell it was then just moved to the front of the car with the hose to keep wetting it down then I saw it.
Must have been a hairline crack or ding there to start this; but I suspect that it was the cold water on the hot windshield that cause the problem ... or at least accelerated the heck out of it. You just can't go by outside ambient temperature. Just because it was 85*F doesn't mean the glass was 85*F. Solar radiation (direct sunlight) can boost surface temperatures up to the 160*F range especially if you have a dark tint.

I had a similar incident on a car that had a 1" hairline crack that was there for nearly 6 months. Then one day we had snow and very cold temps. I kicked on the defroster and as it warmed up, I heard a rip like thick paper being torn. That's when I saw the crack moving all the way to the other side of the car. It was the hot air on cold glass that did it. Cold water on hot glass with do the same thing. Rippppppppppp !!!! But I bet there was a crack there somewhere to get it started.

[MyTMerc]

I had the same thing happen 2 summers ago. It was 80 degrees and I was rinsing the front of the engine and the only water that hit the windshield was an indirect mist. It cracked (popped) almost in two. The original had the dot matrix top and the new one has sun shade tint. The new one just got it's second rock hit last week. Won't be long before windshield number three.

[Krytin]

I had the EXACT same crack as you describe under very similar conditions washing my daughter's '04 CV LX Sport last year!

It looked to me like it may have been insatalled with a "stress" point -maybe a "hard" piece of sealant under the edge of the glass. I don't know for sure.

Glad you got it fixed to your satisfaction!

[CBT]

Second windshield in mine. Heard a bang while driving, saw a small star shaped hole. Next morning, one of the lines coming off the star had spread all the way across the windshield. Stuff happens.

[Mike Poore]

Don't know if you had the origonal wind shield in her, but when Brian did the OASIS report on mine, we learned that it had cracked and been replaced at the dealer's lot before being sold, then I replaced it once more, in '06. It was a December '03 build '04, and dunno if there's any possibility that paint prep could be involved in any way, but FWIW, mine was SB. :dunno:

[LeoVampire]

Just like the original one on the car just had an extra sun screen to the top of it above and beyond the dot matrix already incorporated into the glass.

Just caught me off guard because I have always been a stickler for detailing my cars and do it very often ever since I got my first one back in the 80's. Never had it happen to me before nor heard of it happening.

There was a rock dent in the windshield but it was 10" below and to the right of where the crack happend on that day and the guy at Safelite showed me that the crack started above the rubber line out of view.

But your right the winshield was facing the sun when I started to wash it.

[ckadiddle]

I had the hot windshield/cold water thing happen to me long ago on a chevy van my family used for it's business. Summer in Florida, pulled it into shade to wash it, heard a wierd noise when the water hit the front windshield. Sure enough, big crack.

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

An extra sunscreen? Did they install a grand marquis windshield? I think they are different from the MM windshield

[hamcheese]

When I owned my Crown Vic, I came out to warm it up, and noticed that the most unconstipated bird had left the most gigantic crap on my windshield, leaving a cool looking crack. I didnt like washing it.