Climate Cover $600 lessons learned

I was so happy to get the BMW Climate Cover:

• Covers outside - this prevents solar heat from passing twice through the wndshield glass
• covers side windows - the foldout ones cover only the windshield
• may help snow removal - if not frozen to surface

I was so happy until lunch when a gentle breeze tossed it back over the front and I pulled it back. Only it caught on a windshield wiper. My mistake, I pulled it closer to disentangle it only the wiper came off! Then the wiper arm smacked the windshield and spider cracks. I should have dropped what was in my hands and manually disentangled the cover.

Thursday I have a $600 appointment to replace the window. Tuition in the school of hard knocks. I will continue to use the climate cover, I live in North Alabama and the steering wheel get TOO HOT. But I'll be careful to not pull on it if stuck on the wiper. In contrast, the Toyota wipers almost require hand tools to take off with positive locking tabs.

Bob Wilson

Ouch! Sorry to hear and thanks for the warning. Maybe everyone who saves $600 thanks to your tip can contribute a little to your "lesson."

Wow, this is a hard lesson. Wouldn't your insurance cover the windshield?

with a $500 deductible, I imagine.

Many policies have $0 deductible for windshield.

There are some parts that are exceptionally expensive and the windshield turns out to be one. Originally I was under the impression the camera was part of the rear view mirror assembly and apart from the windshield. Now I know it is an integrated assembly and pretty expensive.

I was going to use 'Safelite' but then I realized it is not enough to replace the windshield as the camera alignment needs to be checked and verified. Since I bought the car primarily because of the collision avoidance, it becomes fairly expensive.

The BMW service center wanted the parts bought first, no problem. Sometime next week I'll be back in the Prius for a couple of days while they replace the windshield. <SIGH>

• I need a bumper sticker,"My Other Car Is At The BMW SPA"

BTW, seeing the wiper arm crack the windshield is something they've seen before. It was not a surprise to them.


Considering the expense, it may make sense to look at some of the glass-crack treatment systems. In my case, there are two significant cracks that started out about 6" each. Experience has shown they only get longer. However, I remember reading reports that small cracks, treated early, can be stopped and delay a repair action.

Bob Wilson

I'm so sorry to read about your misfortune, especially since you're a new owner.

I feel very fortunate that this hasn't happened to me. When I place our i3 in storage for 6 months each year, I remove the windshield wiper blades so they don't lie against the glass without moving for 6 months. When I did this in April, I forgot that the wiper arms were still extended when I opened the frunk. The frunk lid hit the extended wiper arms which caused them to suddenly snap with a bang to their normal position against the windshield. With no wiper blades attached, the metal arms hit the windshield but fortunately did no damage. I'll be much more careful in the future.

A quick Google search reveals it is not uncommon:

• BEWARE - Cracked windshield while changing wiper blades - Kia ...
  http://www.forteforums.com/.../845-beware-cracked-windshield-while-changin...
  Apr 3, 2010 - 15 posts - ‎10 authors
  It never happened to me and I've never had a cracked windshield in my ... or something on the windshield so that if you accidentally drop the arm, .... MaForte, are the cracks on the outside layer of glass or on the inside layer?
  
  Wiper Arm Cracks Windshield! [Archive] - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums
  http://www.bimmerfest.com › ... › E90/E91/E92/E93 (2006 - 2013)
  Jun 8, 2010 - 33 posts - ‎15 authors
  ... speed?)....your windshield wiper arm was not going anywhere near that fast. ... and i will bet they're just calling safelite in to replace the glass.
  
  cracked windshield changing wiper blades - pay out of pocket or claim ...
  https://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=1518044
  Aug 8, 2013 - 51 posts - ‎32 authors
  I was changing my wiper blades today, and one of the wiper arms slipped out of ... and left i nice impact spot + spiderweb crack on my passenger side windshield. ... Most insurance companies do not have a glass replacement ...
  
  Cracked Windshield from wipers - AudiWorld Forums
  http://www.audiworld.com/forums/.../cracked-windshield-wipers-1993206/
  May 14, 2006 - So I was washing my car today and flipped teh wipers up to wash the ... off and the metal part of the wiper coming down and cracking the glass!
  . . .

Stuff happens; fix it, and; move on.

Bob Wilson

I've had a (smaller) stone chip repaired and it's been nearly 4-years...windshield has not cracked further, and you really have to look to see it. Your results may differ. It's worth a try, as it's usually free if you have glass coverage...if it doesn't work, you can always resort to full replacement.

Learned this lesson myself a long while ago. I keep two halves of a new car wash sponge with small slits made in them and put a boxing glove on the end of each arm whenever I'm doing anything with the blades off. At least it might stop the impact.

Sorry to read that. This is not a nice way to learn but s*** happens I guess Thank you very much for your feedback anyway. We'll all be careful...

Dodged a bullet!

Replacing the windshield took an extra 3 hrs because they have to be careful about not nicking the carbon fiber body. At their training, there was a story about Safelite using a curved knife to remove the old windshield of a BMW i8 but they damaged the body. Repairing the body, they estimated to be a $20,000 problem. WOW!

Anyone have a problem in the past with expensive body work on an i3 or i8?

Bob Wilson

Repairing a CFRP chassis is totally foreign to most body shops. It's not all that hard, but the knowledge and tools and procedures differ considerably compared to a steel body. THrow in the more common, but still less so than steel aluminum bits, and if you don't know what you're doing, you can wreck things quickly.

bwilson4web said:

Replacing the windshield took an extra 3 hrs because they have to be careful about not nicking the carbon fiber body. At their training, there was a story about Safelite using a curved knife to remove the old windshield of a BMW i8 but they damaged the body. Repairing the body, they estimated to be a $20,000 problem. WOW!

Anyone have a problem in the past with expensive body work on an i3 or i8?

Click to expand...

I read a report (can't find it now) of an i3 that was totaled when an inexperienced windshield replacer drilled some holes in the CFRP windshield surround during windshield replacement.

There have been several reports of very expensive i3 body work and i3's being totaled with what appeared to be relatively minor collision damage, partially due to the few repair shops qualified to perform such repairs and thus charging high rates due to little competition.

From what I've been able to find out...IF you have the training and the access to the factory instructions and jigs, repairing the CFRP is straightforward and fairly easy. But, like in many things, trying to wing it can lead to some major problems. Hopefully, I never need their services for this, but the dealer 1/4-mile from my house is BMW factory certified to work on CFRP.

One unexpected experiment is the cold-start, auto cruise control. Before replacing the windshield, the automatic cruise control would not work for the first three miles. My working hypothesis has been condensed water in the camera assembly. Too early to tell but if the auto cruise control works from cold-start over time, I'll be very happy.

Bob Wilson