FJ Cruiser: Cracked windshield? You're screwed

No way in hell. You're getting ripped off.
Windshield on all cars cost $300-$600.
This would make the FJ some ultra luxury $200,000 car to have a windshield that expensive.

And don't your long term vehicles have any windshield insurance?

Specially designed windshield shape that isn't readily available in the aftermarket yet, maybe folks? This is probably one of the biggest (and very few) gripes I had about Toyota back when I owned one- parts were *expensive*. So while everyone bragged about how reliable their Toys were compared to the domestics, people with domestics still paid less for repairs on average, despite possibly having more visits for such things. An exhaust manifold with redesigned heat shield on 92 Corolla cost me close to $1000. Worse, the original design my car had was a known issue to Toyota but they refused to cover it. Not that the latter is unique to them or even imports though.

Sounds like the crack may be small enough to be repaired. Have you looked into that?

I hear you Jerry. I owned a 80-series Cruiser for awhile. I had to buy new center caps for the alloy wheels. Just the center caps, a single piece of painted plastic with the Toyota sombrero logo on it to cover the lug nuts - $70 EACH.
 
Shock absorbers, an oil-filled mechanical device with dozens of internal parts, percision ground surfaces, and welding operations necessary to build, - $35 each.
 
???

This sounds like it should be covered by a comprehensive insurance plan. And I don't think insurance companies do more than a $1k deductible (and typical is $500).
 
So, yeah, expensive, but it shouldn't have to be that much.

Just go down to Pep Boys/Kragen/Auto Zone etc and buy a windshield repair kit. I did this for my Wrangler when a rock did the same damage. Simple to use, a syringe with suction cup and epoxy resin. After 30K miles including rough offroading the crack hasn't grown at all.
C'mon, use some initiative!

Did the Toyota dealer give a breakdown of the service? I.e., $1200 for the glass and $200 labor, or vice versa, or ....
 
would be interested as to why this replacement cost so much.
 
And is this true for other Toyota models?

I know many Subaru windshields are expensive because they have a heating element (deicer) at the base of the windshield. Thanks to a stone tossed from a truck in front of us, we had to have one replaced on our Forester, but insurance covered it.

$1400 is still below our insurance deductible, so if we were foolish enough to spring for the dealer repair, it'd be out of our own corporate pocket.
 
And it's not that we're lazy and fail to explore possibilities other than standard dealer repairs. By looking at the crack, we were confident that it could be filled instead of replacing the whole glass, but since the FJ was going for regular service anyway, we felt obligated to get the quote while it was there.
 
We were laughing so hard when we left, we didn't bother to get a breakdown on glass versus labor.

we have a 06 sedona with a crack on the windshield and the dealer quoted us 460 for the glass and 135 for installation.

To add perspective...cost to replace windshield on my Ford Ranger a couple months ago...$162 installed.

What kind of ridiculously high comprehensive deductible do you people have? $1400 is still below it? Mine is $0 and it isn't even that expensive per 6 months.

stang, their deductible is like this because Edmunds is not a single person or family, but a company that is involved with testing multiple cars at a time, with multiple drivers using them each and every day. Having a "normal" deductible would be extremely cost prohibitive.

In Massachusetts comprehensive insurance will fix or replace the windshield with zero deductible. They will even come to you home or business to do the work.  It's a smart law that insures most everyone on the road has a good view of the road.

Florida is the same, so long as you carry comprehensive insurance, the windshield repair is free of charge. Moreover, there is one Windshield repair place in town that throws in a free box of Steaks when you have your Windshield repaired. There are virtually no vehicles with cracked glass here.

I'm in Michigan, the most expensive state to own a vehicle in the United States of America. On the planet Earth. What planet are you on? I can ship you a windshield for your FJ, from here for less. I work at a Toyota dealership, but, I wouldn't get it here. The Parts dept. is the most profitable dept. in the dealership, even more than the Service dept. Also, in Michigan we can drill, glue, and plug a windshield if the hole is smaller than a dime, and has not spidered. That usually runs about $50. They may make a trip out to you for $1400. I'll ask.

Hi guys. Thought I'd add my experience to this section. There is a major flaw with the FJ windshield design because of the low deflection angle. Most windshields are "slanted" more allowing rocks to skip off with little or no damage.
 
That said, I got a rock hit 3 days before I even got my license plates. A dime sized ding to begin with, that had run to nearly the length of a dollar by the next morning. Called the company out to drill/fill the crack, but it's not done any good. Three weeks later, and now the crack has gone vertical by another 1/2 inch. I'm going to keep driving as is for now especially since I've only had the vehicle for about a month.
 
Dealership estimates $1063.20 for the Toyota windshield plus another $125 for installation. The company they use to install (they subcontract the work) can get me an aftermarket with installation for $488.33. It's defnitely cheapter than going through my Texas insurance that has a deductible of $500.00.

I owned 6 cars over 27 years. Only the Accura Integra had a busted windshield from a 3" chunk of concrete. I own my FJ for 11 months and have one dime sized ding, one 12" crack, and one quarter sized star, all within the past 4-5 months. FJ owners are complaining about the windshield (I don't care why), and other vehicle owners are not complaining as loudly. I think there is something to the FJ windshield complaints and I have my windshield as evidence.
 
Toyota designed an upright windshield (a design I love), presumably understands the laws of physics (which I don't), and did nothing to mitigate the design in order to make the FJ windshield last the way a more steeply windshield made from the same material would last. This is an off road vehicle for crying out loud! What were they thinking - that pebbles will magically avoid the FJ windshield because the FJ is so good looking?
 
I will not replace the windshield with a Toyota product. They do not deserve the business. I'll go with a PPG windshield instead, and it is cheaper.

HELP:I'm in California,I've got a good size crack in my windsheil,not repairable,I got quoted $1,900.00 from a dealership,I have to fix it I got a ticket,any suggestions,I can't emagine paying that much for a windsheild....

Hey,
     Looking at all the information here. I just shake my head. Ok now it's my turn for a new windshield. I got a rock that hit about 8 inches from the corner, and 1/4 inch from the very top passenger side. BULLSEYE!!!!! I've got 8500 miles on it now. My Fj got the new PPG windshield put in this morning July 27th,2007. Here in MN my insurance covered mine 100%. The total for the installed windshield was $482. So yes please avoid the dealers if they are looking at high numbers. A friend of mine says PPG windows seem to take the abuse much better.

There is hope for the windshield, I bought my FJ over Easter weekend and 2 weeks later had many many pebble pits and 1 large crack. I took it back to Toyota and the would not give me a new one, they directed me to my insurance company, well screw that my deductible is $1000.00 that is required by Toyota Financial. I called many places and got quotes from $1100 to $1395, I was outraged. I kept calling places and found a company here in Wichita, Kansas that just replaced it 9-22-2007 for $288.00 and did not use my insurance Comp. Please Fj Cruser Owners do not pay those High Prices. I was online and came across this link that you FJ owners might want to see. Maybe some of you have already got involved, but if you haven't you might want to consider, you may receive you money back for your windshield if you have replaced it.
 
http://www.fazmiclaw.com/FJCruiser.html

AUTHOR: kstaatsk
DATE: 11/06/2007 06:23:33 PM
EMAIL: kdog13@rocketmail.com

I have had my fj for about 4 months now and bought it used. when i bought the fj it had a couple of chips out of the windshield (i got those fixed myself). I just went on a long trip and got a doozie of a crack in my windshield and don't know what to do! I can't believe some people are being told it is $1900 to fix!

It could be many reasons. One is very weak (loose) connection between drive motor and wiper linkage, which cause it to slip. Then it could be motor issue, where it is out of oomf and stops before coil voltage builds up, it is also possible that end swith or timer regulator went wrong and generates stop command in the middle of the cycle. I would check all of the mechanical connections first, then locate relay (in the fuse box, or under the hood) and switch it with identical relay to see if thi eliminated the problem. If nothing helped, I would go after control unit which may or may not be separate from car computer. http://www.autoglassguru.com