[VickyDB]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

**** THREAD UPDATE ****

Hello BHPians !!

However, this car too had the windshield issue i.e. I'm still experiencing eye strain while driving this car even though it is not as severe as the first car I got last month.
Over the past 1 week I had been hoping every morning that maybe my eyes would now get 'used to' the windshield 'power' but till date my eyes have to bear the strain for the initial 20 - 30 minutes before finally adjusting to windshield 'optical power'.

I will no longer term it as a windshield 'distortion'. It is more akin to wearing a non-prescription glasses while driving which is certainly taking the fun away in enjoying this otherwise wonderful car not to mention the pressure it is putting on my precious eyesight.

Thanks to all !!

@doondude
Your OP immediately caught my attention and empathised with you, since I have observed it in the used car which I purchased it last year. I have been driving cars (though wouldn’t term myself as knowledgeable in any way) since more than 3 decades now and this is the first time I noticed it in car (purchased or driven).

Been a used car I attributed it to the windshield been replaced by the owner and since it was bothering but felt no safety concern so had ignored it. It doesn’t seem to be noticeable at night but still it keeps bothering me to some extent. Also since it did have a tinted film installed (not sure when), I assumed it could also be the culprit. My son who also drives it hasn’t however bought it out and I didn’t point it out to him to bring bias. Also no one in the co-seat ever complained about it.

I will try and change the windshield someday and see if it makes any difference. But as of now been 6’2” tall it doesn’t hamper my driving eye level so much (typical chalta hai attitude of a middle class person ) I made peace with it and trying to enjoy my car.

But seems this could be problem with other cars as well (batches atleast) and should be looked at while new purchases.

PS: it’s a Honda CR-V, so pretty premium car of it’s time and Japanese (I believe was a CKD/ CBU unit since Honda India wasn’t manufacturing it till 2012 /13) so sure, they would not be cutting corners as are known for their fascination with quality and safety.

[vamsi.vadrevu]

I've just come across this thread. That distortion on the glass is very evident! I'm surprised it even passed the QC step.

However, I strongly suspect that the glass passed the QC while it was being manufactured. But by the time it reached Kia and got installed on the car and got parked in baking hot sun in Kia's Andhra Pradesh facility, it probably started to warp slowly due to heat.

Glass tends to flow when heat is applied over extended period of time. This phenomenon can be observed on glass panes of old houses. You can clearly see glass will flow down where they are mounted vertically in their window frames.

Since the windshield on a car is mounted at an angle, there's an additional stress near the mounting places (edges). That's why the distortion is more evident near the bottom edge and the top edge, because it almost feels like the glass had warped and started to sag down due to heat or something!

I don't know if tempered laminated glass behaves like this, but that's what it feels like to me.

This theory is not easy to test though. And we all know that manufacturers park their finished cars in huge uncovered lots outside their manufacturing facility. If the OP's car was manufactured during the peak summer months of Andhra Pradesh, it's very likely that a perfectly straight glass could have sagged in that heat.

I would like to hear thoughts on this theory as I'm not an expert on types of glass and their behaviour under constant heat.

[13thpsycho]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

Hello Everyone!


However, after 10 - 15 minutes, my wife complained about the exact same symptoms to me !! Eye strain, difficulty in focusing through the windshield etc.

We got the Pooja done and went back to the dealership to talk to them about it.Naturally, no one agreed about the same. The SA took a test drive with me and even them they laughed it off and suggested I try the car for a few days.

On the way back home, the eye strain increased to such a point that I had to return to the dealership to actually RETURN the car since it was creating a safety issue. I was adamant about getting the car replaced.

My friend got the facelifted seltos htx petrol manual. He has the same issue. I thought his was one of a kind case. But it seems to have affected other cars as well. He had the same issue, headache while driving. He described it as zoomed in vision and wavy. He asked the kia team to have a look at the car. He contacted Kia care through email even the kia zonal head got in touch with him. Kia provided a courtesy car in the meantime while they worked on his car. A team from Pune came over to check the car as per the company. They changed the windshield free of cost. They also offered him free maintenance for three years as a courtesy.

What is up with Kia's quality control? Is it non existent at the factory? Are they treating customers like guinea pigs that all the trial and error can be done on them? What if something serious happened while driving the car like accident, death etc. who is to blame?

These companies are getting away with these things unnoticed and unscathed. It's high time they get penalized for providing sub standard products in India. I m sure there are others who have not even realised there is an issue. Even then the company should have a standard protocol for resolving the issue. What is this nonsense that someone gets a new car and others get laughed at by the service team by saying no sir the problem is in your head not with the car. I hope kia is listening and a full blown recall is there for the affected vehicles.

[dipdawiz]

Originally Posted by The Rationalist

Which is the replaced windshield brand?

All the 3 windshields involved, initial 2 defective and last one, in my friends case are of Saint Gobain.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

The Kia guys have already driven more than 108 kms yesterday and 75 kms today, trying to figure out the issue with the windshield. This is strange since the defect in the windshield is apparent within the first 2 - 3 minutes of driving.

Any updates on this sir? Considering Kia must have concluded their tests by 28-Sept-23. Have they communicated their findings or discussed anything with you?

[actinium15]

Originally Posted by vamsi.vadrevu

Glass tends to flow when heat is applied over extended period of time. This phenomenon can be observed on glass panes of old houses. You can clearly see glass will flow down where they are mounted vertically in their window frames.

OT: the quoted section is an urban myth. See this article on LiveScience.

Quoting the relevant section below:

Some once thought this was because glass is a liquid that flows down slowly over the centuries. That’s wrong... glass does not move on timescales as “short” as centuries

[arun1100]

I have seen this distortion in a Kia Carens test drive vehicle exactly the same way as seen in the OP video. Infact, I felt so uncomfortable during the test drive that I stopped mid way and let my brother in law continue the test drive.

[DoonDude]

Originally Posted by arun1100

I have seen this distortion in a Kia Carens test drive vehicle exactly the same way as seen in the OP video. Infact, I felt so uncomfortable during the test drive that I stopped mid way and let my brother in law continue the test drive.

Hi !
When did you take this test drive when you observed the distortion? Which city?
Just trying to correlate whether Kia's windshield supplier has a single defective batch across various car models or is it their entire manufacturing process at fault.

[arun1100]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

Hi !
When did you take this test drive when you observed the distortion? Which city?
Just trying to correlate whether Kia's windshield supplier has a single defective batch across various car models or is it their entire manufacturing process at fault.

Hey, it was in the month of August '23, at Adarsha KIA, Mysore, KA.

The level of distortion was exactly same as seen in the video shared by you. And I could observe it within a minute of test drive.

[DoonDude]

Originally Posted by 13thpsycho

My friend got the facelifted seltos htx petrol manual. He has the same issue. I thought his was one of a kind case. But it seems to have affected other cars as well. He had the same issue, headache while driving. He described it as zoomed in vision and wavy. He asked the kia team to have a look at the car. He contacted Kia care through email even the kia zonal head got in touch with him. Kia provided a courtesy car in the meantime while they worked on his car. A team from Pune came over to check the car as per the company. They changed the windshield free of cost. They also offered him free maintenance for three years as a courtesy.

What is up with Kia's quality control? Is it non existent at the factory? Are they treating customers like guinea pigs that all the trial and error can be done on them? What if something serious happened while driving the car like accident, death etc. who is to blame?

These companies are getting away with these things unnoticed and unscathed. It's high time they get penalized for providing sub standard products in India. I m sure there are others who have not even realised there is an issue. Even then the company should have a standard protocol for resolving the issue. What is this nonsense that someone gets a new car and others get laughed at by the service team by saying no sir the problem is in your head not with the car. I hope kia is listening and a full blown recall is there for the affected vehicles.

Hi !
You mentioned that the windshield got changed FOC. Was there any issue with the new windshield? Did the company discuss the scenario beforehand that in case the new windshield ALSO had the same 'optical power' issue - then what ??

Thanks!

[DoonDude]

Originally Posted by GTO

I am extremely surprised & shocked that Kia hasn't resolved your issue even after a month of ownership. In a market like the USA or Europe, they'd get sued over this for serious damages.

The windshield is causing you physical harm. How difficult is it to change the windscreen?

I either wouldn't drive the car & pressure Kia more for a speedy resolution...or change the windscreen at my cost @ Windshield Experts.

Hi !
Till date the issue still remains un-resolved. The local dealer service G M is supportive - in fact very. But it all is just lip service and no written commitments till date. They are ready to change the windshield BUT with NO guarantee that the new one will be any better !
I'm at a loss whether to get the windshield changed in a BRAND NEW car just because of the poor quality at Kia's supplier. What happens to the value of my car ? And what about water ingress issues, scratches, dents etc. while making the change since it is going to be replaced at dealer service centre which certainly cannot be compared with a factory fitted windshield quality process.
Still trying to keep up with the issue with my Seltos facelift. It is a BIG pain every morning and the very thought of driving this car gives me a headache !
Surprisingly, NO direct contact from Kia India in this regard. Only the Dehradun dealer.

Disappointed !!

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

Hi !
Till date the issue still remains un-resolved. The local dealer service G M is supportive - in fact very.

You need to get them talking to Trident Hyundai on Hosur road (as per this post), so as to establish that this is a widespread problem with the OEM, and also get details on how it was well-resolved by the Hyundai dealership.


Am assuming your glass is also Saint Gobain?

Also, do post a picture of the markings (Automotive window glass codes) from your windshield.

[DoonDude]

******* THREAD UDPDATE *******

Hello BHPians !
This post is to update on the condition of my Seltos GTX+ with regards to the windshield issue.
First of all, the car is EXCELLENT ! No doubt about that. I've driven almost 2500 kms till date - both on the highway and majority in the city - till date the car's a charm to drive.
The windshield 'optical power' was certainly an un-expected setback. However, an excellent support was provided by the Service team of the local Dehradun dealer. They have already issued my car the Kia My Convenience Premium package FOC as a compensation and they will be replacing the windshield too !
Anyway, as the saying goes - All's well that Ends Well ! I'm sure Kia would have already looked into this issue in detail and ensured that the root cause of the windshield defect is resolved at the source itself.

I'm happy that Kia took the pains to resolve this major issue proactively. I've always been a Korean car fan (Hyundai) and my first Kia (Seltos) with their exemplary after sales support has further strengthened my faith in them.

Happy Driving !

[sagarpadaki]

Happy to hear that you are getting a happy conclusion. My suggestion is that you have a look at the new windshield for the same issue before they install on the car. In case of same issue even with the replacement you can catch it before its installed.

[ShaanS]

Hello folks! Late to this thread, but this seems to be way more widespread. I test drove a facelift GTX+ earlier today, and faced this exact same thing. I started feeling dizzy after a while, and it took a good 30 mins post the drive for the feeling to go away. I'd initially attributed it to the solar cut glass, but looks like its something beyond that. Looks like one more thing to add to PDIs in the future.