Hi, has anyone experienced a cracked windscreen,

adrian

Past Member
I parked my car for about an hour, when I returned there was a 3cm vertical crack centrally from the very bottom of the screen the crack went 45 degrees 3cm to the right. No other damage to the car, no hitting potholes or any other shocks I can recall.
Who is the best to replace the screen, my insurance excess is £100 to replace Autoglass states they cannot repair a crack.
There website states they have replaced 53 A2 screens last 6months is there a weak point on these screens at the very bottom in the centre?
 
I'm no statistician, but surely if 53 A2s needed replacement windscreens in the last 6 months (ie., 106 per year), among the cars covered by Autoglass (among other glass suppliers) as a proportion of the existing and taxed UK A2 population, surely that would impact a significant number of active A2oc members - for instance that would mean @George Hogg would have had at least 4 in the past year alone.

Those numbers sound suspect to me.
 
I parked my car for about an hour, when I returned there was a 3cm vertical crack centrally from the very bottom of the screen the crack went 45 degrees 3cm to the right. No other damage to the car, no hitting potholes or any other shocks I can recall.
Who is the best to replace the screen, my insurance excess is £100 to replace Autoglass states they cannot repair a crack.
There website states they have replaced 53 A2 screens last 6months is there a weak point on these screens at the very bottom in the centre?

Yep same thing happened on one of my A2s. Unexpected crack right on the bottom.
 
Well it is believable if their fitting standards are low. The A2 screen can leak if improperly replaced or the screen of poor quality. So are Autoglass telling us that their fitters are incompetent or they use rubbish screens?

Is your wiper arm touching the glass? Once the rivets wear the arm flops and the rivet area gets close to and then rubs the screen. Hitting a pot hole with the arm like this could easily cause a crack in the screen.
 
One of mine had one once, it wasn't there one day and the next it was, no idea what happened. AutoGlass came out to it and did a fine job, the guy was aware how the OSS drains down the sides of the butyl layer so not to make it too fat. I took my wiper arm and scuttle off though, to make sure no damage was caused to the scuttle which can be quite delicate.
 
I parked my car for about an hour, when I returned there was a 3cm vertical crack centrally from the very bottom of the screen the crack went 45 degrees 3cm to the right. No other damage to the car, no hitting potholes or any other shocks I can recall.
Who is the best to replace the screen, my insurance excess is £100 to replace Autoglass states they cannot repair a crack.
There website states they have replaced 53 A2 screens last 6months is there a weak point on these screens at the very bottom in the centre?
Hello Adrian.
Yes, I've had exactly the same.
I was at a wedding in Maldon, Essex in August 2021. Car was left in hotel car park for 2 nights.
When I left, there was a crack in the middle at the bottom.
It went up 2 inches, turned left at 90 degrees, and went a further few inches. Again as you, no stones hitting etc.
Autoglass replaced it at my home. I had to pay the excess when booking the job.
It's not a genuine screen; it's named FUTAYA I think. Sounds like a Chinese replacement to me.
The fitter was generally careful, but he didn't seem to be familiar with releasing VAG electrical plugs.
I asked him to leave it for me to do, but he carried on.
I think he damaged the washer one.
It doesn't leak, but I've a feeling it's not perfect, because a small area of the screen (middle of driver's side),
doesn't clear as well.
 
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I'm no statistician, but surely if 53 A2s needed replacement windscreens in the last 6 months (ie., 106 per year), among the cars covered by Autoglass (among other glass suppliers) as a proportion of the existing and taxed UK A2 population, surely that would impact a significant number of active A2oc members - for instance that would mean @George Hogg would have had at least 4 in the past year alone.

Those numbers sound suspect to me.
 
Absolutely Robin, I’ve only needed 2 screens. But one other car had its replaced before I got it…. Both the damaged ones were by stone strikes
 
I’m sure someone on here had a replacement glass of very poor quality and it cracked very soon after installation - maybe more than once. That could explain the quantity over the last 6 months, if they are not fitting quality glass?
 
I don't think genuine Audi screens are available these days. The A2 was last built about 18 years ago. Replacements are made by several manufacturers, some to OEM standard, others to a price that pleases the windscreen replacement companies.
It's worth trying to get one from the likes of Saint-Gobian, or Pilkington. Fuyao, who manufacture in China, are OEM suppliers to BMW, among others.
Wether the standards for the car makers are the same as the replacement market, is open to conjecture ...
Mac.
 
Do we not know any decent glass fitter, perhaps we could group buy decent screen and get this fitter to install? I am pretty sure most of us have scared glass on our little A2’s.
 
Unfortunately I think the logistics alone of a group buy on screens would be a nightmare. Then to get A fitter to fit all the screens around the country compounds the issue even more. Add in those that would only do this through their insurance...
 
Thank you for all your replies, interestingly the people that had exactly the same pattern of crack in the same place seems there is a weak point, but as in my case and most of others it hasn't shown for 18 years, maybe there is something hidden that has given a weak point allowing the area to twist slightly. everything under my car looks more than solid enough, It seems strange, my car and others were static when the crack occurred.
I will report any findings in the future.
My insurance uses Autoscreens for replacement, I'm booked in for 23rd March. Does anyone know of any pitfalls that I should warn the fitters of , I have asked if my local depot have fitted an A2 screen, I am waiting for a reply. Watch this space
 


 
The final tip is to have some weight evenly spread on the windscreen edges as the "glue" sets. Let the screen fully cure before you open or close a door let alone drive the car.
 
The final tip is to have some weight evenly spread on the windscreen edges as the "glue" sets. Let the screen fully cure before you open or close a door let alone drive tht

The final tip is to have some weight evenly spread on the windscreen edges as the "glue" sets. Let the screen fully cure before you open or close a door let alone drive the car.
Hello all again.
A 2011 Pergeot coupe was having a new screen fitted by National Windscreens in my road today.
2 young fitters were doing the job.
The screen was made by Pilkingtons.
I told them of my experience of Autoglass fitting a new FUYAO screen to my A2, which was handled through
my insurance company NFU, with me paying £100 excess.
I said to him that several A2s had cracked in the same place, and he described them as stress cracks.
He also said that NFU, and other insurance companies had, or were dropping Autoglass, because they were too
expensive. Can't remember exact cost, but roughly £250 (National's price), compared to £500 from Autoglass,
for the Pergeot job.
When I told him I would've preferred anything but a Chinese made screen, he replied saying you can ask
for your preferred choice, but it could cost a lot more.
I wasn't told of any choice, and admittedly, I didn't think to ask.
Have any fellow A2 owners had any choice?
He also told me that factories (we mentioned BMWs) would reject a screen with the slightest defect ( I guess an edge defect)
and pass them on to replacement screen companies, and erase the BMW name on it.
Is there truth in this?
 
I've had 3 in two years. Two stone strikes and a ladder handling error on my part. Two of the screens were rubbish / badly fitted. The screen that I have now that fits well is a Fuyao.
Central vertical cracks are most likely, as already mentioned, caused by the wiper arm contacting the screen. Lost three in the past to MOT testers
 
I’ve only just read this …and this morning one of the a2 has a 6” crack emanating from the bottom of the windscreen left of centre..
i’ve had a couple of quotes but I went with the Pilkington.£240 plus vat he’s a local guy with 30 years experience and he’s done several of these before…so fingers crossed … he’s going to do it early next week.
 
I’ve only just read this …and this morning one of the a2 has a 6” crack emanating from the bottom of the windscreen left of centre..
i’ve had a couple of quotes but I went with the Pilkington.£240 plus vat he’s a local guy with 30 years experience and he’s done several of these before…so fingers crossed … he’s going to do it early next week.
My longest lasting screen was a Pilkington, fit well and it gripped the scuttle well too. Lost it to what I think was a pellet gun shot. My insurers will not fit Pilkington, must be a bit too pricey for them?
 
Honestly, reading all this gave me a fright.
I don't have a crack like that (yet) though my car is '01, but when I crawl in a very uneven road (lots of large holes), I hear squeaks on the right side (mine is a LHD). But I have a single-layer crack from top to bottom. It is barely visible, even MOT inspector ignored or missed it, but it is there.
 
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