Safety issue with replacement windshields
It has been discovered that many people with Camry Hybrids that need a replacement windshield are getting one designed for the gas Camry. Since gas Camrys do not require a windshield as strong as what is required in the Hybrid, and windshields sustain about 30%-50% of the weight of a vehicle in a rollover, getting the gas Camry windshield in a Hybrid has the potential to turn a bad car accident into a fatal one.
So it is extremely important to find out more details about this issue. If you have had your Camry Hybrid windshield replaced, I am asking that you post (or send me a private message here, if you prefer):
[1] Who replaced your windshield,
[2] Information on which windshield it was replaced with.
[3] Whether or not you informed someone that you thought it might be the wrong glass (and if so, what company and when).
For #2, you can look at the bottom of the driver’s side of the windshield, and look for the M# and DOT#. As an example, the replacement I received was M334 and DOT376. If you have M334/DOT376 or M555/DOT404, it’s a gas Camry windshield if you have M3˲/DOT20 (or ME˲/DOT20; the 2nd character isn’t very legible), it’s a Camry Hybrid windshield.
Specifically, I’m trying to find out whether this is a problem just with Safelite, whether it affects other auto glass companies (it could be a problem with a bad database entry somewhere), and whether or not these companies knew ahead of time that they were installing the wrong glass.
If you have any questions, I would ask that you post them in the "Info if you have had your Camry Hybrid windshield replaced" thread instead of here, to prevent this thread from becoming off-topic.
-Scott
P.S. If you are interested in more details about windshields and repairs/replacements, I’m compiling as much information as I can at www.carwindshields.info .
Original post by rscott