I had a new windscreen fitted on Sunday, after a large crack from a stone -- cracked almost all the way across from left to right, after a stone hit in the middle.

 

When ordering on the phone, I was told that the new windscreen would match the original windscreen & paid the £75 insurance excess.

 

The heating elements in the new windscreen are no longer controlled by the car controls.  You can actively feel heat radiating from the glass, even when the heating is not switched on.  On the original windscreen, the car automatically switched on heating when it was cold, or you could activate it with the heating control buttons.  The new windscreen seems to be heating all the time, and gets a LOT hotter than the original windscreen, which was barely warm to the touch -- just warm enough to melt frost / ice.

 

The optical quality of the glass is poor.  Distorted curved glass at the edges of the windscreen is very distracting.  I never noticed any distortion on the edges of the glass with the original windscreen.

 

The new glass is also creating a "wavy" optical effect.  I think this is likely caused by the thin heating elements, but the original windscreen had these elements, but did not produce these wavy artefacts.  This is noticeable when looking into the distance, and very noticeable when looking at vertical objects (e.g. vertical railings, writing on registration plates).  It is slightly nauseating at times, and I have never had any kind of travel sickness before.

Overall, I feel this windscreen does not of the same quality that the original screen had.

 

Considering pushing the insurance company to provide a screen replacement direct from Skoda, and get a refund from Autoglass -- don't even know what will be possible in terms of Customer Service, as it's been done through insurance so far.  Although they say it won't affect my NCD, I believe it may still affect my renewal pricing, and I'll still have to declare it as a claim to a new insurance company.

 

(On top of that, I've found scratches on the steering wheel after the glass was replaced, like it has been scuffed with glass or a sharp tool!)

 

Has anyone else had their heated windscreen replaced by Autoglass, or Skoda?

 

Any advice / pointers would be appreciated.

 

:'(

Hello,

 

Sounds like something is not right and I'd get straight back onto Autoglass in the first instance or your insurer if you don't make progress with Autoglass.

 

I had my heated windscreen replaced by Autoglass at one of their centres last April. The only difference that I noticed is that the heated elements don't go all the way to the edges and they taper off in a diagonal line at either side.

 

Apart from that it's been fine - works just as well as the original, don't really notice the elements or any weird distortion. It's still controlled via the heated windscreen button as per the original too.

 

If I remember rightly another member had some issues recently and insisted on a genuine replacement screen and reported it was better. Should be able to find the thread with a search, it was within the last 2 weeks.

 

 

1 hour ago, ahenners said:

I had my heated windscreen replaced by Autoglass at one of their centres last April. The only difference that I noticed is that the heated elements don't go all the way to the edges and they taper off in a diagonal line at either side.

 

 

My original screen had diagonals like that, so maybe the OEM design was changed?

 

Thanks for pointing me to the other thread.  Thankfully my car doesn't have Lane Assist, but does have main beam assist (think that's just a normal camera though, that doesn't need calibration) & rain sensors that I also need to check.

 

Will contact Autoglass and try to push for genuine Skoda glass replacement.

 

 

I was unlucky enough to have the heated screen on my Yeti replaced 3 times by Autoglass in 18 months!  I’m insured with Admiral by the way.  The first 2 screens were Skoda branded screens and identical to the original.  The third screen was a non Skoda screen and clearly inferior in quality.  As it was 2 weeks before trading the car in I didn’t bother to make a fuss, but if I were keeping the car I would have.  Check the small print on your policy and you will probably find a clause that you may not be covered for an original manufacturer screen, but you are entitled to one of manufacturers quality.  On that basis you have grounds for complaint, particularly if there is a optical fault and the heating element is not performing properly.  It should only work when switched on at the button.

Given the amount of repeat breakages on heated screens, despite the fact that they're made to ' a standard' perhaps the insurance companies have sourced cheaper non OEM ones. The two I've had seem ok and I don't rememeber any of the 3 screens having filaments all the way to the edge. 

Do the genuine screens have Skoda logo printed on them?

 

My insurance policy (Swiftcover) says "We may choose to repair your car with parts that may not have been made by its manufacturer but are of a similar standard."  Which is fine to use 3rd-party parts, but it's clear (to me anyway) that this glass is not of a similar standard.

 

I've unticked the "Automatic windscreen heating" option in the AC setup menu, and it has now turned off, but anytime I have the AC on, I get the Start-stop system status: "Windscreen could become fogged".  I think this clearly points to a missing / disconnected temperature sensor in the new windscreen.

 

Attached picture of the logo from the new windscreen & the Start-stop status (sorry for dirty screen!)

 

 

 

 

 

Does Skoda Ensurance cover windscreens? If so, going through them should guarantee that the work is done using Skoda OEM parts.

I had a non genuine screen fitted last year (non heated), made by Pilkington and was scepticle myself at 1st but it's a decent quality screen, shame the fitter wasn't as meticulous as I would have been but I'm over it!

 

my insurance renewal quote wasn't really effect and was still the cheapest I could find (under £300).

23 hours ago, just music said:

Does Skoda Ensurance cover windscreens? If so, going through them should guarantee that the work is done using Skoda OEM parts.

Ensurance specifically excludes windscreens.

16 hours ago, marko said:

I had a non genuine screen fitted last year (non heated), made by Pilkington and was scepticle myself at 1st but it's a decent quality screen, shame the fitter wasn't as meticulous as I would have been but I'm over it!

 

my insurance renewal quote wasn't really effect and was still the cheapest I could find (under £300).

An OEM screen always has a Skoda logo on it, however, these are often made by Pilkington so a Pilkinton screen should be of the right quality.  Autoglass often fit Shatterpruf windscreens and these are an inferior pattern screen.

On 30/04/2018 at 20:28, xnoruk said:

Do the genuine screens have Skoda logo printed on them?

 

 

My cars had a replacement window which is Pilkington and I've not had any issues.  It works as it should and isn't warm to touch when on.  I had noticed a slight wave in the transparency on the very outer edges but nothing to right home about.

 

On 01/05/2018 at 05:51, marko said:

I had a non genuine screen fitted last year (non heated), made by Pilkington and was scepticle myself at 1st but it's a decent quality screen, shame the fitter wasn't as meticulous as I would have been but I'm over it!

 

I feel your your pain there Marko, whoever fitted mine must have done it in the dark!  You can actually see some sealer from the inside on the passenger side.  I was tempted to try and trim but was concerned there could be a connnector behind it so have left for now.

Autoglass have agreed to replace the screen next Wednesday with another 3rd-party screen -- they said it could just be a one-off problem, or a faulty batch.  If there's an issue with this second screen, they will then replace with a genuine Skoda screen.

 

Now I figured out how to turn the heat off, the wavy artefacts are gone - I guess it was like a mini version of when you see the road surface "wobble" when it's hot.

 

The car still refuses to stop-start.

 

It also feels like the AC is blowing a lot colder than normal -- I had it set to Auto + AC + 22C today (about 10C outside) -- this would normally be quite warm for me, but it was blowing out cold air.  Again, it could point to a missing temperature sensor(s).

 

Will update next Wednesday.

 

well I take back everything I said earlier, just washed my car and noticed this on my Pilkington glass screen, do you think it would be covered by some kind of guarantee? it was fitted last August, not sure what guarantee Autoglass give?

 

7 minutes ago, marko said:

well I take back everything I said earlier, just washed my car and noticed this on my Pilkington glass screen, do you think it would be covered by some kind of guarantee? it was fitted last August, not sure what guarantee Autoglass give?

 

Their website says "We offer a lifetime guarantee on our vehicle glasswork (both the parts we fit and our repair and installation workmanship) for as long as you own your vehicle."

 

Their customer services have been very helpful (so far!).  I emailed them all the details to [email protected] (to save having to explain everything over the phone) and they phoned me back the next day to book to replacement.

 

They said the next engineer they send will be an expert engineer with many years experience -- which worries me how qualified the first engineer was!

 

Edited 4 May, 20188 yr by xnoruk
Typo

just read that on their site! I will get it sorted then but I'm not desperate so not rushing into it, may ask for a genuine screen too and pay a bit extra, don't want this hassle every year if that's all they last!

 

Mark.

Had a few heated screens replaced in both Skodas and Fords. Personally I would never fit a 'replacement' screen, I have never had one work or last as it should. With cameras and sensors to abuse on top of the trim etc and the possibility of getting a leaky fit, I want screens changed as little as possible. When I have changed the screen from aftermarket to OEM the difference has been pretty noticable, especially on the heating.