Just wanted to let you all know of my experience with replacing my 2008 TL windshield.

I had a crack from the passenger side to about the middle of the windshield. I have Farmers and called the Fasglas program. Told them I wanted OEM glass (AP Tech) and had to tell them no to Safelite. I asked for Speedy Auto Glass (I'm in Washington state) and was put in touch with them right away. They found the AP Tech glass and it was installed the very next day in about an hour and half. The total installed cost for the glass was about $400, but I have $100 deductable so that's all I paid. The glass is exactly the same as what I had before, just without the Acura name on it. They did a great job and I'm very pleased so far.

 

Awesome!!

 

Why no to safelite?

 

Safelite carries OEM glass.

 

I just don't trust SafeLite.

 

thank god you didn't go with safelite they suck ball big time, I got them replace my DD accord and OMG the glass and work quality is totally shit. They even left all the fragment glass all over my dash, seat and floor. You tell me that you can't vacuum up when you done? poor work quality and quality control is shit.

 

I'm also replacing my winshield. local shop PPG w/Acoustic interlayer 380.00. Another shop quoted AP Tech 197.00 said nothing about Acoustic interlay. I'm going with the Acoustic.

 

aptech is the oem manufacturer its the exact same glass with same logos

 

What brands don't have that top tint strip or do you have to tell the shop you don't want that tint strip

 

FYI, what you got was OEM distributor glass, which is supposedly identical to Dealer glass except for the logo and it may be made by a manufacturer other than the manufacturer of Dealer glass. Dealer glass can only be sourced from an Acura dealer.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...1&postcount=15

 

Same set up got an ap tech same numbers no acura logo and habent had no complaint and only got it for 100 cant beat that

 

yep aptech is exactly the same as oem, logos match up perfect except without the acura part. im confident the sound acoustics are the same, and the quality.

 

This new glass has all the same numbers as the original, just no Acura name on it. As far as SafeLite goes, I'd heard too many stories about their poor work and glass, so I'd already decided to go another direction before I called my insurance.

 

yeah, OEM glass if your car was manufactured in China.
Their glass SUCKS !

 

^^^^I agree with you 100% on that one.

 

Safelite does suck. And their "Safelite repair....Safelite replace" commercials are gay.

 

I wrote up a thread in the acurazine garage. Just look it up and follow it and you'll get oem glass.

 

I actually just had an experience I wanted to share about Safelite. My windshield was hit by a large rock on the freeway and when I asked Safelite to replace it they at first said no to OEM. This went back and forth for about two weeks as I tried to explain to them that OEM is NOT the same as dealer glass. They kept saying that OEM has the Acura logo but I explained to them that OEM simply is the same manufacturer in this case APTECH but it does not have the Acura logo to no avail. So after what I was told was available because APTECH was not I did a little further research and found LOF which I felt would be a safe bet if I wanted to make sure I kept my $0 deductible intact, so Safelite agreed to give the LOF glass and I was clear to them that I did not want their Safelite brand. The technician arrived as scheduled on 9/8/14 and if any of you were watching the news we were hit with a torrential downpour that day with upto 6 inches of rain in a matter of hours in some areas which caused severe flooding all over the state. The technician suggested we reschedule which I agreed to and appreciated because I wanted the job done right so when he returned a few days later I asked him they sent you out with the LOF glass, right? He was unsure and checked and found that they had sent him out with their Safelite brand!! (They thought they would pull a slick move on me) Thankfully I had forethought to ask! So he checks his notes and sees that I clearly asked for OEM or LOF. He then calls his supervisor and lets him know that I won't agree to the replacement unless it's what I asked for he's off the phone says he will return later with the right part and leaves. About an hour later he calls and says he's back which I though was unbelievably fast and he has the part so I go out and lo and behold he says we found the APTECH glass like you requested. When he shows me the glass it has a large barcode sticker on the front that says AP Technologies but the etching says AGC Automotive. I told him to hold on before he starts the replacement so I can research the marking on line and found that APTECH is ALSO known as AGC or Asahi Glass Company. I was more than pleased with the result and authorized the Safelite Technician to do the work. So if you are in need of a windshield replacement just be mindful that you can request AGC or APTECH and it's the same exact thing, just different markings.
Here is a link with some useful info I found: Auto Glass Differences

 

I got my windshield replaced about 3 weeks ago. I asked the shop for APTech, and when they looked up aptech on ther computer, it showed "agc aptech"
upon more research I found out AGC is same as APtech so I agreed to that one.
Also, this might not be that relevant, but I looked on my friend's 2012 G37 OEM windshield and it had the exact same AGC logo and markings, which tells me AGC is definitely a legit company.

 

I know it's an old post...but thanks for the summary. Just curious, when you said the "markings were different", what did you mean? Were the MXXXX code, AS1, DOT, 43R code all match EXCEPT the word 'Acura'? I ask b/c I'm about to get my windshield replaced again. The 2nd time I had it replaced 3 years ago, the company I used found the APTech windshield with ALL THE SAME DATA on the windshield EXCEPT the word "Acura". Now this week, I have to do it again but what the local companies are showing me is a little different. The brand is AGC Automotive which appears to be the new name for APTech. But the other data/markings are different namely the 43R, and the MXXXX code. So just curious what you had installed in your car that worked well. Thanks.

 

To add, I ended up using Safelite to replace my windshield after an 18" crack developed a month ago. I used them b/c: 1) they were the recommended installer by my insurance company (USAA); 2) they requested to USAA and were approved to source the exact same Honda labeled APTech glass that comes on an 05 TL...for the price of my deductible. No brainer to use them. I only mention this b/c of the previous comments of the glass quality they have and their service. My location had 4.5 to 5 star reviews. So in this occurrence, I have zero complaints and am completely happy.

 

Back in May, a whopping three days after I picked up my new (to me) 2006 TL I got a very small star in the windshield between the wiper zone and the driver's side A pillar. A local "mom and pop" shop said, "We'll try, but the star is so close to the pillar it may crack." It did. I had them put a new windscreen in of a brand I've never heard of and they did a great job, much better than the job Safelite did on my 2001 Accord last year.

 

Just had to replace my windshield last week and I am not happy with it. Car has had a star dead center since I bought it over 2 years ago and it never spread or did anything. Came out to my car on a Friday night after not driving it for 2 days and I see that the entire windsheild is cracked from top in front of the driver to 3 feet over dead center it stops in front of passenger. Funny thing is it did not intersect with the star in any way. I believe it was from heat as it was very hot. I put the windows down with the remote during the day so maybe it cycled hot and then cold too fast and cracked. It didnt look like it was hit anywhere and kids never play in this parking lot.

Doesnt really matter what caused it because it was broken and had to be fixed. Well since it had a star in it I made sure my insurance had a policy for glass. It was $0 deductible which is nice but it only covers aftermarket glass. Well after the guy who was actually doing the job talked to me I told him my concerns with aftermarket and he assured me that it was OEM equivelant. My mistake was actually believing him and then letting him put aftermarket glass in when I knew that it wasnt OE spec. But hey it was free so I let him do it. Good part was he was fast and did the job the next day. Company was called Arrow Auto Glass and he did a good job im not complaining about that. The glass cost $130 and they charge $130 for labor.

THE PART YOU CARE ABOUT AKA TL DR, but is still long :

Bad parts: The glass is made by Fuyao and it says acoustic, but it has a lot more road noise and wind noise especially above 50mph. The glass fogs up worse than OE. The bottom portion of the black tint or w/e doesnt line up perfect and comes up higher on the VIN as noted by some others in threads on here with aftermarket glass. The bottom edge has an area where the visual image of the road curves and is about 1" big BUT if the black portion were same as regular OE then it would be like 2" and it's not super noticable. What bothers me is the noise and the foggyness. Time will tell if it chips worse than OE. It has a simlar code but it is not the same. It stains more with water but I havent applied repellent yet.

Good parts: I didnt pay for it. No more star, it's new. The top tinted portion and dot pattern matches the original.

 

Complain

 

I just checked, the aftermarket windscreen on my car is a Pilkington Solar. So far, no issues with extra noise or fogging.

 

Yeah I probably should.

 

I have the same one-- OEM distributor glass-- after a rock or bolt hit the windshield three or four months ago and started a long horizontal crack. It's good glass, and the installers did a good job-- the car was noticeably quieter after the new glass replaced the prior windshield (also Pilkington, but the installer wasn't as good).

 

You gotta have the full cover in order to have the insurance pay for the windshield ?

 

Had my windshield replaced with Pilkington Solar a few years ago and no problems to date.

Typically yes, but it also depends on what state you live in as well.

 

It kind of depends; I have full coverage on all of our cars, but no windshield replacement (that's an extra cost rider).

 

Agreed. We have full coverage on both of our cars across two different companies (USAA and Country) and we do not have windshield replacement coverage on either. Both will repair a chip for free....but if I want a new windshield, we pay our deductible.