just to further illustrate the point … i am not talking about a rust spot that needed treatment or spots that needed to be cut out and a piece welded in … the entire front half of my car, and dash, had to be removed, the remnants of the piece taken out, adjacent spaces treated, and a whole new pinchweld/upper cowl assembly installed, then everything put back together again. i have lived all over the place and had a lot of old cars - and known people with old cars in both good and bad condition. i have never known anyone whose windshield rusted out from the car, effectively totaling the vehicle. i have asked around, casual acquaintances and made calls to Honda parts departments and body shops in other corrosive environments and haven’t found anyone who has said they’ve seen this.
My brother has one old van in his plumbing fleet that had to have a windshield replacement. One national shop would not replace the windshield because of rust. Even though my brother told them that he didn’t expect a guarantee for the work, this company wouldn’t do the job. An independent glass shop did replace with windshield with no guarantee which was o.k. with my brother.
I don’t believe Safelite would replace a windshield with a guarantee if there was a rust problem, but I also don’t think replacing the glass caused the rust.
Whether the surface is under a windshield or a painted surface of a car, there can easily be rust under that exposed surface which is where most all rust conditions start. This is why just washing a car doesn’t work. A car body is made of panels that are spot welded together and has many areas between these welds “inside” which hold moisture. The more salt you add, the faster it rusts.
You can plead your case but everyone who works on car bodies knows that even if the windshield were done perfectly, the mounting area could rust through from underneath and on the sides. That is a fact with most body panels on a car and why you see these little drain holes everywhere and little channels on your fenders. I have had mice crawl up these channels behind the side mounting area of a windshield in the roof supports and raise havoc in the roof area. If mice can get in there, moisture can too. You may not see the rust until it bubbles through the paint or surface that the windshield is mounted on. It is my guess there is a drainage channel in the area which is a conduit for moisture.
Because it did “disintegrate” in a relatively short time, is also what happens when rust under a panel has started but the panel looks perfectly fine until the next one to two years…then it just seems to flake apart . These are just some of the “other” possibilities that are working against you. You may be absolutely right but the sad story is, other possibilities may be just as right…or a combination of the two. The evidence has long since disintegrated.
If a Honda rusts, it rusts there. Things may have changed since 1982 but probably not much. I had a really rusty one but the windshield held the car together. It took lots of Bondo to make that car look kind of good.
“…i stayed out with the installer which is why i know that the base had no rust at that time.”
Let’s try this: Did you see the installer do anything that made you worried at the time? For example, did you see him scraping painted surfaces down to the metal? The dream of a 300K mile car is probably not realistic at sea-side locations.
no, i didn’t see him do anything that raised any alarm with me. and he could have done everything wrong and i wouldn’t have known. he seemed knowledgeable and experienced and gave the appearance of paying attention to detail and, if anything, going above and beyond. but as for what he did, i haven’t the experience to judge the job he performed - only the impression he gave.
when i first approached the glass shop about what happened, what the evaluating glass shop in newport ky had said, what my research had turned up … i already knew my body shop said “these things just happen” and so i figured there could be differing professional opinions. i initially asked that they evaluate the situation and cost share with me which would acknowledge the possibility that something had been done incorrectly while not taking the whole responsibility. they declined and filed the claim… the insurance company of course said ‘no’ before they’d even had someone out to look at my car and, in the final adjudication, never addressed the issue. they sent me a picture of the web page result of a question the adjuster typed in at ask dot com which was something like ‘does salt air cause metal rust’ - never in question. anyway, the claim never had a chance which is why i was considering small claims - until reading the replies here.
This might be an unfortunate coincidence. The problem might have been caused by plugged cowl drains, as somebody mentioned above.
Your 2nd post said the car had new paint. The entire car was repainted in addition to the original windshield fix?
I’ve seen this happen on other cars that had their windshields replaced, which is why I choose to stick with my pitted original windshield on my 1998 Civic. This just seems like what you get with an aftermarket installation.
good catch cavell, a painter could have easily plugged some needed drains, but so could leaf litter or insects or pollen or just about anything, including pieces of the old sealant that was removed
generally if you watch someone working and they appear competent and confident, they are. of course some people have been using poor practices for so long it appears that they know what they re doing.
@wesw
Absolutely. All these drains especially in that area are susceptible to clogging from debris and animal intrusion. As you know. I Oil my cars and have never had rust in areas I can reach and never had a car rust on me for ten to fifteen years of ownership. My biggest fear is around windows as I never figured a way of oiling that area without putting the interior at risk. No matter what anyone does, the car companies “have you covered” and rust is their friend .
I just do not understand putting that much money into a 2000 Accord. It will never have “Classic” value.
I think that this is just something that you are going to have to accept.
The original glass installer may have been good at his job, but he is coming to your house…away from extra things that he may need. He can only carry so much in his work truck, and the company that he works for dictates what he carries.
So even if he found an area that needed touch-up paint, he can’t have 70 cans of paint along with his regular tools and supplies. Had he pulled the windshield and then refused to finish the job until you had the paint work done…you wouldn’t be too pleased and his boss will likely fire him for not finishing the job. He may not even have something to clear the drains in his truck.
I never thought of this until this post, but maybe we should not rely on the glass guy that comes to your home or work, but to have the work done at a body shop so that these things can be addressed.
Yosemite
Rust developing around windshields and rear glass is not that rare no matter the make and occurs on cars that do not reside in the Rust Belt or by the beach.
Yep, if you can see the rust around the windows, its already been in the channel and under the seal for a long time. Only way to correct it is to pop the glass out and redo it. Clogged drains is another issue. I’m still not clear what exactly was rusted byt it sounds like everything south of the windshield to the firewall. I’d like a pic. and where the drains are.
Xbxbxb ·
Rustproof ? For my next car Hello all, am about to trade in my Scion xb after 170,00 plus miles. Took it into the shop recently and looked underneath, noticing a " little rust" .mechanic said if I wanted to I could get the spray stuff at autozone…but that my car didn’t have much rust. now that I’ve decided it’s time for it to be appreciated by someone who wants to give it a new home, my next car will likely have low ground clearance, and I live in the snow belt. So I asked one person in Sweden, and one in New Hampshire Sweden said yes, undercoat And New Hampshire ( of course) said no So—join the fray," - clear
Attaching two pictures. The rust was across the base of the windshield, pinchweld/upper cowl assembly area. New paint in April this year, just because it was time.
No exterior rust anywhere and no apparent rust around any windows, including windshield. What was happening to the area under the base of the windshield gave no hint from the exterior until the windshield cracked because there was no longer anything supporting it.
Undercoat-no. Rust proof-probably not depending on the car.
Thx bing thinking of trying to find nissan cube!
@xbxbxb.
There is no such thing as rust proofing that really works, once a car leaves the factory, without exasperating the problem by clogging drain holes and creating more areas for moisture to collect. There is maintenance you can routinely do that delays rust as long as you do it. There is a big difference in rust you see on exposed suspension components, frame members and other support structures; and, rust “in” body panels. Spraying on glop from autozone hides the problem and just makes you feel you did something. (Which you didn’t really)