2016+ Windshield Replacement - No Aftermarket / Recycled Glass / New Rear View Mirror

I don't know if you guys saw this already or not but as of 2016, Nissan is requiring that glass repair shops / body shops use only OEM or original Nissan / Pilkington glass when replacing the windshield in a 2016 or newer LEAF. As well, the Rear View mirror must be replaced with a new unit during the procedure entirely and cannot be re-used.

http://www.glassbytes.com/2016/06/nissan-recommends-oem-glass-says-some-mirrors-cannot-be-reused/

http://www.glassbytes.com/documents/NissanPositionStatementonGlass.pdf

I had a rock chip grow into a large crack back in March and now according to Safelite there is a national shortage of the 'real' Nissan windshield in the dealer parts channel, It's apparently $1200 vs. $500 for an aftermarket piece of glass, but I'm willing to wait to get the real Mccoy.

Scaramanga said:

I don't know if you guys saw this already or not but as of 2016, Nissan is requiring that glass repair shops / body shops use only OEM or original Nissan / Pilkington glass when replacing the windshield in a 2016 or newer LEAF. As well, the Rear View mirror must be replaced with a new unit during the procedure entirely and cannot be re-used.

http://www.glassbytes.com/2016/06/nissan-recommends-oem-glass-says-some-mirrors-cannot-be-reused/

http://www.glassbytes.com/documents/NissanPositionStatementonGlass.pdf

I had a rock chip grow into a large crack back in March and now according to Safelite there is a national shortage of the 'real' Nissan windshield in the dealer parts channel, It's apparently $1200 vs. $500 for an aftermarket piece of glass, but I'm willing to wait to get the real Mccoy.

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Thanks for that info!
I'll make sure to keep up with any rock chips hopefully repairable before replacement becomes an issue.

What does it mean that Nissan "requires" this? For a lease, I'm guessing?

I've already turned in a Leaf lease and there is absolutely no way the pre-inspector would catch something like that. He missed a few nice scratches on my front bumper, pretty sure he wasn't checking the marques on the glass.

eatsleafsandshoots said:

What does it mean that Nissan "requires" this? For a lease, I'm guessing?

I've already turned in a Leaf lease and there is absolutely no way the pre-inspector would catch something like that. He missed a few nice scratches on my front bumper, pretty sure he wasn't checking the marques on the glass.

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No. This is not about a lease. Most manufacturers (like Volvo for example) have certain standards in the materials used to repair their cars (like glass / body panels) or they won't honor the remaining warranty or guarantee the safety and integrity / crash worthiness of the car. If you use an $300 aftermarket windshield on a 2016+ LEAF and glue on the old mirror on the car, Nissan will point that out if you and refuse to repair your rig if you complain to them that the car fell apart.

TFW you learn what the Magnuson-Moss Act is

eatsleafsandshoots said:

TFW you learn what the Magnuson-Moss Act is

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Oh jesus. I knew I blocked you for a reason. Don't lecture me you hippie.

I know what the Maggnuson-Morris act is. The problem is you're missing the point. If you use a $30 water pump in your Kia Optima hat doesn't meet OEM spec instead of the $150 one the dealer sells, or just the right $79 OEM part because you're just cheap and the dealer whose warranty you're trying to use can prove he part is / was sub standard, you're hosed.

All this notifications represents is Nissan's notice to owners and glass shops that aftermarket windshields that don't meet OEM standard are unlikely to save your carcass in an accident or be in accordance with the warranty.

If YOU want to replace your windshield with a $300 aftermarket piece of junk or, even better a used / recycled windshield, be my guest.

Scaramanga said:

eatsleafsandshoots said:

TFW you learn what the Magnuson-Moss Act is

Click to expand...

Oh jesus. I knew I blocked you for a reason. Don't lecture me you hippie.

I know what the Maggnuson-Morris act is. The problem is you're missing the point. If you use a $30 water pump in your Kia Optima hat doesn't meet OEM spec instead of the $150 one the dealer sells, or just the right $79 OEM part because you're just cheap and the dealer whose warranty you're trying to use can prove he part is / was sub standard, you're hosed.

All this notifications represents is Nissan's notice to owners and glass shops that aftermarket windshields that don't meet OEM standard are unlikely to save your carcass in an accident or be in accordance with the warranty.

If YOU want to replace your windshield with a $300 aftermarket piece of junk or, even better a used / recycled windshield, be my guest.

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How old are you, gramps? What have I said that made you call me the dreaded h-word (on a Leaf forum at that... the irony is rich)?

Keep on believing that using a different windshield spec will cause your entire warranty to be invalidated, if it makes you feel better. And don't forget to take your dentures out at night, and please stop leeching off the tax dollars I'm paying towards your Medicare.

Hi all,

I worked in a factory that makes oem windshields for many years. As a matter of fact, we made a lot of Nissan parts. Just thought I'd chime in on the subject...

I wouldn't worry about the safety of aftermarket windshields. All of the manufacturers are required to prove, and document, that their products meet government safety requirements. They aren't set by the car maker.

However, I would be concerned about the optical quality of any windshield that came out of an ARG plant. The windshield in the leaf is installed at a wicked low angle. It's closer to horizontal than it is to vertical. This will make any waves, kinks, or draw lines really stand out. If you get a part that was made in a low volume shop, it's likely to be annoyingly distorted. The big oem factories will make several thousand windshields at a go, and they may throw away the first few hundred from each run while they get the tooling sorted out. When an ARG shop is only making ten at a time, they can't afford to eat that kind of scrap rate. I bought a used miata once that had an ARG windshield. It was like a funhouse mirror...

That being said, the oem factories are more than happy to sell windshields to the ARG distributors. They actually get a better price than they do when they sell to the oems. So, it's entirely possible to get an oem windshield from an ARG distributor like safelite. The only way to tell for sure is to check the DOT number on the trademark. If the car is still in production, or has only been out of production for a few years, there is a decent chance that you can score an oem part from the ARG shops. If your original windshield has DOT-384 on it, and safelite has windshields with the same DOT number, then you are good to go.

Cheers...

Mike

although said:

Hi all,

I worked in a factory that makes oem windshields for many years. As a matter of fact, we made a lot of Nissan parts. Just thought I'd chime in on the subject...

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Fantastic info thank you!

eatsleafsandshoots said:

Scaramanga said:

eatsleafsandshoots said:

TFW you learn what the Magnuson-Moss Act is

Click to expand...

Oh jesus. I knew I blocked you for a reason. Don't lecture me you hippie.

I know what the Maggnuson-Morris act is. The problem is you're missing the point. If you use a $30 water pump in your Kia Optima hat doesn't meet OEM spec instead of the $150 one the dealer sells, or just the right $79 OEM part because you're just cheap and the dealer whose warranty you're trying to use can prove he part is / was sub standard, you're hosed.

All this notifications represents is Nissan's notice to owners and glass shops that aftermarket windshields that don't meet OEM standard are unlikely to save your carcass in an accident or be in accordance with the warranty.

If YOU want to replace your windshield with a $300 aftermarket piece of junk or, even better a used / recycled windshield, be my guest.

Click to expand...

How old are you, gramps? What have I said that made you call me the dreaded h-word (on a Leaf forum at that... the irony is rich)?

Keep on believing that using a different windshield spec will cause your entire warranty to be invalidated, if it makes you feel better. And don't forget to take your dentures out at night, and please stop leeching off the tax dollars I'm paying towards your Medicare.

Click to expand...

...and as of yesterday I have a new windshield and a new rear view mirror. The kid from Safelite was a little baffled by the mirror requirement but they did it without argument because it's what Nissan asked for AND he 100% backed me up on OEM vs. Aftermarket Glass, even going so far as to show me some of the differences between my new $1200 Nissan windshield and the $400 job he was doing next in a Chevy pickup. Could I get away with an aftermarket windshield and probably never notice? Sure. Do I want to if my insurance is paying for it and my car is less than a year old? No. Done and done, looks fantastic and has a lifetime guarantee. I'm happy, Nissan won't give me any grief and the only person who's unhappy about any of this is 'eatsleafsandshoots' which makes me tremendously happy.

I can confirm the shortage. We've been waiting at least a month, and the glass shop says there aren't any anywhere in the U.S.

PianoAl said:

I can confirm the shortage. We've been waiting at least a month, and the glass shop says there aren't any anywhere in the U.S.

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My glass showed up yesterday with a straight up 'Nissan' logo, my old windshield said 'Nissan / Pilkington', so I can tell the glass came straight from the dealer with dealer part sticker right on it. $1200 part that took 7 weeks to get. I can also say that the Nissan requirement to replace the rear view mirror seems out of place. Safelite did it at the insurance company's request, which was at their understanding of Nissan's requirement, however the old mirror could have just screwed back on aluminum lug right back on the new glass. The tech put the new mirror on, took the old one away and shook his head, but he did it. Why Nissan wants a new mirror installed is beyond me, but it's there. It may be that they want a new mirror and new glass when the aluminum lug has been dislodged from the glass and they don't want to be responsible for re-attaching any mirrors, not sure.

I've waited a week so far. J. N. Phillips doesn't stock it and ordered it from a dealer. Won't need a mirror since it's a '15 and has no driver assistance.

Shop tells me it's an issue with Prius too, lot of people waiting. Must be a lot of backlog at windshield manufacturing plants.

DNAinaGoodWay said:

I've waited a week so far. J. N. Phillips doesn't stock it and ordered it from a dealer. Won't need a mirror since it's a '15 and has no driver assistance.

Shop tells me it's an issue with Prius too, lot of people waiting. Must be a lot of backlog at windshield manufacturing plants.

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My new unit is a thing to behold, definitely worth the wait. The previous poster mentioned that some aftermarket units have optical imperfections which show quite a bit because of the rake of the windshield, but this thing is perfectly clear. Now to avoid bouncing rocks on the freeway.

No automatic car washes until next week so I have to hang out with a dirty car and bottle of windex until my new glass / urethane sealant is fully cured in 48 hours I gather. I got a free can of windshield cleaner from Safelite though, the tech was a really nice kid.

My new one came in and was installed today. Looks good. Official Nissan part. A two week wait, but could've been worse.

Whoa, you mean a Safelite employee was happier selling you a $1,200 part instead of a $400 one? Man, you must be very mentally addled if you think that's anything but HILARIOUS to me.

eatsleafsandshoots said:

Whoa, you mean a Safelite employee was happier selling you a $1,200 part instead of a $400 one? Man, you must be very mentally addled if you think that's anything but HILARIOUS to me.

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=Troll.

I'm sure the Safelite kid on the truck really didn't care. Gotta tell ya, my windshield is an obvious quality improvement than the Aftermarket POS that's full of bubbles in the laminate that that a recent poster mentioned.

Like I said, if you're happy with low budget, duct-tape solutions, so be it, but I won't have any of it. We're VERY different me and and you, and that's a beautiful thing. But that said, don't bother trying to bash me for having money, spending it, following the 'rules', it doesn't bother me at all, and just confirms in my mind what a moron you are for not buying quality over cheap junk. But then the dollar store is good enough for joe-six-pack too, just not for me.

If you want to cut corners, knock yourself out. I've made a lifetime career of staying out of these kinds of situations, and that is also a beautiful thing. You may choose differently, also cool.

You pointing out that this behavior of mine and your correspondingly different behavior of yours somehow makes me 'stupid' or 'old'
or 'mentally addled" (Really? That's your best shot?) only feeds the impression some of us have that you are 'ignorant' and 'foolish'. You might think you're really smart and can spend $1 where the rest of us 'suckers' spend $3 and drive an equal qualitative result. You keep thinking that.

I knew I ignored you for a reason. Despite being a lifelong liberal, Democrat, & ACLU member, smart-ass hippies like you have always pissed me off.

Are you retarded dude? Why do you keep calling me a hippy, you drug-addled Democrat?

I do appreciate the very Trumpian "I paid more, therefore it is better" logic though. It's very American of you,

I've been waiting since May for my windshield replacement here in Colorado. Summer construction season kicked a rock into mine, and within two days the chip became a full on crack 3/4 of the way across the base. I'll be hoping to hear from Safelite soon since some of your are finally getting one. And if the insurance is paying for it instead of me, why not get a brand new factory model instead of taking my chances on the aftermarket?

nickjensen said:

I've been waiting since May for my windshield replacement here in Colorado. Summer construction season kicked a rock into mine, and within two days the chip became a full on crack 3/4 of the way across the base. I'll be hoping to hear from Safelite soon since some of your are finally getting one. And if the insurance is paying for it instead of me, why not get a brand new factory model instead of taking my chances on the aftermarket?

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Precisely. I like my $1200, real Nissan part windshield just fine thank you. If other folks are happy with a $300 aftermarket unit of dubious quality they can have a windshield full of bubbles and defects. Are they all that way? Of course not, but i got what i paid for and have a sterling guarantee. I refuse to buy cheap tires made in China either, no matter the price, call me crazy.