Features on a windshield

As a driver or vehicle owner we often do not know what is on our windshield. It is no longer just glass. Your grandparent or great-grandparents first vehicle may have had a glass windshield. glass if broken would cut the driver and passenger so, laminated safety glass was introduced. a thin layer of plastic was sandwiched between the glass to prevent it from breaking up and cutting the occupants of the vehicle.

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Windshields in the early days were held in with a rubber gasket. The gasket wrapped around the outside of the windshield and the inside of the windshield opening in the vehicle frame. some modern vehicles still use this method to secure the windshield in place. Most vehicles now use urethane to ‘glue’ in the windshield.

When urethane started the glass needed a better way to stick to the glass so, manufactures started adding a frit to the glass, a frit is the black paint around the edge. the frit is engineered to bond with urethane. Urethane is made so that it bonds with metal and the frit on the glass. to ensure a good bond the frit and the vehicle metal are cleaned and prepared for installation.

The frit is not only designed to bond with urethane but also keep a nice clean look. Urethane can wave a bit and spread and the frit keeps a nice clean line. the frit also has dots that help dissipate the heat. the black frit paint can attack heat and glass is most often green to reflect and keep the vehicle cool.

• Windshield Options (or Features)

a Self-dimming rear-view mirror (as opposed to a manual flip switch/toggle) when there are bright lights behind the vehicle. Elector-chromatic mirrors are becoming standard.

a Heated windshield (Fine Wire Heated throughout the windscreen or a Heated Wiper Park Area)

a Humidity / Condensation Sensor (to adjust the amount of fresh air coming in as the humidity changes)

a Rain Sensor; to turn on or adjust the speed of the wipers

a Forward Collision Alert camera; to sense if you are approaching an object.

a Heads Up Display (info shines/projects on to the windshield)

s Lane Departure Warning System, or Lane Keep Assist, or Eyesight Technology camera. to alert the driver if they start to wonder or cross lines without signalling

an Adaptive Cruise Control camera; to sense if you are approaching an object and adjust the cruising speed.

an Active Braking Assist camera; to sense if you are approaching an object and apply the brakes.

a Road Sign Assistance camera: to read the road speeds and warn the driver if they are not at the posted speed. May adjust speed too.

a Pedestrian Detection camera

a Driver Attention Warning System (camera)

a radio/mobile Antenna in windshield.

Some vehicles have many combinations of these features and attachments so, it is getting more common to need the VIN to get the correct windshield. Between options/features and grades of glass it is hard to know what is needed. The 2015 Jeep Cherokee has 51 options for the windshield and the 2020 RAM has 11 (before getting into the grades of glass).

The Three basic Grades are; OEM with vehicle logos, OEM Quality same quality of glass but no logos, and budget glass (I never recommend budget glass as it breaks, scratches, pits, chips and cracks with ease). Safe travels everyone!