Well, my Father's Day got off to a great start when I went out onto my driveway to get into my 2007 S-Type 4.2 and noticed a crack in the windshield eminating from the far left lower windshield (at the seal, driver's side) extending upward at a 45 degree angle for about 12 inches. I was out the previous night and am positive there was no crack at that time. Initially, I though vandalism but since there was no other damage to the car, I dismissed that notion. I also ruled out that the car was hit with a hard object since it was parked in an area totally secluded from kids playing or from others that could of hit it by accident. I researched windshield cracks on the net and thought my car may have been hit with a small stone or pellet while driving earlier in the week that went undetected. No damage would initially be apparant but could display itself later with temperature changes. This is what I thought may have happened. I brought the car to my local Jag dealer and they said it probably was a small stone that caused the damage and the serviceman said he detected a small impact within the crack that seemed to support this. I, however, saw no evidence of a small impact within the crack. To cut to the chase, I contacted the windshield service repairman that does all of Jaguar's windshield work in my area and he agreed to replace the windshield directly from his shop, separate from Jaguar (my insurance company refused to pay for the dealer add-on charge and was lucky I found him and that he agreed to do this). When the windshield expert looked at the damage, he seemed pretty confident that the crack was, in fact, due to a stress--not to a road stone or pellet. He said there was no evidence that a stone hit my car and seemed to think it was a stress crack. He said I probably went over a pothole and this stressed the frame, which transferred that energy upward into the windshield. Coincidentally, I do remember hitting a pothole earlier last week and thinking to myself that I hoped I won't have to get an alignment job. Anyway, my question is this: Is a stress windshield crack covered by Jaguar's bumper-to-bumper warranty? The windshield guy implied that a design flaw in the frame causes this problem and he sees it every now and then. Has anyone heard of this? Should I dispute with Jaguar or just shut up, pay my $500 deductable, and chalk it up to bad luck. And, of course, be more careful of potholes in the future. Thanks for bearing with this lengthy tome, your advice is appreciated!!
-Reginald

 

Windshield cracks are often a mystery and can occur from many different causes. Glass quality can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and even from batch to batch. From your description, it does sound as if yours was not caused by an impact with an object. Potholes, air temperature changes, spraying cold water on hot glass, and even attempting to de-ice a windshield have all been known to crack them....

I can find nothing in my Jaguar warranty documentation that says windshield stress fractures are excluded from coverage. But the onus is on you to prove that you have a stress crack, not one caused by flying debris. If you choose to pursue this with Jaguar, get a written statement from your windshield guy indicating that you had a stress fracture and then contact Jaguar, mention that you have documentation, and go from there. Be polite and professional. I've had good success dealing with Jaguar Corporate for some of the issues our S-Type has experienced this year. Good luck and keep us posted....

 

Greetings Jon, thank you very much. You are obviously well versed, I'll definitely heed your advice and will let you know how I make out. Best regards, Reginald

 

Ugh! Just had a stone hit my front Windscreen bottom passenger side by the pillar on the freeway, it made a tiny chip but on my return journey it started to crack... now the crack is a foot long. Stopped at Sacramento Neillo Jaguar, $650 for the screen and $150 labour, I'll know on Monday what Insurance will pay... Bugger!