dynodan

Florida coastal environment must be hell on windshields. With only 15K miles, I now realize the car I just bought needs a new one. Visibility in general out the windshield is fine, but the severe wiper haze/scratches & sand pitting that I originally thought a mere cosmetic problem, really becomes obvious when driving into the sun. I have a very high deductible, and doubt the damage is bad enough to convince the insurance company to spring for replacement.
Have any other ZDX owners out there replaced theirs? All the high tech complications (antenna, GPS, smart mirror, etc.) make me leery of trusting the job to aftermarket auto glass outfits (Chinese/repros of questionable quality, untrained personnel, etc.). But, I cringe when thinking what an Acura dealer might charge to install an OEM unit (?), since not likely the kind of work covered under warranty.
I can live with it for now, but if dealer installation is really necessary, I should likely try to coordinate the job with other overdue/impending service chores, since nearest Acura shops are quite distant.
Advice?

Tiki

wow - personally I wouldn't trust a replacement to any aftermarket windshield company, for the reasons you listed but also the value of the car will drop if it's not an Acura windshield. Have you tried really cleaning it well, with a clay bar, etc? I'm planning to do mine this weekend - need to look for a nick. Super loud pop while driving on the interstate yesterday, leads me to believe I had a rock hit , so needs thorough cleaning/inspection.

For super cleaning your windshield, check out "ChrisFix" (

How to Super Clean Your Windshield - YouTube

) - he's crazy picky on cleaning, waxing, etc. Maybe see if it helps before paying out big bucks for a replacement. Good luck & let us know what happens...

dynodan

Glass is definitely pitted/etched. I tried, vinegar, acetone, even the abrasive scrubber & razor blade kit designed to clean a glass stovetop. If merely surface contamination, SOME improvement would likely have been realized. I also checked with glass repair people, and looked at a lot of internet forum posts. General consensus is, you can spend a lot of time, effort & money polishing the windshield, only to find that vision usually becomes distorted, and the glass is STILL partly etched! Good news is, the dealership general manager where I bought the car (Acura P.O. Certified) said windshield replacement should be covered under the corrosion warranty. So. I will make a service appointment there and get everything done at once. I'm fairly optimistic he won't doublecross me, since he is (supposedly) sending a check to pay for the defective battery the car came with (I am currently stranded here in the sticks, waiting for UPS to deliver an Optima Yellowtop so I can install myself and start the car). I checked with another dealership, and they wanted over a grand to install an Acura windshield! Cheapo/repro-glass Safelite install only $375.

Sandro

buy a glass that Acura uses as OEM (its AGC or Pilkington, you can find the product number at the glass itself) and install it at a specialized auto glass shop

Tiki

Good to know! I do a fair amount of interstate driving, so it's probably a matter of when I'll need a replacement, instead of if...
My loud pop on the interstate recently was not a hit to the windshield, but instead a hit to the edge of the hood! Took out a 3/16" round-ish chunk of paint - damn!
I have the touch up kit (AWP), so cleaned it good with alcohol, 2 base coats, 1 top coat & it looks pretty good, kinda have to be looking for it to notice. Still hate any kind of damage.

dynodan

Update: Acura dealer replaced the windshield under warranty. Local Acura rep. was really surprised to see that kind of damage in the upper midwest. I assume the coastal salt air encrusts the the wiper blades, which likely being sun-baked/hardened (I understand people in Fla. seldom bother to park in a garage) then scratch/etch the glass. Rep said once the outer surface is damaged, it becomes more succeptible to sand pitting also.

P.S. Being new, I'm not sure how to go about using the 'black market' feature, so I will just mention that the dealer, instead of replacing the rear carpeted floor mat that was missing when I bought the car (salesman promised to find it), gave me a new-in-box set of black rubber OEM ZDX all-weather mats. I have a heated garage, so any snow I might accumulate on the driver's side floor melts/evaporates rapidly, and I really don't go anywhere where it's muddy, so I bought a complete new set of carpeted mats and am selling the rubber ones on eBay. If any forum members located in the states are in the market for OEM rubber mats, now is the time to get them cheap. Anyone serious can P.M. me with a fair offer, and I will provide the eBay # and lower the B.I.N. price for them.

shyguyzdx

Congrats man ! You got windshield replaced with free of charge.

dynodan

As a side note, I notice that even after a thorough cleaning inside & out with a specialized auto glass spray product, the surface feels slightly rough, and oncoming headlights appear rather star-shaped at night. Has to be OEM/Acura glass, but I wonder if the ultra-steep windshield angle affects the viewed image (?), or also maybe the glass comes from the factory with some kind of protective chemical coating that could be removed? I think I will try the clay bar & wax treatment (mentioned in that previous link) on both sides and see if it makes a difference. Seems to me that new/undamaged glass should feel perfectly smooth, and allow a clear/undistorted view.