I am in need of replacing windshield. Truck passing me on left threw a stone that hit lower left corner of window making 3 cracks about foot long each (and now theyre intersecting..a mess). Going through insurance.

My questions are:
1. Has anyone gone with Safelite? My ins. says they deal with them
2. Is actual OEM a better replacement than whatever Safelite's OEM equivalent will be? Ins. says it will be functionally same..I need to check.
3. If Safelite not good, who would you recommend?
4. I think the radio antenna goes around the window. Any advice on this during replacement?

Thank you.

 

You must have really good coverage. A windshield replacement was well below my deductible.

1. No experience with Safelite. I went through a local automotive glass shop as prices were better and they had good reviews.
2. The shop was going to use a made in China replacement windshield, but I requested they use the same brand as the factory glass (I don't recall if the Cayenne has Sekurit or Saint-Gobain). It ended up costing about $10 more for the OEM glass.
3. See 1.
4. No antenna in the glass (at least not on a 955).

If you have auto rain sensing wipers, make sure to get some replacement gel, so they can refill the sensor cavity to eliminate air pockets. Also have them check to make sure the rain sensor works properly.

 

What do you mean get some gel? Will they leave extra behind? How does it work with rain sensing?

 

I used safelite about 2 months ago to replace my nicked up windshield. The auto insurance typically pays with no deductible because this is considered a safety hazard. I asked for an OEM windshield for my turbo, and they ordered it from Porsche Germany. Great experience.

 

The cavity between the rain sensor and windshield is filled with a gel. Most of it is left behind, but some is still stuck to the windshield. After I had my windshield replaced the sensor area now has some air pockets in it. The wipers still work as before, but it bothers me that air pockets are visible.

 

When they replace the windshield are they supposed to replace the gel pack or are they supposed to reuse it unless something is wrong with it? I haven't seen the gel pack but I assume it's in some kind of a clear and closure. And how are they supposed to I fix it to the window without any air bubbles? Is there some tool or process they use to make sure bubbles are not visible or is that only going to happen if they replace the gel pack?

 

Since I haven't had this done (thank Dog) - but I did see writeups where the rain-sensing no longer worked after a windshield replacement, and the dealership response was to replace the gel pack. It sounded as if it's a one-time-use sort of thing.

 

OK. Thanks. I was talking to the tech who was saying that after removal the pad may not work same. So I asked to have it replaced when done. Since he did not have one with him (was at shop), we rescheduled. Hoping this goes well since I do not want to be doing this multiple times. Thanks.