R8 Windshield Cracked from washing...

[opie]

So I went to wash my car this morning and as the water touched my glass, it just cracked and kept spreading for about 5 minutes.

It's now about 10 inches long and stable but I wanted to know if anyone has ever had that happened.

The temperature was 75F outside this morning so I don't think it was too much of a differential....

[harrison]

Maybe you waited too long to do a chip repair ??

[smoothy]

yeah, the glass would have had a defect or chip for that to happen. Even if the glass was hot from a noon-time sun, it still shouldn't crack from water (glass puts up with much worse in the winter with minus-whatever temps and caked-on ice outside and the heater blasting directly on the glass on the inside)

[opie]

No chip that I can see... the glass is still smooth to the touch even over the crack...

Very strange.
I'll have the dealer look at it and post their response although I suspect what it will be...

[thezman]

Is that the original windshield or a replacement?

[Jimk]

The same thing happened to me. I got a very small chip in the very bottom drivers side corner and did not see it until a crack developed. The crack happend while it was sitting in the garage, just from the ambient temp. change. It does not take much. Had the dealer replace the windshield, took a few days to get one in but no big deal. Dealer did a good job, can't tell any difference.

[OEMplus.com]

You are going in this week, right? Hopefully they will be cool about it...

[opie]

The glass is still smooth on both sides and it seems to be confined to the "interior" of the glass itself. A stress point must have formed and the temperature difference did it in.

I am going in on Thursday for some other work so they will be replacing it at the same time.

[harrison]

The very best price Audi could give me on my front w/shield will be 1300.00 and probably does't include tax. I will trust my independant glass dealer to install my new OEM fr glass at 1150.00 installed and including tax (when the time comes,I can see pits when sun hits directly.)... .A penny saved is a penny earned. I don't have deep enough filled pockets at this moment.

[Europrice]

Did the crack start in a corner? If you drive particularly hard or live in a rough road area body flex can do unseen damage to windshields and when the time comes, temperature change is rapid (not so much the delta, but the speed at which is changes) and cracks come out quickly.

I remember living in VT, probably 10 degrees out. Hustle through the snow, start the car, turn on heat, leave for 5-10 min on those brutal days. The 200q20v had a small stone chip in the windshield when I left, by the time I came back it was 1/2 the length of the windshield, oops. It had lived that way and been through that same procedure many times, but it just decided that was the day it was going to give up.

Hopefully Audi fixes it up for you.

Good Luck,