Well, count me as another TCH owner to get his windshield chipped. My wife noticed it this afternoon. It must have happened last night while driving home on the 405 freeway. I heard something bounce off the windshield and got that sinking feeling that there may have been some damage, but did not check things out because I was running late and essentially forgot about it by the time I got home.
While driving to the mall with the family, my wife started staring at the windshield on the passenger's side. Next thing she says is "Our windshield is chipped!".

We inspected the chip and didn't feel anything but there is damage there. As Sallyspal stated, maybe the TCH windshield is susceptible to this type of damage.

 

You are 90% correct. However, a low Cd means that a the rock will continue unimpeaded on its trajectory to a distance closer to the surface of the TCH than it would be if the the Cd was more. The last few millimeters of passage through the more laminar flow over the surface of the TCH would do little to influence the rock's trajectory. A higher Cd would make the rock encounter turbulent flow earlier and provide more of a deflecting influence.

 

Did the rock really not hit with much force, or did the sound-absorbing properties of the windshield make it only sound like it didn't? Just a thought.

 

Interestingly, all windshields in the US are laminated, with a sheet of plastic between two sheets of tempered glass. It's required so the occupants are not showered with sharp shards of glass if it breaks. I believe the sound insulating properties come from the thickness of each layer. You know how sometimes a small ding will craze into a huge crack that zigzags across the windshield? That's from the tempering which puts each layer of glass into opposing stresses. That's what makes it shatter into small, marble sized chunks if it breaks. Once dinged, the glass wants to releave those stresses.

 

I'm glad we have glass coverage on our insurance. If anything happens to our windshield I will demand factory glass.

 

I thought the same thing, because the concussion was fairly slight. However, I did see the rock coming at me, which leads me to believe it was travelling more slowly. Who knows? I just chalked it up to bad luck and hope this is the worst that ever happens to the car!

 

Well, welcome me to the club. Freaking Dulles Toll Road has a lane under construction. All kinds of gravel. I avoid it like the plague. Well today a huge chunk of gravel flew up and hit me a few lanes over. Really smashed it, right in the center. The whole windshield hasn't gone yet but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.


It needs to be replaced badly. Now, I know the Hybrid is supposed to have special glass, so I figure this isn't going to be cheap. To those that have had it done, how much was it and did you bring it back to the dealer. I don't really know what to do with it. I hesitate just to have some glass dealer do it--new model, new glass.