More Broken Glass

It’s been just three weeks since replacing the windshield and I already find myself needing more glass. This time, it’s the passenger side rear door window. I noticed the shattered glass after cutting my lawn, so I’m certain that I kicked-up a small rock with the lawnmower. I’ve been in my current home for 14 years and have never had this happen. I hope the odds of it happening again are slim. Still, breaking another window so soon after the windshield stung just a little more than if it had happened much later. I managed to support the glass by reinforcing it with Gorilla Tape on both sides of the window. I wasn’t sure how long it would hold, so I parked the car until I could get a local shop to do the repair. The incident happened over the weekend and glass shops didn’t open until Monday at 8am.

I called two shops in my immediate area. They couldn’t acquire the glass until the afternoon. I called Auto Glass Now (AGN), the same shop that installed my windshield, and they were able to get the glass in stock by 10am. AGN is not a local drive from my home. However, they are on my way to work and worth the risk of the glass falling down during the drive to them. I was pleased to have the shop foreman do the job himself. He let me watch and photograph his work as he had done with the windshield. The amount of broken glass in every nook and cranny was staggering. He took great care to vacuum everywhere, even using a pick to pull specs of glass from hidden crevices.

Stripping the door, cleaning the area of shattered glass, installing the new window, and reassembling the door took a little over an hour. There’s not really much to say about the process. I took plenty of photos and have shared the better ones below. I was pleasantly surprised by the methods that Volkswagen used to seal the door. I’m accustomed to seeing plastic sheets glued behind the door panel to act as a water barrier. The Mk7 uses dedicated rubber panels that fit tightly and seal the door perfectly. Most consumers never see this feature, but I certainly appreciate the added attention to detail. I didn’t get a really good photo of that seal, but you might be able to spot it in the album below.

The car is back to normal and is free of leaks and wind noise. The only evidence of the work is the lack of a VW/Audi logo on the glass. Instead, I have a logo by Pittsburgh Glass Works (PGW), one of many quality aftermarket glass makers. The logo should hide a little if I opt to tint the glass. A part of me was glad that I didn’t break the glass right after a tint job. However, it’s worth noting that tinted glass probably would have held together a little better without scattering around inside the car. I’ve considered getting glass tinted… but it’s still not a priority. The car cools pretty fast without the tint. Perhaps life will still be better with tint?