Find a shop that will do it right!

Folks I hope that when you need an auto glass replacement, you will heed my warning and take your vehicle to a shop that follows the ANSI/AGRSS safety standard for auto glass replacement. The severe corrosion seen in these pictures is caused by incorrect installation procedures. The rust starts when the pinch weld is scratched during the cut out of the old windshield and is not properly treated. This vehicle is old enough to have had several windshields put in it, and it has never been treated properly resulting in the rust seen here. Often auto glass technicians will see tell tale signs of corrosion around a windshield, even before working on the vehicle. This vehicle did not have any other rust on it. Eventually the corrosion would have crawled out of the windshield bed and onto the rest of the vehicle.

Without proper treatment there would be a good chance of bond failure between the urethane adhesive, the glass, and the body of the vehicle. With bond failure there is a significantly greater chance of death or serious injury during an accident.

Another side effect of corrosion such as this is that it is often like cancer in that it often comes back to some extent even when properly treated. The only true way to eliminate rust such as this is to take the vehicle to a body shop to have the metal replaced. This is an expensive process. I saw one vehicle about a year and a half ago, with stage 4 corrosion. Stage 4 corrosion means there are holes in the metal which must be fixed before a windshield can be installed. The customer was quoted $1300 for the repair by a reputable body shop. This was more than the value of that particular vehicle.

So the next time you need a windshield replaced I ask that you take it to a reputable shop that follows industry standards for auto glass installation. Believe me there are many out there who do not follow industry standards. I see their work every day.