alfadoctor

Are there two different strips that could go at the top of the RL windshield?

I ask because I had the glass shop replace a cracked windshield yesterday and on the way home I heard a wind noise at the top of the windshield around the mirror area. Never heard it before. At highway speeds it is annoying and I miss the quiet sound of what an Acura is all about.
So when I got home I look at the strip and it is sort of rounded. The installer did a great job, but I am wondering if the people who shipped the glass with the new top strip, sent the wrong one.

My thinking is that the strip is acting like a buffer, creating a turbulence area in the center of the glass, because it sticks up just enough to interrupt the air flow. I think that the top strip should lay more flat, so it doesn't create a turbulence area.
The laminar flow across the hood, up the windshield and down the back of the car I would imagine is very small profile, and any interruption in that flow would create turbulence. The most likely area is the top of the windshield where it goes over the top. Any interruption in the flow is going to be noisy.
The wife noticed it on the way home and called me to ask me how come the new windshield sounds like it has an air leak at the top.

I have an appointment with the glass shop Tuesday afternoon to take a look at the installation, after I take them for a ride down the freeway.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

what kind of glass did you get?? BTW cannot see your pics.

the cheapie OE stuff which has no acoustic deadening properties? or OEM/factory glass??

the following thread (yes its a 3G TL thread) will give you an idea of what to look for in your original glass (maybe you can get another member to take a pic of theirs) to compare to the aftermarket glass you have now on your car.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/k-049-cracked-windshield-oem-replacement-w-o-acura-logo-817643/

i have gone down this road before with my TL...i have the exact same piece of AP tech glass on my car as the factory glass (same specs and all) minus the honda/acura badge. no issues so far.

i hope this helps.

alfadoctor

It really isn't about the glass, it has to do with the strip at the top of the glass where it meets the body. The glass shop says there is only one windshield for the RL in his catalog. It looks identical to factory glass. Being it was so large, my only concern was waves of distortion, none that I can see.

There are two gaskets...one that seals the glass and the trim piece that goes over the top of that to finish off the appearance. I believe that the finish piece is the problem being that it sticks up into the air stream, (i.e. round vs flat)
Just curious if anyone has run into this issue before.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

well then i'd say the installer may have goofed. i understand what you are saying...the trim piece may not be sealing completely hence the wind noise. or the sealant they used didn't seal the windshield under the trim piece.

i have personally not had any issues like this. the upper trim piece should sit relatively flat and flush with the lines of the car. it almost sounds like there is a bubble or wrinkle in the trim which isn't sitting flat. its definitely not normal. hopefully the glass shop will take care of it for you.

alfadoctor

I happened to catch another Acura in the parking lot yesterday, which allowed me to look at the top trim piece. It sits flat and is a flat plastic like what I have on the RL.
Now if your wondering what the noise is like at speeds above 65 mph, turn your defroster on medium speed and have the noise come out from behind the mirror.
Here is what I have been thinking now that I have listened to this noise for some time now. The trim piece needs sealant put under it or they didn't put any in the channel that it rests in. Not knowing how it goes in or out, I suspect the plastic just pops in place. If they run a bead of sealant under the strip, it might seal off the wind noise. There is just enough gap to allow a flow of air under the front lip of the strip. I am not complaining, just asking that they look at the strip and see if they can resolve the noise. The quietness of the RL is one of those little things that make it a dream to drive.
We will see and I will report back.

alfadoctor

Update...I went by the glass shop today and the owner and I went for a drive. Unfortunately it was raining here and we couldn't hear the wind noise. The owner said he would take tape and put it in different places to see if he could isolate the noise. One thing he did say which struck me odd was that sometimes the noise can come from the bottom of the windshield and make it sound like it is at the top. The car goes back in on Friday morning to see what is wrong. Honestly, if they have to take the windshield out to remedy the noise, I really don't care, just so the car is as quiet as it was originally.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

glad to hear the shop is taking care of you. as long as they fix it...that's all that matters.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Good deal

alfadoctor

Update on this...the car is on the road so much it has been hard to get back around to the glass shop to see about them repairing the strip. There was a plastic strip that was over the top of the strip that blew off. You know one of those plastic tapes that is used to protect the part in transit. Well they didn't take that off, but now the "chrome" strip looks half black and half chrome. I have an appointment with the glass shop on Monday to have them look and drive the car to see what is going on. The glass guy said that most cars have a chrome strip at the top, which makes me believe that this strip is the wrong one.

Can someone take a picture for me of the top of the windshield upper trim molding so I can show them that it should be black (if that is what it is supposed to be). THen I can show them that the glass people shipped the wrong strip and we need to order the correct one. I would really appreciate a help here.

Maintenanceman

Hope these help.
Last one shows my "crack", will change the windshield in few weeks.
I will took it to Honda dealer.

alfadoctor

YES! Thank you. I thought so. The chrome strip is the wrong one for this windshield and it requires the black one. The difference is in the how it lays on the glass. It isn't the glass shops fault, but it is the place that shipped the glass with the trim piece. How the glass shop is going to recover the expense of removing the glass and installing the new piece isn't of my concern, only that I want my quiet Acura back.
To give you an idea of what I am dealing with, imagine driving any speed over 50 mph and having wind noise at the top of your windshield. It resembles having your defroster on high. Irritating to say the least.
thank you for the photographs. I can take my lap top with me and show the photos.

Maintenanceman

I`m happy that i could help you
I know how you feel, our Chrysler Voyager had the same annoying thing, windshield was and still is original from year 1997, somehow it started to leak water and noise from the driver side, i fixed it with some sealing glue, it has been ok since. I cant imagine that i would do same fix with my Legend (RL)

alfadoctor

Update. The new windshield got a rock chip from a truck the other day that went all the way down to the 2nd layer. One day it was an inch, the next day it was 10 inches. So, I contacted the glass company and we put in another windshield. We put in a new top strip that is just like the one in the photo. For the most part, the noise is gone about 50% quieter. The other strip that was put in was defective as the top layer of what ever that black film is came off in a heavy rainstorm, leaving a chrome effect strip. The shop and I have been working together and I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket to get this resolved. The noise isn't like what it was, its not as like new, but I can live with it.

Here is where it gets interesting, I learned that there might be what is called "acoustic glass" that dampens noise. GMC products have that in some of their vehicles. The Acura agency that my glass man spoke to couldn't confirm if the RL glass has a noise damping feature built into it. Anyone know about this?

The Acura glass is over $700 if someone wants to know what a windshield costs from the dealer.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

yes acura uses acoustic glass.

didn't check the link that i sent you earlier in your thread??

you can get the same OEM glass without the acura badge for half the price as factory glass.

alfadoctor

To be honest, I didn't think I was going to need another windshield so quick that we set the date to install the new glass with out looking at the options. My mistake.

So just what does acoustic glass do when compared to a regular windshield?

Maintenanceman

There is some special PVB db Control layer laminated between those outer and inner glasses, some glass manufactures says that it can reduce cabin noise level like 10db`s.
http://www.pilkington.com/north-amer...iphon/home.htm
We have also Pilkington factory here in Finland.
My Legend goes to the dealer for windshield change in a two weeks, they will order oem glass for it.