I rarely drive my F Type on the highway here in AZ due to the constant rock chips I seem to get no matter how long I actually drive on the highway. So normally I rarely drive the R anywhere unless it is local roads. Last night I decided to take it to the other side of town to meet a friend that flew into town at Top Golf. Barely go onto I17 and 2 rock chips. Anyone else freak out about rock chips whether in AZ or any other state with so many rocks? I lived in CO before as well and always had chipped/cracked windshield. Maybe I should just suck it up and drive the car and replace the windshield annually like I do my other cars. I had my glass and entire car ceramic coated and it sure didn't prevent the chips on the windshield. I am taking the car in for its semi annual inspection at the shop that applied the coating this week.

 

Rock chips suck for sure. Of note, Ceramic Coating will NOT prevent or even help with rock chips. If you want some protection, you should apply a protective film like XPel or similar. That will protect your front end very well, and many of the products are self-healing, so even the gouges in the film will seal up. I have that on mine and it does very well.

Good luck.

DC

 

Try applying the "Two-Mississippi Rule" when you drive.

That is, stay AT LEAST two seconds behind the car ahead. Yeah, other dweebs will pull in on you....I HATE that, too.

Also, pass any trucks (especially dump trucks, full of gravel).

+++++++++++++

I hear ya about rock chips in AZ tho'. I remember renting a car in AZ and a big part of the post-rental inspection was to check the windshield...

 

I say drive your car and enjoy the thrill. That's what comprehensive insurance is for.

 

It does seem like a LOT of newer auto glass is sugar-glass and that even a pine needle hitting it will cause damage. I had a small chip on the passenger side that began to spread before I could get someone to deal with it and then had a much larger gouge near where the inspection or registration sticker goes. It was far beyond a chip.

The small one spread laterally and eventually ran across the lower part of the windshield just below wiper level. A few weeks after it met the larger gouge, I got an upward inverted L that formed across a few days of Texas heat. It is there and I definitely KNOW it is there, BUT it does not impede my view. Given how chip-prone these seem to be, I have put off taking a chance on the replacement. I am not happy with other replacement glass I have seen on other vehicles and, at least at the moment, I don't have leaks or gremlins that can follow a poor installation. If it doesn't pass inspection or if the spread got worse, then I will look to the ding on my insurance for the claim...

 

I am taking the car in for its semi annual ceramic coat inspection. I will have them look at the 2 little chips and let me know if it is worth possibly putting Xpel on the windshield. These are tiny chips but I notice everything. My other cars I just assume annually I will get a new windshield put in. I have not accepted that for the F Type yet.

 

If you see chipped glass, why not have the damage sealed at Safelite Auto Glass or similar?

Our insurance paid the costs totally for this service. After all, its a LOT cheaper than replacing the glass.

 

Xpel is not meant to be installed on glass. It causes distortion when looked through if it is installed on glass.

 

As someone who just replaced a windscreen, here is what I've learned.

Insurance companies do not have to replace the windscreen with OEM parts if the car is over 2 years old.

Insurance companies will lead you to their preferred installer, which does not always have the best glass. You do NOT have to use their recommended shop. They won't tell you this.

Find a shop that stocks Pilkington glass. Pilkington is the company who provides the glass to JLR, and its very good glass. You give up the Jag logo on the windscreen, but it is the same as OEM. The shop will work with the insurance company and you will be all set, minus your deductible.

Good luck

 

I'm not sure many other companies make F-type glass - it's not exactly a mass market product.

 

I had to replace the windshield on my XE shortly after I got it (rock). The glass installer sourced the windshield from a dealer, I think, so it was OEM without me having to insist on it.

 

Well...I feel Jinxed! No specs on my glass at all....I told my mother I would come to her house over the holiday to help her with a few items that needed fixing...No good deed goes unpunished...On the way out, a truck with a trailer going the opposite direction threw a rock, and I heard the loud pop! Then saw nothing, so I thought...WHEW! I was lucky...Fast forward 30 seconds later and I got the below! Fun...Now I am pretty sure it needs replacing (the heated windshield as well) ...So excited.

DC

 

Ouch!

 

Had to replace my windshield when I bought my car and went through Safelite who picked up the glass from the Jaguar dealership...saved $600.

 

Yep. Replacement, there's no fixing that. I have the heated windscreen in my '17 XJL and got a rock chip a few months ago. Called my insurance and they wanted me to have it "repaired' by Safelite first, but allowed for a replacement if it didn't work out. The repair lasted about 1 week and then started spidering. When I called my dealer about replacement he sent me to their "glass guy" who has been replacing Jaguar glass for 30 years locally and he said that a "repair" never would have worked on a heated windscreen...which made sense as soon as he said it...too much going on between the layers of glass and plastic and microwires for a good bond. In any event, they sourced the glass from a Jaguar dealer as there were no other OEM options. Insurance covered it minus deductible.