I's been a wee bit cold here the past couple days (singkle digits, -20 windchill). I was sitting in my 2001 Outback yesterday evening letting it warm up. I turned on the defrosters, windshield wiper defroster included. After a few minutes, i actually watched the windshield crack from both ends of the defroster element! When I got home I check it out further. The crack extends the full length of the defroster element on the windshield. There was no impact of any kind. Has anybody seen or heard of this before? Thanks in advance!
Not an odd problem at all- seems to be fairly common on outbacks. I would talk to a dealer and then regional rep. Do some research and you'll find it happens. Definitely a design defect and class action suit may be necessary if Subaru will not fix it
Thanks for all the feedback folks. I have no coverage for the glass on this car and it's well out of warranty. So tomorrow I'm dropping about $300 on a replacement windshield. My wife had to take the car out today (unanticipated). She had the regular defroster on and watched the crack grow. Yes, we know it won't shatter...but it sure doesn't make at feel any better. It seems like a major safety issue. I can only imagine how I would react if the windshield goes while I'm doing
70mph down the expressway.
I e-mailed the local dealer. They said to contact my insurance company and the glass guys. I really didn't expect much from them. I also mailed Subaru via their website and will let you know if I hear anything. I didn't see anything related to this problem elsewhere online. Maybe tomorrow I start making my way through the phone chain. Anyhow, sounds like an issue that Subaru needs to address. Anymore suggestions would be great!
Did you get your certificate from the Great Falls Tribune for the "30 Days Of 30 Below" (or lower)? (IIRC 1974)
-51 sounds like the Cut Bank area, I saw the same in Browning.
It took 4 hours to get a schoolbus started if the tank/hose/freezeplug/headbolt (engine) heater crapped out. We cobbled up a duct to direct the blast out of a torpedo heater (the ones that sound like a small jet engine) up under the oil pan and transmission. The first bus, we didn't do the tranny heat. It grenaded when the clutch was let out. After starting the busses with dead heaters, they didn't get shut off until the engine heater could be replaced.
NHTSA needs to know about these occurences. I think you should contatc them. I've read that up to 40% of a vehicle's structural integrity is in the glass. It can be critical in a rollover and perhaps other types of accidents.
It was in the winter of 68-69 in Great Falls. I was stationed at Malmstrom AFB. They were giving out certificates which said you survived below -10F for 30 days and below -30F for 10 days. The coldest day was
-51F.
I remember we used to go skiing at a place called Kings Mountain or something of that sort. It was warmer up there, being -15F rather than the -20F in town.
And the way I started my Corvair was with a spare battery I kept charged in my kitchen. I would take it out with me every morning and jump start the car. I bought the Corvair as it was air cooled. And no, I didn't have any heaters for the engine block. Even if I did, there was no place to plug them in at my rented residence.
One of the officers had an old Kaiser Frasier which was so loose, it would start regardless of the temp. He would then use it to jump start the other cars. You literally had to go out every 3 hrs or so and start up your car or else you were dead in the snow.
That was the year that I an my team were stranded out at a missle site. We had to be rescued with a SnowCat. We helped the ranchers out by dropping bales of hay from helicopters from the base. I could go on for hours, but won't.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.