Jeep Wrangler: Does It Have a Cracked Windshield Problem?
Do you find yourself replacing the windshield on your Jeep Wrangler far too often? We just may have found a solution.
While you rarely hear a lot of bad things from Jeep Wrangler owners, one glaring issue seems to keep sticking around. And that issue is the ease with which windshields are cracking. A large number of Jeep Wrangler owners are reporting this problem, which is something you don’t normally expect to see very often. But as we found in the JK Forum, frequent windshield cracking seems to be an issue that many of you are rather familiar with.
“I’m on my second road trip and again my windshield is cracked by flying rocks,” said silva75. “Is it a Jeep Wrangler thing? Not to mention 3 other nicks in the glass. Anything I can do to help prevent this?”
As Mark Doiron (and others) point out, this just seems to be a problem unique to Jeeps.
“It is a Wrangler thing due to the upright windshield. Not really much you can do about it. Windshield coverage is about the best answer.”
And he also notes that there are some existing products that might help.
“There is some kind of clear chip protector that a friend who owns a tinting shop said had possibilities. But I’ve never heard anything further about that. My concern would be damage from using wipers to scrape away road muck. Glass is reasonably durable compared to most plastics. I read the Ford GT will have a Gorilla Glass windshield. But it is still sandwiched between two conventional plates to provide better shatter performance. And that’s a $400K car.”
As rob_engineer points out, fixing existing cracks can help prevent future ones.
“The crack repair can help extend the life by reducing the chance of the crack growing. I did this to a TJ with some pretty bad chips. Did not grow at all over a 3 year period.”
This problem also seems to vary in frequency depending on where you live. Meaning that those who reside in areas with bad winters and more flying gravel, like srino, have worse luck.
“Original windshield is chipped, cracked, and crappy. Will eventually replace it but also, it ain’t just a Jeep thing. Living in Anchorage, you just get used to flying gravel and stuff. It is a way of life here and you DON’T need to be tailgating to be a victim. Every other car has a screwed up windshield.”
For their part, Jeep hasn’t exactly come out and directly addressed the cracking windshield problem. But interestingly enough, they are now offering aftermarket windshields made from Corning’s Gorilla Glass for 2017/2018 model Wranglers. The same stuff that covers your cell phone, of course. So is this some sort of back road way of admitting there’s a problem?
According to Mopar, this fortified windshield “can take just about any punishment Mother Nature can dish out.” Including sharp stones and blunt objects like rocks and hail. We’re obviously curious to find out just how well these things hold up, as are most of you, we’d imagine. So if you’ve upgraded to this stronger glass on your Jeep Wrangler, head over here and let us know how it’s holding up!
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