FAQ > Unusual Windshield and Other Auto Glass Questions

• My 94 Saturn was involved in an interior fire which evidently burned so hot that it put bubbles in my windshield and melted some of the exterior mouldings on some of the other windows, Can Phoenix Glass replace my windshield and put new mouldings on the other glasses that were damaged. We can definitely replace your windshield but all the other glass, except the door glasses, in a 94 Saturn have modular glass installed in them. The mouldings on the glass are actually injection bonded to the window during the manufacturing process and cannot be replaced without buying completely new windows. There is also another downside to your situation. After having a fire in or close to your car, even though the windows may look unaffected, there is a pretty good chance that the body surfaces along with the urethane adhesive that bonds the glass to your vehicle may have been critically affected which can result in a very serious situation in the event of a collision later on down the road. A car fire unfortunately is a subject that goes beyond the scope of our website.

• My car has a Heads up display, does it require a special windshield and if so can Phoenix Glass install it? Yes it does require a special type of windshield to properly display the HUD image. Normal windshields will reflect distorted or double images. These particular windshields are also used on some vehicles equipped with night vision. They are manufactured with a wedge shaped polymer layer that is sandwiched between two layers of glass. While we can't say that they are a top seller we can say that we have sold and installed many of these types of windshields over the years.

• My car has a wind noise that sounds like its coming from the windshield, can you give me an idea what maybe causing it? A wind noise can be a very challenging problem for anyone to solve because as a rule no two are alike. If your a DIY person and want to make an attempt at solving your problem yourself there are two simple rules that must be followed. Rule #1 is don’t assume! Rule #2 is don’t trust your ears!. Its not at all uncommon to hear a wind noise in one area and have it turn out to be in a completely different place. Diagnosing the problem is the first hurdle to over come and the first step is an obvious one, look all around the suspected area at items like the top, side and bottom molding of the windshield that may look out of place or poorly fitting. If you don’t find anything obvious you can move onto one or more of the methods we use to try and find out what may be causing the noise.

The third method is for actual water leaks which is to use water. One of the top contenders for water leaks are Ford trucks, so much that we took the time to make a video and post it on YouTube on how to do a water test on one. In the video we used one of our service vehicles, a Ford Ranger, to show people the method we use to find where the water is entering the vehicle. This same method can be applied to any vehicle. If you would like to see it click on the link below and it should take you to it. Ford Ranger and Mazda Pickup Water Leaks

The second method we use is placing masking tape completely around the windshield in approximately 2 foot strips. Then the vehicle is taken on a road test and driven at the speed the air noise is said to occur. If the noise is not present we know we are on the right track. Next a section of the tape is removed (one piece at a time) and then road tested again until the noise in question is heard again. At that point tape is once again applied to half of the area in question and road tested again until we have found the exact spot that’s causing the problem. Once the exact spot that’s causing the noise is identified the problem can be addressed. If it does turn out to be a molding on the windshield it’s important that the repair performed on the vehicle is done with a non destructive method or you could be in for a shock when it comes time to replace your windshield and find yourself in need of buying new moldings. There are several reusable windshield moldings on vehicles in the market place today that can cost hundreds of dollars to replace. If your vehicle is an older model, by 10 years or more, you may not be able to buy one at all.

The first method we use you probably won’t be able to accomplish unless you happen to have one is done by using an electronic ultrasonic leak detector. The procedure works by placing a small transmitter unit inside the vehicle in the region of the suspected leak. At that point the end of the wand of the ultrasonic detector, which contains a receiver microphone, is passed over the questionable area on the outside. When the wand is passed over the area of the leak the sound waves from the transmitter will make the detector unit beep at a much faster rate similar to a Geiger counter as it homes in on the hole. This is a great way to find an actual hole but it will not pinpoint a seeping air or water leak.

Whether it’s an air noise or a water leak our Phoenix Glass technicians can and will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have or if you’d like we can solve the problem for you.

Our technicians here at Phoenix Glass use 3 different methods for finding wind and water leaks.