flaviano

on the way home from work i was on 77 north going into cleveland. both my windows were up. i was in the far left lane against the median going about 70 mph. all of a sudden out of nowhere my drivers window completely exploded. glass shot through the car all over me. it was
like a bomb. i quickly got off the freeway and called 911. then checked to see if i was bleeding. the only thing i could come up with that would have enough force to completely blow out a window was a bb shot. the police looked in my car for like 5 min (of course). nothing. and no other damage but the window. i am going to look more closely later. anyway i have to get my window replaced ASAP. i am going to call the dealer tomorrow and try and get it in. if it was a bb shot thank god i had my window up.

two questions.

one, how much of a force would it take to completely blow out a closed drivers window in a Z. could a kicked up rock do this. i don't think so. that window exploded with force. i have glass all over, under the seats and even in the trunk.

two, how much is it going to cost me to get this window replaced at the dealer. any ballpark figures.

Patrick250

Maybe not a BB gun. I don't think there's enough force/mass there to do that. I have however seen kids on the side of I94 in Chicago chucking rocks into traffic. One of them connected with the hood of the van that I was riding in. Judging from the damage to the hood (hit head on), it would have taken out the windshield if it was an inch or two higher.

TZUNAMI

Holy ****!

zand02max

iTrader: (22)

sounds like an air gun or heck could even be a handgun.

I would not go to the dealer, check with an auto glass company. Not sure on cost.

I would call your insurance agent and see if its covered. In some states they have glass laws, for instance TX has low $50-100 deductibles. Not sure where u live though, GL!

BTW, where I live, CO, has no glass laws, just straight up Comp/Colliosion Deductibles. They do, however pay for rock chip fixes, however.

Conceyted

iTrader: (7)

damn i am glad you are okay. Sounds scary as all hell! good luck with everything, bro!

MadMax76

Once I was passing a golf course, about 200 yarsd or so from the freeway and a golf ball landed on my hood leaving a very noticeable dent. Couple of mph faster and it would've landed on my windshield. So I guess something the size of the golf ball could do the damage but not bbs. Could've been a slingshot, those things can shoot pretty heavy rocks.

flaviano

i don't see how it could have been a rock. i was on the inside of a 4 lane highway. there was a 2-3 foot wall separating me from the other oncoming lanes. but the sides of the freeway are sloped up. with residential and commercial properties all along it. so it would be possible for someone to have a clean view of my drivers window from the opposite side embankment. there was no car directly close in front of me. but yes there was heavy traffice going the opposite way. i would think these windows would be made to withstand teh impact of a rock on the freeway. not explode. i'm still picking glass fragments out of my hair.

when the cops came they ask me like 2 questions about what happend to me and the window. and like 15 questions about the car and how much they loved it. as you can figure i was in no mood to talk about my Z.

i want to go to the dealer to get the window fixed. its new and i don't want anybody but the dealer doing work to it. especially with the dropdown windows. plus if i ever have a problem with my window motor they could blame the poeple that put in the window and that would void my warrenty.

does anybody have a ballpark of how much it will be to put in a new window.

flaviano

i was just talking to my buddy who was in the military. he brought up the point that no kid with a bb gun can accurately hit a car on a busy freeway going 70mph. the bb would not have the speed from the bb gun to be accurate. and he doubts there was a sniper on the side of the road targeting my Z. ha.

he brought up the possibility that it was just a defective window. maybe the window flexed or just had a weak point and shattered. i guess the honda DelSols used to have back windows that just would shatter. anyway that would be covered under warrenty correct? and i have a police report to prove my story that i was just driving and the window exploded. have you ever heard of this happening on a Z? what do you guys think the chances are that the dealer covers the repairs on the window.

maxipad96

iTrader: (5)

Golf Ball?.. Actually I have had a golf ball hit a drivers window before at full force and no damage at all. Must've been something w/ more force or jagged

TZUNAMI

Read your warranty info. I'm 99% sure glass breakage of any kind is not covered.

zand02max

iTrader: (22)

100% agree, its not covered.

zand02max

iTrader: (22)

Them Bones

Why do you guys think a BB can't break a window? Haven't you ever had a punk kid drive down your street and shoot out every car window in sight? A moderate force concentrated into a small area on safety glass will easily shatter it. Just tap it with the point of a screwdriver, and you will see!

If you had the grease streak TSB done, the dealer could have over tightened the window bolts. You did say your car is new, so you probably didn't have the grease.

I would take it to a glass shop instead of the dealer. It's their specialty, and they will probably do a better job than the dealer.

hndumafia

iTrader: (10)

it's possible it could have been a rock. that happened to my mom once. she was driving down a road and a rock flew out of the bottom of a lawn mower from someone moving the grass in the median and it shattered the glass on one of the side windows. this was a while ago and the car was a jeep.

flaviano

the only problem is that there was no way a rock could have been "kicked up". i was about 3 feet from a median wall on my drivers side. here is a crude illustration of how the highway was set up. just to give you a better idea of what happened.

Woodyear

I dunno about a bb gun breaking a glass car window. Thats a very powerful bb gun. When I was a freshman in college, me and a bud went out with our paintball guns and for some reason started sniping this kids brokedown abandon car that he left in the parking lot. He was an RA so we didnt care about pelting his car. Anyway it took like 3 shots from my tricked out paintball gun to shatter one side window. This was prob at about 50 yards or more. A BB gun wouldnt have the accuracy or the force to shatter a car window in one shot, unless it was compounded by the actual moving speed of the car, creating a closing speed with the BB which would be a little faster. Even still, if it shattered the side window, this wouldn't apply. So who knows, if it were a bb I would suspect u would find a BB in your car somewhere, if it were a paintball or something you'd see paint. If it were a rock, you'd probably actually find a rock. Dont see how it could be a defective window, u were going straight on the highway, no body flex would really be involved.

AceJ587

It wasnt a BB, or a gun. If it were a gunshot, you Would know, because any bullet (even a .22) will not just stop and disappear after going through the window, it'll keep goin and make Another hole, or damage something else in the car. Ive never heard of a defective window, and assuming they exist, it is not (virtually) possible for a window to all of a sudden Explode by itself, period. Your window was hit by a rock (or equivalent), something large. I bet it came from the residential area on the opposite side of the freeway, and You were at the wrong place at the Very wrong time...to the 1/10th of a sec.

sushi1111

Heard of similar stories before. Here's a recent one:

http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=53832

Basically, could have been a rock, or maybe the glass shifted wrong and binded against the metal and BAM ! Shattered glass.

zectasy

iTrader: (2)

looks like your gonna have to go all army style...plexi or bulletproof glass the next time around : )

Jsn350Z

A BB CAN break out a window. A friend of mine when I was younger was grounded because he shot out the window of a car that was parked across the street. Of course it was an older 60's style mustang, so the glass was old, but a window is a window.

About no kid being able to accuratly hit a car moving on the freeway, sure maybe not in one shot, but givin numerous tries he is bound to hit a target eventually.

I serioulsy doubt your window just gave out and shattered like that. Almost positive something had to have hitten it, such as a bb, rock, or some other object that got thrown or flew up and hit your window. Someone could have thrown/shot something from the side, or something might have been thrown/shot out of acar passing in the other direction.