[NomadSK]

This is what I found out when I tried to dig in the details;

BIS 2553 SAFETY GLASS — SPECIFICATION

Optical Distortion
The maximum angular deviation for windscreens made of sheet glass shall not be more than 8 minutes of arc for central area and 10 minutes of arc for outer area. For windscreens made of float glass the deviation shall not be more than 4 minutes of arc for central area and 6 minutes of arc for outer area.

Minutes of arc = Angular Deviation

That part of the windscreen through which the principal field of view is obtained is called the central area of windscreen. It is also called the primary vision area of the windscreen. The remaining area is considered as outer area.

[saket77]

Is the distortion worse at night with oncoming headlights of other vehicles?

[DoonDude]

Originally Posted by Sufficient_shop

It's been more than a week. Did you take the delivery? Are you observing any issues still?

**** THREAD UPDATE ****

Hello BHPians !!

Those who have gone through my OP would know that the first Seltos GTX+ I bought on 31.08.23 was returned by me on the same day for a complete replacement with a new car as I was facing severe eye strain while driving that car.

On writing and contacting Kia India, the dealer agreed the next day to provide me with a new car of the same model etc.
I subsequently took delivery of the new car on 17.09.2023 - Seltos GTX+ Petrol Turbo DCT7 - Pearl White.

The car is an absolute pleasure to drive and Kia has left no stone unturned to stuff the car with all the bells 'n whistles that one could think of this price range.
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.

Nevertheless, since the issue was now in the eyes of Kia Motors, they arranged for the dealer service GM to come to my office last Tuesday to understand the issue. He was quite understanding in this matter and we drove for a few kms before he took the car for a spin by himself for another 2 hours before finally handing it over back to me. He was also cooperative enough to arrange for a person from the dealership having knowledge in ADAS to come over and explain me all the features. He also activated the Kia Connect within 5 minutes which otherwise was getting lingered on by the Sales executive despite numerous reminders.

Just 2 days earlier I again received a call from him apprising me that a team from Kia plant will be visiting Dehradun to study the issue with my car on 26.09.23 i.e. tomorrow.

They are arranging to pick up my car tomorrow morning to study the same in detail and thereafter take any action, if any.


Overall I feel that the car dealers should take more responsibility towards customer satisfaction. The dealer is currently earning almost 1.6 L per Seltos GTX+ which is a HUGE profit compared to the measly Rs. 12.7L approx. which the plant is billing the car at (plus 28% GST & 17% cess). The onus of maintaining the image of the company is curently solely the responsibility of the car company and not the dealer.

The dealers are polite only upto the point till the funds reach their bank account after which the customers at their mercy.
It has been almost a month since I returned my previous Seltos to the Dehradun dealer with a FULL tank of petrol and till date they are yet to refund me the equivalent amount even after several messages, e-mails and reminders.

Car companies solely need to have multiple dealers in each city to ensure healthy competition and better customer satisfaction.

Anyways, let the Kia officials study my car and I'll update this forum as soon as I have any further information to share.

Thanks to all !!

[Rodie09]

Kia truly deserves an applause for their exceptional gesture in your case. This was completely unheard of. This should give you a lot of confidence in the product you have for years to come. Congratulations and wish you happy mile crunching.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

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.
…
He was quite understanding in this matter and we drove for a few kms before he took the car for a spin by himself for another 2 hours before finally handing it over back to me.

Did he also “acknowledge” and “agree with” the issue identified by you basis his test drive? Have they done so in writing?

Just 2 days earlier I again received a call from him apprising me that a team from Kia plant will be visiting Dehradun to study the issue with my car on 26.09.23 i.e. tomorrow.

They are arranging to pick up my car tomorrow morning to study the same in detail and thereafter take any action, if any.
…
Anyways, let the Kia officials study my car and I'll update this forum as soon as I have any further information to share.

Look forward to this all important update. Thank you for keeping us all abreast of the developments and hope this gets resolved satisfactorily and at the soonest.

[nova.19_exe]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

They are arranging to pick up my car tomorrow morning to study the same in detail and thereafter take any action, if any.

Kudos to Kia for customer support! They are trying to figure out what is going on with the car!

Also, did he acknowledge the issue when he took it for a 2 hour drive?

Thank you for keeping us all updated!! Looking forward to hearing from you to know what they have to say!

Cheers!

[DoonDude]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Did he also “acknowledge” and “agree with” the issue identified by you basis his test drive? Have they done so in writing?

Look forward to this all important update. Thank you for keeping us all abreast of the developments and hope this gets resolved satisfactorily and at the soonest.

There is no official / unofficial acknowledgement regarding the problem in the windshield yet whatsoever from anyone. No supplier / service provider will ever agree to a deficient product as long as it is unmeasurable and subject to personal opinion - Like in my case.

I've been keeping a tab on my car through the Kia-Connect app. 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. Thereafter it's a simple yes or no answer to whether anyone feels a heaviness or strain in their eyes.
They are planning to return the car tomorrow. Let's see what they have to say.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

No supplier / service provider will ever agree to a deficient product as long as it is unmeasurable and subject to personal opinion - Like in my case.

This is where I think you should change your approach...

The effects you're feeling might be "unmeasurable", but the optical distortion in the windshield most certainly IS measurable.

See this (though it's a rather high-tech example, and focussed more on ADAS):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DICpQZ4Uttg

More "traditional" testing is probably done with lasers etc, as an earlier post mentioned.


The issue will have to be escalated to a point where Kia forces the supplier to take back the windshield and test it (as the glass manufacturer will have the testing equipment and Kia probably wont).

After that, you need to hope that the acceptable tolerances are set low enough that your windshield does raise a red flag.

Here's an example of distortion & tolerances from this page
Do note, that tolerances for Architectural glass might be very different from Automotive glass, due to different applications & safety requirements.



Speaking of safety, distortions in the windshield could affect ADAS sensors too, which is a huge safety concern (see @ 00:30sec in the video above).


However, all of the above is a lot of work and coordination for everyone involved. The simplest solution I would hope for is a windshield replacement from another batch, or ideally, alternate OEM supplier Kia uses. Covered under goodwill warranty, or with a small co-pay from you (eg. labour) if you think it's reasonable.

[Gotcha]

Overall, the quality of cars seems to have gone down after the pandemic. Lots of users complaining of windshield distortion on international forums too:

https://www.ascentforums.com/threads...tortion.11291/

https://www.vwidtalk.com/threads/win...on-id-5.11626/

https://www.vwidtalk.com/threads/win...stortion.9435/

https://www.hellcat.org/threads/dist...shield.256400/

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/thre...is-bad.296764/

And Reddit has 100s of posts on this issue especially after 2021

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

**** THREAD UPDATE ****

It has been almost a month since I returned my previous Seltos to the Dehradun dealer with a FULL tank of petrol and till date they are yet to refund me the equivalent amount even after several messages, e-mails and reminders.

While I fully understand the pain and troubles this windshield issue has caused and not taking dealer's side but in my personal opinion, you should pick your battle. It is important to get their focus and attention on the bigger issue first and then you can follow up on the refund for the petrol.

Awaiting your next update.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

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.

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.

[dipdawiz]

Originally Posted by DoonDude

**** THREAD UPDATE ****

...

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.
...

There is a problem for sure in windshields made by Saint Gobain. Because, if you see my post - though I said my friend's new windshield was fine, recently I had a chat with him and he told me that new one also has similar issue and he also describe it as "power". When he complained, service center started saying they will bring engineers from Hyundai or Saint Gobain etc, . Later my friend shared this thread to service center and after that without much push they agreed to change it again. They claimed this time they are procuring directly from Hyundai warehouse by sending their staff to verify and bring stock of windshield.

Originally Posted by dipdawiz

...

They changed the windshield again, this time it is fine.
...

[sanhan10]

Wow! This post is an eye opener for sure. I’ve just bought a brand new Jimny and am loath to even look at the windscreen now - if I see such an issue I may never be able to unsee it.

[dipdawiz]

Originally Posted by dipdawiz

... They claimed this time they are procuring directly from Hyundai warehouse by sending their staff to verify and bring stock of windshield.

My friend's windshield got replaced again, this time service center guys went to bring the windshield personally, and I think more than one. And they asked my friend to check them and then only they permanently installed it. This time no issues faced by my friend. Yesterday I also got a chance to check and can confirm that new one has no distortion.

He replaced the windshield from Trident Hyundai on Hosur road, both the time they did not resist/argued much and each time they replaced it within 7-8 days.

[The Rationalist]

Originally Posted by dipdawiz

My friend's windshield got replaced again. Yesterday I also got a chance to check and can confirm that new one has no distortion.

Which is the replaced windshield brand?