I sound like you. I have 26k on my 07 RTL. I got a rock star chip center and low about a month ago. Since it got cold, I have 4 huge cracks spanning out now in all directions. Looks horrible but ah well, its holding up. Maybe I can get a new free one at the big meet( ya right ). I'll change it soon, not a priority. Maybe it should be, eh?
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Brad

 

I picked up a small rock 2 days after I picked up my 2008 RL. Yes I was pissed and had one of those car wash/window fixing people take care of it for 20 bucks. I had another small rock hit a couple of days ago but it didn't leave much of a mark - more of a pit. Maybe I should try the bug shield.

 

I am on number 2, but have been hit hard a number of times. My first crack started as a star in the black border and one day just took off. I blame the dump trucks as they get rocks stuck in the treads and also litter the highways so others can throw their rocks.
I think it does have a "flat" windshield which allows the rocks to hit a bit more solid.

 

I have about 30K on my 06 RTL with OEM bug shield.

Other than the 200 million micro rock chips, nothing outstanding. The bug shield is to protect the hood and not the windshield. It probably wouldn't alter the trajectory of the rock anyway.

 

Picked my 08 Ridgeline up mid December I've got 2400 miles, found 2mm chip yesterday called to have a mobile repair done today.....the chip is now an 8" crack. No more repair now it's a replace. Yesterday was chip and crack day around here. Received new deflector from Weathertech along with liners. Liners are great but the deflector was chipped on delivery. Not a shipping issue either just damaged right out of the package. Needless to say I don't want to handle anything fragile today.

 

Windshields don't last long in Colorado - they use gravel on the roads in winter. Mine only has one chip after a year - an all-time record!

 

Had a stone chip last summer. Had it repaired successfully. No problems.
Since then, have had stones/debris hit the windshield with a loud enough noise to make me wince, but no chip or crack.
This glass has been about the same as any other I've had in other vehicles.
We take our chances on the open road. Difficult to avoid.

 

Happy New Year to All.

I have 26000 miles on my 2007 RL and love it. I am on my second windshield and now have one "repaired" star crack and just received the second one today.

What are your experiences with the windshield? Could it be design/aerodynamics? I recently took some advice from the ROC and purchased a Wade bug/wind deflector, but that didn't save me today.

I'd appreciate some feedback.

Be safe,

SL

My best friend drives a Chevy Silverado and goes thru 2 - 3 windshields per year and drives fewer miles than I do. I've replaced maybe one or two in the last 20 years. He can't understand the difference, but I can. Driving habits. He's always up behind the guy in front of him wanting that person to drive faster.

Yes, I've been hit by rocks from trucks going the other way, but those are much less frequent than the ones from the vehicle in front of you.

I believe driving habits have a lot (but not everything) to do with it.

 

I agree totally. The only windshield I've had to replace in the last twenty years is one that was smashed from a falling branch during Katrina. If one doesn't tailgate, one usually doesn't receive rock impacts with enough velocity to crack a windshield. Also, when staying more than fifty feet behind the next vehicle, rocks rarely achieve the height necessary to reach a windshield as they rapidly decelerate after being ejected from a powering tire.

 

When i had my last star repaired the window guy said the lifespan of a windshield here in Anchorage is 8 months. So your probably average.

 

Here in Alberta the lifespan is about the same in the winter with all the sand on roads.

 

Picked up my '08 Ridgeline thurs 1/24/08, hadn't been driving it for 1 hour and got a dink in the windshield! I was steemed! Bought the wife an '07 Honda Fit in Dec of '06. Already had 2 dinks repaired and the whole windshield replaced once in a year. Must be something with Honda windshields?!

 

the element is just as bad trust me.
nothign for me so far but some are not so lucky.

 

New windshields are crap---period. My buddy's 72 Caddy has the ORIGINAL windshield in it and it looks better than mine.

 

herein arizona we must be the windshield replacement capital of the world. I've replaced my 07 ridgeline windshield once, and have stones bouncing off the vehicle all the time. I did opt for the dealer installed invisible bra and it was worth every penny. Both fog lights also have cracked lenses which I'll replace very soon.

 

Well, I don't feel so bad now at all. We had a light ice coating on the roads recently. The salt & sand trucks had been out, and we took a short road trip. That was a mistake. Our windshield got literally sandblasted. There are tiny pockmarks all over the windshield, and one rock chip that we had repaired. When the angle of the sun is just right the windshield looks like you are trying to see through hundreds of tiny lights.

Wonder what a windshield costs for the Ridgeline? I had to replace one in a Nissan a few years back and it was over $600......

 

Wonder what a windshield costs for the Ridgeline? I had to replace one in a Nissan a few years back and it was over $600......

It's free in the states of Kentucky, Florida, Massachusetts, or South Carolina as long as you have comprehensive insurance. I know this doesn't help you but it might help others who are being duped by their insurance agencies. They are known as zero deductible states.

 

genuine honda factory windshield at local dealer is 370 dollars

 

Not just you! On second, need a third! 60,k on an 06.

 

I've never seen a windshield as prone to getting hit by rocks as the RL. I've had at least 7 separate cases of stars, bull's-eye's and chips and now have a crack all the way across. I was definitely beginning to question if aerodynamics truly does play a part for our trucks, as it just seems so excessive. My driving habits and commute haven't changed from my previous vehicles.

 

I had been driving around with a couple of small chips in my windshield for about a year now. They were small, and not in my sight line, so I was waiting to get them replaced.

Well yesterday on the way home in the snow and temperature around zero, I had to use my wipers, and wiper fluid alot. I soon noticed one of the chips turning into a crack & growing before my eyes. It spread pretty much across the whole windshield by the end of my ride.

Well good news I called State Farm and I am covered for windshield replacement as part of my comprehensive insurance, so no money out of pocket. Gotta love State Farm, I never have had an issue with them regarding repairs, and service. I am hoping to get the windshield replaced this week.

As for the durability of the RL's windshield, nothing out of the ordinary compared to other vehicles I have had, I typically have had to replace 1 or 2 windshields on every vehicle I have owned.

 

I've dodged the major cracks from getting hit but to be quite honest I think there is something about the angle of the windshield that doesn't have debris deflect off of it like some other vehicles. I do have two small pit marks where a rock (ummm, pebble maybe even) tapped the windshield while on the freeway and I've only got 4400 miles on my truck. My old volvo (93) was hit with pebbles and what not on so many occasions over the life of it's 150,000_+ miles but never developed any pit marks or cracks in it. Im a little concerned about how many rocks/pebbles seem to hit this windshield especially in such a low amount of miles on my vehicle compared to our other 3 vehicles that have over 400,000 miles (between all of them) and not a crack or pit mark on them. It could just be bad luck however.

Since Honda released the Ridgeline I've not seen one warranty claim come across my desk for a windshield (plenty for the Element however) and some of the dealers I contract with replace windshields in an almost seemingly regular fashion on some of the other Honda models.

Just my opinion and what I've experienced so far.

I do hate to admit it and I try to fix what I can but I live on a gravel road so my tires almost always have large gravel stuck in them so when I get on the freeway I can hear the click click of the gravel shooting against my rear mudflaps, but Im sure some of it must bypass my mudflaps and get flung up, hopefully not to damage other peoples windshields so Im constantly looking at my own tires now when I fill up at the filling station before getting on teh freeway every other tuesday to try to pick out as much gravel as I can see.

 

update,

got the windshield replaced yesterday morning, took the guys about an hour, and the RL is as good as new, with no 2 foot crack across the middle of the windshield.

As I said above I love State Farm, any claim I have ever made has been handled quickly and the work done right. This was no exception. I called them Tuesday morning, they got me in touch with the glass guys, and they could have had me done on Wednesday, but I wanted to wait until the temps were above freezing. So Thursday was the day, a balmy 37 degrees. Best thing about it, no money out of my pocket since I carry full comprehensive coverage.

 

I thought I was the only one with this luck.

Three weeks into an '08 and have a nice 8" crack at the top of the driver's side. I heard the rock hit, chipped the glass just below the top molding.

Funny thing, the car I traded for the Honda had a cracked windshield too, lower passenger side. I went two years with it that way.

I had a Ford Explorer for 88,000 miles and went through four windshields.

I had a GMC 1/2 ton that never cracked, even survived a deer strike although to be fair, the deer (little spike) was pretty much pulverized by the front of the vehicle.

 

Just wanted to add my experience to this post.

Last week I had my windshield replaced after a small chip became a 5" circle-shaped crack. Today I got a chip in my week-old windshield while driving in rush hour on the 5 freeway.

Does anyone have access to a database from an insurance co. or glass replacement co. that would show if Ridgelines are high on the list of vehicles with cracked windshields. Results might be interesting..

 

Got a chip in the windshield about an hour ago it high left side near the litttle numbers in the factory glass. My sister was driving & I was in the truck with her I had just picked her up from the commuter bus on her way from work.
Something went pop & she said blank I tunrd & looked up to see the little star shape in the glass. It looks like a BB but we were out along with other cars doing about 45MPH on the route to her house. The closes cars to us were about 6 car lengths ahead of us. I guess Iam going to have to take it into a glass shop to see if it can be fixed

 

Okay back from the Royal auto glass place the rock chip was repaired from yesterday. You can still notice it a little but not that much. The fix makes the rock chip close up a bit. If it holds together like the one I had fixed on my ACURA it will be just fine. I got that one 2 years ago around this sametime down in South Carolina a tractor trailer kicked a rock up on my windshield on I85.
The cost of todays repair was $30 total parts =$4.71 Labor= $25.

 

On my '06, I had 45K miles on it, no chips/cracks/stars. On all my previous vehicles, same (a variety of pick-up trucks).

Now, w/ my '07 - I've got a small crack in the upper right corner of the windshield.

Personally, I think it is bad luck on my part. I will see what the glass repair folks say (see if they can inject the resin to repair).

-ridgeln