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      11-20-2017, 07:36 AM   #1
dbs600
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Defective, Wavy Windshield Glass

I've been in and out of loaners a lot over the years, but just had a number of back to back X5's and some X3's and noticed that almost ALL have windshield glass that's distorted and defective with waves into the glass! What's going on with quality control at BMW? Furthermore, my windshield was replaced with OEM glass from the dealer recently and the new glass installed had same; dealer currently replacing same under warranty. Anyone else notice this? Very strange. All loaners were next to brand new (less than 3k miles).

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      11-20-2017, 08:25 AM   #2
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Both my 2017 X5 40e and 2017 X5 35d...not great front glass. I do not have waves, but there are a few areas that look like the glass granules (silica?) did not get hot enough and melt into clear glass! I know this sounds strange, but I have had this on other X5s. I clean and clean and inside the glass, you can see tiny bits of what look like a haziness or sand. THANK GOD this is not right over the driver view. On both 40e and 35d, the defects are either in the middle or upper
passenger side.

Overall, the front glass is not great. I am a "clean freak", and cannot drive the car with the front glass dirty. When I know the glass could not be any cleaner, when direct light is hitting the front glass....the glass is just not crystal clear. It is the glass, not any dirt/dust/oil. Annoying!!

I agree, not great quality control in terms of glass!!
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      11-20-2017, 09:03 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deutsch100 View Post
Both my 2017 X5 40e and 2017 X5 35d...not great front glass. I do not have waves, but there are a few areas that look like the glass granules (silica?) did not get hot enough and melt into clear glass! I know this sounds strange, but I have had this on other X5s. I clean and clean and inside the glass, you can see tiny bits of what look like a haziness or sand. THANK GOD this is not right over the driver view. On both 40e and 35d, the defects are either in the middle or upper
passenger side.

Overall, the front glass is not great. I am a "clean freak", and cannot drive the car with the front glass dirty. When I know the glass could not be any cleaner, when direct light is hitting the front glass....the glass is just not crystal clear. It is the glass, not any dirt/dust/oil. Annoying!!

I agree, not great quality control in terms of glass!!
Thanks for your reply, deutsch100.

Very strange what's going on with their glass.

Curious how they're pumping out so many with defects and people either don't realize same or just live with.

Miss you - and many others that've left - on the F01/02 boards.

Happy Holidays!
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      11-27-2017, 01:43 PM   #4
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Wow! It means i am not alone. My front glass is wavy as well. Bugs me all the time when i see it. Luckily it is on the right side of the glass.
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      11-29-2017, 08:27 PM   #5
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Didn't really see the wavy windshield on mine, but I noticed that my wiper on the right can't do the good work. It always smeared with dirt during the snow no matter what wiper/arm we put there.
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      11-29-2017, 10:24 PM   #6
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I notice it a lot when I'm sitting at a light and looking at someone else's windshield. Doesn't appear to be specific to any brand or year.
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      11-30-2017, 12:30 PM   #7
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Ya mine is the same way. My X1 was the same way and my 335 had 3 replacements for the same reason and it still didnt make a difference.
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      11-30-2017, 02:44 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neverdone View Post
Ya mine is the same way. My X1 was the same way and my 335 had 3 replacements for the same reason and it still didnt make a difference.
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      11-30-2017, 07:41 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deutsch100 View Post
Both my 2017 X5 40e and 2017 X5 35d...not great front glass. I do not have waves, but there are a few areas that look like the glass granules (silica?) did not get hot enough and melt into clear glass! I know this sounds strange, but I have had this on other X5s. I clean and clean and inside the glass, you can see tiny bits of what look like a haziness or sand. THANK GOD this is not right over the driver view. On both 40e and 35d, the defects are either in the middle or upper
passenger side.

Overall, the front glass is not great. I am a "clean freak", and cannot drive the car with the front glass dirty. When I know the glass could not be any cleaner, when direct light is hitting the front glass....the glass is just not crystal clear. It is the glass, not any dirt/dust/oil. Annoying!!

I agree, not great quality control in terms of glass!!
This? and I had to go see an optometrist
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      12-01-2017, 12:51 PM   #10
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Do you notice the distortion when looking straight through the glass? I notice some distortion when looking out the passenger side from the driver's seat.
My 2017 X5 and 2003 330i (new BMW glass in 2012) both have this issue. My 2016 M4 does not have any noticeable distortion.

When looking at the glass from an angle, the refraction of light is greater, especially on curved glass and translates to visual distortion at those angles. You can see this by looking through any lense by looking through the lense at different angles.

All glass has some level of distortion whether intentional (photo & eyeglass lenses for example) or unintentional caused by factors like lamination, tempering, thickness and curvature. The challenge for manufacturers is to balance those factors to provide a piece of glass suitable for the application. I suspect that if we had access to the technical specifications for the BMW windshield glass that we would find that the glass is within the specification.
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      12-01-2017, 02:10 PM   #11
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Mine is BMW glaas and the passenger side is where I see it from the driver side. The passenger can't really notice it, I find.
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      12-01-2017, 02:41 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neverdone View Post
Mine is BMW glaas and the passenger side is where I see it from the driver side. The passenger can't really notice it, I find.
I can see distortion clearly from driver's side, while i am on passenger seat, i can seat, but other don't)))
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