Windscreen heating elements failing after 18 months autoglass replacement... They say there's only 1year warranty on the heating elements. Seems a bit ****ty to me since my original screen/elements lasted ages. Is there anything that could be done about this?
windscreen heating elements failing after 18months autoglass
- Thread starter Amleto
- Start date
Are you getting bands that are not working or is it the whole screen?
I have always had the suspicion that "OEM Spec" products often come off the same production line as the "OEM" ones. It is just that they fail QC on some minor issue. Mostly they will be OK, But sometimes they are not....
I have always had the suspicion that "OEM Spec" products often come off the same production line as the "OEM" ones. It is just that they fail QC on some minor issue. Mostly they will be OK, But sometimes they are not....
Soldato
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- 9 Dec 2009
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Next windscreen I need I'm going to insist on original glass, the last replacement looked fine at first but after a while I noticed slight ripples which became annoying. The original was crystal clear.
Also the last car I had with heated front screen was a focus and the first Autoglass technician did a terrible job:
Broken fasteners on the scuttle board which he just left.
Cut old heating element wire off and dumped in scuttle tray.
Left a length of old heater element wire dangling down which caught on wiper linkage causing an annoying clicking sound.
The replacement was only on the car for a year before a stone was flicked over from the opposite carriageway cracking it. This time the technician was superb, fitting a new scuttle board and making sure everything was tip top.
Also the last car I had with heated front screen was a focus and the first Autoglass technician did a terrible job:
Broken fasteners on the scuttle board which he just left.
Cut old heating element wire off and dumped in scuttle tray.
Left a length of old heater element wire dangling down which caught on wiper linkage causing an annoying clicking sound.
The replacement was only on the car for a year before a stone was flicked over from the opposite carriageway cracking it. This time the technician was superb, fitting a new scuttle board and making sure everything was tip top.
Man of Honour
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- Northampton
You mean the "OEM spec" windscreens that come off the exact same production line as the ones the manufacturers use? That includes the Chinese manufacturers such as Fuyao now used by Audi
They do, same glass, same production line, tighter QC on OE products vs aftermarket.
Yes, it was done as part of my insurance.
Yes, it's bands.
Had an autoglass guy come over and look at and said it's not covered under warranty unless literally a whole 'bank' (ie complete half of screen) has failed.
My last two Audis have come with Pilkington windscreens.
I phoned back to say they should still do something about it. They're sending someone round for a second look. Not sure what they're expecting will change. The CS person said that it's unusual for this issue to happen (and this is a recurrence with their screens so even more unusual from their perspective) so they're suspecting something wrong with my car. So, question - what in my car could make it more prone to having several heating filament failures? Is it worth taking my car in for a check somewhere?
The CS preson was at one point suggesting it could be a fuse problem, but I don't see how that could be the case since I do not have complete bank failures.
The CS preson was at one point suggesting it could be a fuse problem, but I don't see how that could be the case since I do not have complete bank failures.
Nothing, it is just elements, the only thing would be poor build quality. My dad has had 3 new screens on his B-Max under warranty from ford as a couple of elements failed on each screen. The first one was after 2 years, the second and third were within a couple of weeks fitting. Looks like his current one is working ok now.