ssteigss

Anyone else notice hundreds/ thousands of small( what appears to be chips) in the windshield most noticeable in direct sunlight? Cant tell if this is embedded under surface of glass. Car is only 1 1/2 yrs old and has seen normal on road use. Didnt notice this issue on 13' Q5 I owned. Anyone else bring up to dealer?

Redd

And what magic mice could get under the surface of the glass, into the laminate, and chip it just there?

It may take reading glasses or a safecracker's fingers or someone who knows how to use mechanics dye to find out if the chips are in the surface. But if they are in the surface that is probably sand and salt impacts and the odds are "Not our problem" from the shop's point of view. So you call SafeLite and get a new windshield which is never quite painless either.

If, on the other hand, there really ARE some type of chips inside the laminate, that would be a manufacturing defect and the windshield should be replaced under warranty.

Look for the reading glasses if you can't find a safecracker.

timlocke

Every German car I have owned (VW, Audi and BMW) has had this after a couple of winters up here. Tiny chips from salt and sand I guess.

MP4.2+6.0

I have this on 2013 Q5, but I know exactly how it happened. One night we drove to Tahoe and there were strong headwinds. No snow or road sand came into play, just continuing head on winds for much of 200 miles. Like 40-50 miles per hour at times if stationary, just before a storm hit.You could hear the wind noise and feel the gusts. I should have turned around, not for storm itself but the cosmetic damage happening. Several times I could hear the sounds of stuff seeming to hit windshield, like you do when driving into a dust cloud on winter roads or something, but only if radio off. Sure enough, next day when I looked I could see windshield had been seriously screwed up. As you say, like thousands of small sand type nicks very visible driving into sun. Since I had cleaned it myself with Windex and a rag right before trip and then looked at it the next day, I knew exactly how and when it happened. Late 2013, less than a year old at time. Literally one single night, one single trip. I have collision and so a $100 deductible for windshield glass. As soon as it gets a good chip/crack, I will get new glass for it with a few more years now on it. I can usually get OE/factory if car is in earlier, still warranted years. Another time my brother in law who has a habit of following all kinds of stuff way too close and mostly lived in LA metro (aka flatlands) took then pretty new 1996 A6 Quattro to Tahoe w/ winter snow--back when AWD was uncommon. Same thing, came back with windshield as well as front paint dusted with all kinds of little nicks and pockmarks. He doesn't borrow my cars in winter any more...

Bob Petruska

OK posters.....

You need to read the European Safety Standards. There is actually a specification that windshields come under that they must be soft to absorb the impact of a person who was hit by the front of a vehicle and tossed into the windshield to limit injury. Just as a side note there is also a required hood height to help with the same situation.

In meeting the spec, we in the US suffer with chips, nicks, sand blasting, winter anti-skid burn, and wiper blade rash.

I thought I saved the link a few years ago. I will look for it tomorrow.

I know a glass installer that said German OEM glass replacement is not the way to go if you want a stronger windshield resistant against this glass damage, aftermarket in the US will hold up much better, especially if you live in snow country.

MP4.2+6.0

Yep, next time I'll be sure to install the junk USA spec windshield the insurance company fobbed off on my 2000 A6 when it got too old for OE glass. Who knows if it was hard as a rock. But I particularly enjoyed (not) the optical distortion that was obvious when looked at from an angle, like toward the passenger top fender area. Piece o crap, and it was a recognized brand name IIRC.

This is not some change that suddenly appeared out of no where and would be the magic answer to what's different. Changed my first windshields myself back when they used rubber gaskets, metal inserts to lock them in and a little silicone. They got nicked then too, whether the couple of 100LS lemons or the Chrysler or Dodge, or the Chrysler minivan of the late 90s', or... No obvious diff. among any of the 20 rides or so I have maintained up close over the years. Basically windshields and blown sand and such will never get along, let alone flying rocks and other things.

Bob Petruska

You live in California, I lived in Sacramento for 3 years, my windshiield and car didn't even get dusty for weeks. I now live in harsh Pennsylvania winters, constant 1/8" diameter anti-skid stones mixed into slush, salt, ice chunks embedded with anti-skid stones, that are thrown onto the windshield by leading and passing cars just trash German windshields. You never use an ice scrapper on a German made windshield! My current 2014 Q5 3.5 years old, 9800 miles, hardly driven in the winter, has 5 major arced scratches on the widshield. This also happened with my 2 other A4's an 2 VW GTI's. When I had the windshield replaced on my first A4 with non-OEM windshield no more scratches for many winters. My 2014 Honda CRV is driven extensively in the winter has no scratches. We also owned many Nissans and Subarus and very little scratching. Yes you can get distorted windshields in both OEM and 3rd party. I always look through the replacement windshield from all angles before it is installed and I have it installed inside a building so I can look at it very carefully, no outside at home replacement.

PPG winshields are known for great quality.

The new 2018 Q5 will use north american sourced windshields. Will it meet US, Euro, or both specs?

TJay74

Sadly this is normal for auto glass in the USA. They are micro chips from dirt/sand/debris that hits the windshield. Good reason why I don't get behind large trucks, especially when they ride near the edge of the roadway as that is where the sand/dirt tends to be and they can kick it up and onto your vehicle.

LASQ5

I have the same problem...looks like my SQ5 windshield has been sandblasted! interesting though... the paint on the bumper/grill/hood is fine. I did not have this problem on any other car. I'm going to ask the dealer about it when I'm in for service in a few weeks

Bob Petruska

Soft German glass to conform to their safety standards...........you just live with it!