My passenger window exploded!
Discussion
I brought my car to the dealer yesterday for warranty work on my door locks. They have been acting wonky for several months. Locking them with the key fob wouldn't always work, although the security system would get armed. Turns out both door lock mechanisms need replaced.
I love going to my dealer. The people are very nice and, unlike many other places, they have no problem with you hanging out in the service area. After chatting with the tech about the NatGeo Megafactories One-77 episode for a while as he worked on my car, I went into the showroom to let him continue working undistracted. I was talking to my salesperson who happens to be a friend and fellow Lotus-club member, when the tech comes in and interrupts us. I thought he was going to tell me my car was ready. Instead he says I'm going to need to be put in a loaner! He explained that as he was tightening one of the window screws the window just exploded.
We returned to the service area to see that he wasn't exaggerating. My passenger window was in about 10 thousand little 5mm pieces strewn all throughout the floor—some as far as 10 feet from the car. Luckily he didn't get hurt. He explained that is the 3rd time that this has happened to a Vantage at the shop so he was very cautiously tightening it when it burst. On a previous occasion, one shard flew toward him and cut his face. Makes you realize why wearing eye protection is so important.
So common is this occurrence that there are no spares in the states and a replacement will have to be ordered from the UK. They are all curious how Aston can have this happen so often and why is the glass so delicate. I thought there were measure in place to help keep the glass intact, but that may only apply to the windscreen. My sales person managed to get a minuscule shard stuck on his shoe. Later, while fiddling with his shoe while sitting with legs crossed, he managed to slice his finger and start bleeding.
The dealer staff seemed genuinely surprised that I took the news so well. I was just glad no one got seriously hurt. Accidents happen and the car can be repaired. There's no sense in getting upset over something like this, but I guess some customers get outraged over the inconvenience this may cause them. I joked that I was glad the incident occurred while under their care as I'm sure that would be an expensive repair otherwise.
The silver lining is that I got a nice loaner for my troubles. At first I was offered the standard G37 Infiniti but my last experience with one of those loaners was horrible. The car smelled of cigarettes and air freshener. I'm very sensitive to odors and both my OH and I would get a headache after a short drive in the car. Also, the cars are emblazoned with a giant window decal advertising them as a courtesy car from the dealer. I proudly wear the dealer's license plate surround on my car because I really do genuinely like the place, but having to drive that car with a huge decal is just tacky. I mentioned this to the manager as I saw them pull up another horrid loaner to the service area and asked if I could be put in something a bit more comparable to my Aston. A few minutes later he returned with two sets of keys: a Merc CLS and a Jag XF. I took the Jag. It's a fairly nice ride and after driving it home I've determined that I would consider buying one. I was surprised to find that switchgear is still shared between Jag and Aston—the window and mirror controls as well as the rearview mirror are identical. All this familiarity actually made me feel instantly comfortable in the car which I suppose is good considering I may be driving it for at least a week until my baby gets repaired.
I love going to my dealer. The people are very nice and, unlike many other places, they have no problem with you hanging out in the service area. After chatting with the tech about the NatGeo Megafactories One-77 episode for a while as he worked on my car, I went into the showroom to let him continue working undistracted. I was talking to my salesperson who happens to be a friend and fellow Lotus-club member, when the tech comes in and interrupts us. I thought he was going to tell me my car was ready. Instead he says I'm going to need to be put in a loaner! He explained that as he was tightening one of the window screws the window just exploded.
We returned to the service area to see that he wasn't exaggerating. My passenger window was in about 10 thousand little 5mm pieces strewn all throughout the floor—some as far as 10 feet from the car. Luckily he didn't get hurt. He explained that is the 3rd time that this has happened to a Vantage at the shop so he was very cautiously tightening it when it burst. On a previous occasion, one shard flew toward him and cut his face. Makes you realize why wearing eye protection is so important.
So common is this occurrence that there are no spares in the states and a replacement will have to be ordered from the UK. They are all curious how Aston can have this happen so often and why is the glass so delicate. I thought there were measure in place to help keep the glass intact, but that may only apply to the windscreen. My sales person managed to get a minuscule shard stuck on his shoe. Later, while fiddling with his shoe while sitting with legs crossed, he managed to slice his finger and start bleeding.
The dealer staff seemed genuinely surprised that I took the news so well. I was just glad no one got seriously hurt. Accidents happen and the car can be repaired. There's no sense in getting upset over something like this, but I guess some customers get outraged over the inconvenience this may cause them. I joked that I was glad the incident occurred while under their care as I'm sure that would be an expensive repair otherwise.
The silver lining is that I got a nice loaner for my troubles. At first I was offered the standard G37 Infiniti but my last experience with one of those loaners was horrible. The car smelled of cigarettes and air freshener. I'm very sensitive to odors and both my OH and I would get a headache after a short drive in the car. Also, the cars are emblazoned with a giant window decal advertising them as a courtesy car from the dealer. I proudly wear the dealer's license plate surround on my car because I really do genuinely like the place, but having to drive that car with a huge decal is just tacky. I mentioned this to the manager as I saw them pull up another horrid loaner to the service area and asked if I could be put in something a bit more comparable to my Aston. A few minutes later he returned with two sets of keys: a Merc CLS and a Jag XF. I took the Jag. It's a fairly nice ride and after driving it home I've determined that I would consider buying one. I was surprised to find that switchgear is still shared between Jag and Aston—the window and mirror controls as well as the rearview mirror are identical. All this familiarity actually made me feel instantly comfortable in the car which I suppose is good considering I may be driving it for at least a week until my baby gets repaired.
Edited by KarlFranz on Monday 12th September 06:09
Forgot to mention I saw my first Vantage S in the showroom while I was waiting at the dealer. Very nice although I think I wouldn't ever get one since they don't come with a manual gearbox. The car was Storm Black with black leather and coarse silver stitching. It had a few upgrades including carbon side strakes, alcantara steering wheel, full length piano black center console, and (something I had never seen before) piano black door pulls. I can't imagine how many fingerprints would get on that, although it did look great and got me thinking about doing it to my car.
Done this a few times, usually with VW Golf or new Mini door glass. The Mini glass is screwed to the regulator from the "back" obviously during pre assembley and then fitted to the door. The torx screws they use are made of cheese and the notched retaining rings are screw locked in. Hateful design for the sake of it. The VW design is atrocious and almost taunts you to break the glass.
SkinnyBoy said:
Done this a few times, usually with VW Golf or new Mini door glass. The Mini glass is screwed to the regulator from the "back" obviously during pre assembley and then fitted to the door. The torx screws they use are made of cheese and the notched retaining rings are screw locked in. Hateful design for the sake of it. The VW design is atrocious and almost taunts you to break the glass.
So is this a new trend in automotive design then? Exploding glass? BTW: What do you mean "made of cheese"? Never heard that expression before.
made of cheese meaning not very good quality screws where they over torque them and the heads rip out the drive faces when you try to remove them. I find that the latest Honda's have this problem especially with door lock screws, more often than not they require drilling out. Most modern cars are put together at the factory with no thought of ever pulling them apart without replacing all the fasteners, clips and screws. Hatefully wasteful design by hypocritical car companies preaching "sustainable" production.
After a week of driving the loaner Jag XF, I finally got my V8V back today with it's new passenger window. Life is good. 
Next task is to install my new N420 sills (currently sitting in my guest room) and Tony's sill plaques (once they arrive).
Once my funds get replenished, the next upgrades will probably be:
- N420 Carbon Fiber front splitter and rear diffuser
- Replacement steering wheel with Cruise Control and Bluetooth controls.
I'm also still thinking about getting the piano black door pulls I saw on the Vantage S in the showroom. I think they would look awesome on my car, but the fingerprints and smudges for a part that is constantly touched may drive me batty. What are your thoughts?
Next task is to install my new N420 sills (currently sitting in my guest room) and Tony's sill plaques (once they arrive).
Once my funds get replenished, the next upgrades will probably be:
- N420 Carbon Fiber front splitter and rear diffuser
- Replacement steering wheel with Cruise Control and Bluetooth controls.
I'm also still thinking about getting the piano black door pulls I saw on the Vantage S in the showroom. I think they would look awesome on my car, but the fingerprints and smudges for a part that is constantly touched may drive me batty. What are your thoughts?
KarlFranz said:
After a week of driving the loaner Jag XF, I finally got my V8V back today with it's new passenger window. Life is good.
Next task is to install my new N420 sills (currently sitting in my guest room) and Tony's sill plaques (once they arrive).
Once my funds get replenished, the next upgrades will probably be:
- N420 Carbon Fiber front splitter and rear diffuser
- Replacement steering wheel with Cruise Control and Bluetooth controls.
I'm also still thinking about getting the piano black door pulls I saw on the Vantage S in the showroom. I think they would look awesome on my car, but the fingerprints and smudges for a part that is constantly touched may drive me batty. What are your thoughts?
Good to have you back on board KF.Next task is to install my new N420 sills (currently sitting in my guest room) and Tony's sill plaques (once they arrive).
Once my funds get replenished, the next upgrades will probably be:
- N420 Carbon Fiber front splitter and rear diffuser
- Replacement steering wheel with Cruise Control and Bluetooth controls.
I'm also still thinking about getting the piano black door pulls I saw on the Vantage S in the showroom. I think they would look awesome on my car, but the fingerprints and smudges for a part that is constantly touched may drive me batty. What are your thoughts?
My thoughts are exactly as you put them mon ami. They will look fab but they will constantly smudge. Depends on your tolerance levels.
Be interesting to know indicative costings of you upgrades, and how they compare to the UK market
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