I have had my HHR since May 06. My windshield doesn't have any chips in it, but when the late afternoon sun hits it the windshield looks like it was sand plasted. I have a 01 Tahoe and the windshield in the Tahoe looks better then my HHR. I went to the dealer to complain and they refered it to the district rep. I told them about soft glass and the rep said that the front windshield on the HHR's has an anti glare coating over it and that is what is all pitted. They also offered to replace my windshield at no charge under the warranty. I should have asked the rep if it was a anti glare coating why didn't they put it on the inside of the glass instead of the outside. Has anyone else heard this story?

 

If they`re gonna replace the windshield at no charge, who cares whether the coating is in or out...
Go for it...

 

I have a chip and now it has spidered so replacement is on the way, I have 30,000 miles without alot of surface issues, just the chp and crack...I guess that I will see how the repalcement holds up, waiting for the appointment now...

 

Haven't heard the explanation you've mentioned on here to my recollection and I've been here since Mid-April. If the dealer is willing to replace the windshield under warranty...get it done before they change their mind. Haven't heard of many getting them replaced that way...usually an insurance deal. Mine is sandblasted pretty bad too and I've only got 4400 miles on mine. Maybe I should run it by the dealer and see what they say. When they do get replaced, dealers generally use a local company to do it for them. I've heard that PPG has the best glass for the HHR, so you might want to make sure you get that when they do replace it.

Please keep us posted...I'm curious to see if they really do this at no charge. It's my understanding that glass is one of the things excluded from the warranty, but I could be wrong...done that before.

 

After my second deer hit I asked the body shop for PPG glass replacement and he took care of doing it.

 

I doubt it's the fault of the anti-glare coating. The Car Talk guys once said that car companies have collectively chintzed out on window glass, using light-weight safety glass that isn't as durable as the old stuff. It's somewhat noticeable, old car glass from the early 80's and 70's seem to hold up pretty well, where new windshields get pitted up fairly quick.

 

Yeah at 2007 prices.
I really don`t understand the rational of the auto industry when it comes to parts. A HHR costs around $20,000 , If quality glass was used, if would cost ,say, $20,100. Taking in consideration that the windshield isn`t an option, so there`s one there no matter what.. Would that $100.00 have been the reason you would`nt have bought your HHR? Heck no. You would`nt have even seen it, round #s don`t normally appear on a window sticker.

 

:redXdance where's the pix :redXdance

 

Here is the follow up to my orginial post.
Just got my HHR back from the dealer with a new PPG windshield under the warranty. They even installed one with the sun tint at the top.

 

BB, you're right about this. And I have raised the same objections when I worked for GM. As it was explained to me...... it begins to total up on all those little things that should have been added...better upholstery material...better tires, better cooling, a larger bolt, etc. etc. Then you multiply that by the number of vehicles produced.

As an example, using your logic from above......you DID BUY THE CAR, with the existing poor quality glass. Thus GM saved $100 on your car. Multiplied by 90,000 units...they saved $9,000,000. Now, we can only guess, what they saved by omitting other items that we all think are noteworthy.

In some cases, I didn't agree with GM's thinking but I did (and still do, in most cases) understand it. I witnessed a lot of these "changes", some won..some lost. Most of the time it was the "bean counters" who vetoed a particular item. They would not increase an engineering or design budget to accommodate the value added....thus keeping the retail price of the vehicle, in the market segment it was designed for.

I'm not trying to make excuses for the "General". That is for, far more intelligent people than me. But, I though I could add this perspective based on my experiences.

My 2 cents....AGAIN