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Cost of Middle Roof Glass?

20K views 25 replies 18 participants last post by  shah822 
#1 ·
Picked my Model 3 yesterday in Orlando and sure enough... 2 hours after signing the paperwork, we were driving home on the highway and heard a huge rock hit the glass. Not a truck in sight either. Quickly looked at windshield and there was no damage so I thought it was ok.

Looking over the car later in the day though, noticed a fabulous chip in the glass right behind the windshield with a 6 inch crack behind it. Sigh.

Anyone know the cost to get the middle roof glass replaced? I keep seeing costs for the windshield but not the glass piece right behind it.

Will be calling Tesla Monday morning when they open. Thanks!
 

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#2 ·
Picked my Model 3 yesterday in Orlando and sure enough... 2 hours after signing the paperwork, we were driving home on the highway and heard a huge rock hit the glass. Not a truck in sight either. Quickly looked at windshield and there was no damage so I thought it was ok.

Looking over the car later in the day though, noticed a fabulous chip in the glass right behind the windshield with a 6 inch crack behind it. Sigh.

Anyone know the cost to get the middle roof glass replaced? I keep seeing costs for the windshield but not the glass piece right behind it.

Will be calling Tesla Monday morning when they open. Thanks!
Ouch! Sorry you had this happen. Let us know how it goes...
 
#3 ·
Picked my Model 3 yesterday in Orlando and sure enough... 2 hours after signing the paperwork, we were driving home on the highway and heard a huge rock hit the glass. Not a truck in sight either. Quickly looked at windshield and there was no damage so I thought it was ok.

Looking over the car later in the day though, noticed a fabulous chip in the glass right behind the windshield with a 6 inch crack behind it. Sigh.

Anyone know the cost to get the middle roof glass replaced? I keep seeing costs for the windshield but not the glass piece right behind it.

Will be calling Tesla Monday morning when they open. Thanks!
Do you have "Glass coverage" on your auto insurance? I'm not sure if they would cover the roof glass but I'd ask them first. In some states, like AZ, if you have glass coverage there is no deductible by law.
 
#4 ·
For what it's worth, just a few hours before my scheduled 3 delivery in January, I got a call from the Tesla Service Center in San Diego saying that they had discovered a crack in the center glass during pre-delivery detailing. They wanted to delay the delivery until they could replace the glass. I proposed going ahead with delivery and I would bring the car back for repair when they had a new glass piece in hand. They said that a crack in that glass panel was considered a safety issue and that they COULD NOT deliver the car as is. Fortunately, and to my surprise, they got a new glass panel from Fremont and delivered the car just a few days later.

Vistan
 
#5 ·
Picked my Model 3 yesterday in Orlando and sure enough... 2 hours after signing the paperwork, we were driving home on the highway and heard a huge rock hit the glass. Not a truck in sight either. Quickly looked at windshield and there was no damage so I thought it was ok.

Looking over the car later in the day though, noticed a fabulous chip in the glass right behind the windshield with a 6 inch crack behind it. Sigh.

Anyone know the cost to get the middle roof glass replaced? I keep seeing costs for the windshield but not the glass piece right behind it.

Will be calling Tesla Monday morning when they open. Thanks!
Wow! sorry to see that happen to your new 3! Looking forward to seeing how things work out for the replacement work.
 
#6 ·
Anyone know the cost to get the middle roof glass replaced? I keep seeing costs for the windshield but not the glass piece right behind it.
I'm sorry. That sucks!

@M3Driver might know based on this thread. Please report back on your quote otherwise?
 
#7 ·
Driving down the highway today, my son and I hear a singular loud pop. Neither of us saw anything hit the car, nor heard any other impact noises, or for that matter felt any kind of impact. I look over at him and say "that sounded like glass cracking." We look up and we have a tree like crack in the over head glass panel. When we finally pull over and look and there isn't any sign of impact to cause it. It was pretty weird. I've called Tesla and sent them photos, waiting to hear back from them.
The picture is looking down at the roof, but you are seeing the reflection of the bikes hanging overhead from the ceiling of the garage.
Tire Bicycle Wheel Bicycle wheel Bicycle wheel rim
 
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#10 ·
Driving down the highway today, my son and I hear a singular loud pop. Neither of us saw anything hit the car, nor heard any other impact noises, or for that matter felt any kind of impact. I look over at him and say "that sounded like glass cracking." We look up and we have a tree like crack in the over head glass panel. When we finally pull over and look and there isn't any sign of impact to cause it. It was pretty weird. I've called Tesla and sent them photos, waiting to hear back from them.
The picture is looking down at the roof, but you are seeing the reflection of the bikes hanging overhead from the ceiling of the garage.
View attachment 11703
Can you please confirm where this crack is located as it's hard to see from your picture. The reports that I've seen are commonly at the front edge of the middle section. See this other thread. https://teslaownersonline.com/threads/roof-glass-stress-cracks-vol-2.7156/

I hope Tesla gets these glass cracking issues under control.
The other reports of cracked roof glass were in very early build cars. @PTC Gator took delivery just shy of 2 months ago. I understand @KarenRei 's point about natural prevalence of broken glass in a given population. I explain that almost on a daily basis when discussing potential side effects of medicines. However, the reports of glass cracks appears to be in the same location which is more suggestive of a stress induced crack as compared to a random crack or one related to glass quality which could happen anywhere.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Glass cracking will always be a thing. Its extremely common among cars in general, and Model 3 has a *lot* of glass. Rocks are one source, but a lot of cracks are spontaneous (temperature changes, other sources of stress, etc)

With tens of thousands of Model 3s on the road, even for the relatively short period of time so far, I expect a lot of reports of cracked glass, even if the rate of cracks is no different from normal.

Wish someone could find a way to make glass that's not prone to cracking, but it's really the nature of the beast. If you look at any random piece of glass under the microscope you'll see that it's covered in microcracks, from the get-go - all of which have the capability to propagate. It's common to add internal compressive stresses in glass (tempering, toughening, etc) because glass can take compressive stress incredibly well (pushes fractures *closed*), and it means that anything put into tension at first just relieves the internal compressive stress.

That's not to say that there isn't an usually high rate of glass breaks, or that Tesla couldn't do more. I don't have the data to know that. But... glass will be glass. Very high compressive strength, tiny tensile strength, self-propagating failure modes.
 
#12 ·
Yep. He had a very early build and many were hoping it was resolved. We shall see.
 
#14 ·
Some better photos. Used a Crazy Glue pen just to show where the crack starts. It's hard to see from some angles. I didn't glue anything, it just has the right size and contrast to stand out (and it actually would sit in place).

 
#19 ·
Waited 2 days to hear back from the service center, went ahead and called them to get a definitive answer if possible. The roof is under warranty and will be replaced at no cost to me. Like Ben Zullinz, it wasn't caused by a projectile or accident, just presumably stress or manufacturing defect. It will take a few days to get the parts to the east coast and they will call to schedule a service when it arrives. I will get a loaner, just no idea what that might be until I bring the car in. No more than 3 days in the shop for the repair (and maybe a firmware update??).
 
#20 ·
Is there such a thing as crackedglassroofapobia?? Cause if so...I now have it.

I have quite a history with projectile damages with past cars and even with my 3. Even in the short 2 and a half weeks between delivery and my full front PPF install I had a healthy hit on my hood, tried to touch it up before the PPF...looks Ok...but I know it’s there. Then I took another hit no less than 3 days after PPF install on my passenger door, where I don’t have PPF of course. Still have to touch that up.

I even had my tint guy telling me that he heard reports the the back window “could” crack after installing tint due to increasing the heat levels of the glass. He wanted me to know that he heard of this possibility before I gave him the go ahead anyway.

...and now you are telling me the roof can crack without even being hit !! :eek::eek::eek:
 
#21 ·
Is there such a thing as crackedglassroofapobia?? Cause if so...I now have it.
I might be getting that too. On Tuesday I heard a sharp crack sound while driving in city traffic, and found a neat little rock ding in the roof glass. (This was just a few weeks after having to replace the windshield.)

It's a mystery what did it. The car wasn't beneath anything when it happened, and we were traveling at low speed. The damage looked like a sharp rock fell directly on the glass from above. It left a spider crack about 1 inch in diameter in the top layer of the laminated glass, and a pimple-sized white spot in the center where the glass powdered.

I took the car to Safelite and they fixed it in about 30 minutes for $99 by injecting resin and polishing it. The result looks pretty good and most people would never see it. It looks like a small water spot now.

TIP: If you need to get a repair like this, be sure to specify it's a laminated glass roof, not a "sunroof". They can't repair sunroof glass because it's not laminated, and so glass shop staff may tell you it's not repairable.

Tesla gave me an estimate on replacing the roof glass, in case the repair doesn't last: $1055 parts, labor and tax.
 
#22 ·
I was really hoping they were using the new shatterproof "Tesla Glass" that is going to be used in the Tesla Semi. I took a road trip to Myrtle Beach this past weekend and the windshield is very fragile, even more so than on my 1997 Toyota Corolla, which has taken several rocks to the windshield and never cracked. Well the model 3 received one crack going to the beach and one as soon as I hit the highway to come home. Not fun with less than 1k miles.
 
#23 ·
1 crack (repaired) 4 dings or chips in addition at roughly 4K miles on just the front windshield. This is more than all 3 of our other cars combined at roughly 310k miles between them. My roof cracked on its own and was replaced by Tesla at almost no cost. I still love the car, but forsee a recall or other remedy for the windshields sometime in the future.
 
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#24 ·
Picked my Model 3 yesterday in Orlando and sure enough... 2 hours after signing the paperwork, we were driving home on the highway and heard a huge rock hit the glass. Not a truck in sight either. Quickly looked at windshield and there was no damage so I thought it was ok.

Looking over the car later in the day though, noticed a fabulous chip in the glass right behind the windshield with a 6 inch crack behind it. Sigh.

Anyone know the cost to get the middle roof glass replaced? I keep seeing costs for the windshield but not the glass piece right behind it.

Will be calling Tesla Monday morning when they open. Thanks!
The crack you had was not due to a rock. My car did the same thing. I took it back to Tesla and they replaced the roof under warranty. I just picked it up this week. According to a Tesla thread they have a stress problem with the glass. you are not alone. The good news is they cover it under warranty.
Hood Automotive lighting Wood Line Flooring
 
#25 ·
The crack you had was not due to a rock. My car did the same thing. I took it back to Tesla and they replaced the roof under warranty. I just picked it up this week. According to a Tesla thread they have a stress problem with the glass. you are not alone. The good news is they cover it under warranty. View attachment 16098
Wow. It cracked in the shape of the Tesla logo.
 
#26 ·
@Justmurr Yes There is such thing as that. I have had my model 3 for just about 10 months. In the last 2 months I have had 2 pieces of glass crack. The 1st being the windshield the second being the middle glass. After being out just over $1000 for the windshield I told the Tesla individuals here in St. Louis that I now have a fear of driving the car. I don't want to hit something and crack another piece. I feel as though the glass on the car is cracking VERY EASY and it is a poor quality and design. I had the fear and expressed it and just last week the top glass has cracked. Keep in mind something may have struck it as I will go in tomorrow to have them look but my point is this.

1.) I don't want to drive this car anywhere due to this issue and being out $1000 every time. $2K in 2 months is just a joke
2.) What is the point if I have to have this fear. Is it just luck i don't know but seems like something is going on with the glass.
3.) I am hearing all about stress cracks. Stress cracks are caused by STRESS. Weather the fit of the glass, temperature, etc. This is an issue and it seems like anything hitting it will cause major cracking FAST.
4.) I told the rep why is it so expensive and they need to figure out how owners can be protected and NOT have this fear. He said the windshield is because the camera's calibration etc. Basically BS. So I said ok then what about the top glass how much would that be? It is EVEN MORE! So that means the calibration etc. is all BS. Because there are no cameras or anything up there.
5.) I am thinking of seeing what I can get for the car tomorrow. Being out $2000 on glass in 2 months with 0 support from tesla. No responses after writing in several times. No CS support from the St. Louis store and it is just a joke.

I am quite upset when you spend $72,000 on a Model 3 and they change the price one week later that they wont honor but the car is not even in your possession due to paint defects that had to be fixed by their team.

My Father has the Model X and has had similar issues. Overall The experience of the car is going south. I will say that I honestly was a HUGE advocate of Tesla but in some way they need to take care of the early adopters. I reserved my Model 3 first day right away and was within the first 100,000. Little to know the $1000 reservation fee would just be eaten up by "DOCUMENTS FEE"

Be ware of Model 3. Performance I will say is unbelievable. Quality of finish, build, and materials used is on the lower end of any vehicle.

May be a Model 3 owner tomorrow may not.
 
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