How can I tell if my windshield is original?

[RustyBucket]

What are the markings on the windshield that comes from the factory?

I am hopefully worrying about something that's a non-issue, but I'm getting my windshield replaced tomorrow. I've seen cars before with rust issues under the windshield and if I discover issues there, I will be wanting to contact the dealer. I know they would probably not do anything for me if the windshield is not original so I want to figure out if the windshield being replaced is original.

[schowe]

Four rings on the lower right corner. I believe it is also stamped with Saint Cobain Sukurit, as that is the primary manufacturer for Audi. Mine was replaced with a Safelite "OEM Match" which I have had no problems with, as I bought my car with a cracked windshield from the previous owner. I think it is more so the quality of the install & the prep work than the actual glass when worrying about windshield replacements though.

[moyenecorniche]

Our windshields don't sit insideof a metal flange so drainage is not obstructed..... I have not seen a B5, B6, B7 with rust issues under the windshield, that of course is concerning cars kept in good health....
But why would the current windshield be an issue concerning that you are replacing it..... Not getting the reason for the anxiety.... ????
I had my windshield replaced on my previous A4 by safelite also. I'm probably going to have the current one in my S4 replaced as it is pitted....
Of all the things for concern, the windshield has never been one.....

[vce1232000]

The OEM windshield has the Audi rings on the lower left corner.The B7 era used OEM such as Sigla,Sekurit,or Saint Goblain.The same companies also produced OE for the aftermarket also.But not allowed to have the trade Audi Rings on the glass.the only way to secure the OEM is from the Audi Dealer Parts Dept.

The original install from the factory also uses what is called High Modulas urethane.The urethane is a special formula for european cars that require a certain stiffness to glass to the pinchweld.This helps in chassis not twisting when cornering and bumps in the road.its used in all glass that requires bonding to the chassis.Most companies do not use it during the replacement.Since most are uneducated or cost for that particular product.Most times Safelite will not use Modulas urethane due to uneducated staff or technicians.And they coined the term OEM Original equipment manafacture equalivant or OEE which their term would be Original Equipment Equalivant.No such term in the automotive trade.There is only OEM or OE and Aftermarket. The OEE would be anything aftermarket that has a Dept. of transportation # attached to it.

The only issue of rust that would occur if the windshield was replaced before by a technician that did not use tools or primers that protect the pinchweld from scratches.Ive seen many of this conditions thru my career doing auto glass replacements.The scratches would soon react with the water and moisture and cause rust and a faulty installation.A rentention failure is also very possible if a rollover or air bag deployment occurs

[RustyBucket]

Thanks!
Mine has the rings and "Saint-Gobain Sekurit" so it's either original or dealer replacement.

Our windshields don't sit insideof a metal flange so drainage is not obstructed..... I have not seen a B5, B6, B7 with rust issues under the windshield, that of course is concerning cars kept in good health....
But why would the current windshield be an issue concerning that you are replacing it..... Not getting the reason for the anxiety.... ????

I guess I didn't write everything out as clearly as I intended...
The windshield is being replaced because it's cracked. My anxiety is about the possibility of rust underneath given the fact that I'm already seeing rust bubbles around my thrid brake light and on one corner of the hatch. I had another car where some bad rust was found when I got the windshield replaced.

[RustyBucket]

So, it turns out I was worrying about nothing after all.

Plus, the new windshield also has "Saint-Gobain Sekurit" on it too. No Audi rings, of course, but it's nice to know it's essentially the same part as OEM.

[moyenecorniche]

Good... You need to address the rust bubbles as soon as possible. Those are early signs of corrosion which will eventually perforate the metal...
This should be the concern, not the windshield. Get some paint, primer, steel wool, 800-600 sandpaper ( wets and ) masking tape and have fun.

[midnight407]

somewhere along the line before I took ownership, windscreen was replaced with a PGM brand windsheild.....it sucks. It cokebottles at the outer edges so it has a fun-house-mirror kind of effect...I hate it so bad.

[vce1232000]

somewhere along the line before I took ownership, windscreen was replaced with a PGM brand windsheild.....it sucks. It cokebottles at the outer edges so it has a fun-house-mirror kind of effect...I hate it so bad.

Never heard of PGM,Ive installed PGW.The description of the defect in glass in the trade would be distortion.We see alot of that in cheap quality glass.It can give you headaches after a long trip if located in driver vision.

[midnight407]

then it's probably PGW, not PGM...tried to google and google, surprisingly, not very helpful. yes. cheap glass sucks. i miss florida where there was no deductible

[80sGuy]

What are the markings on the windshield that comes from the factory?

I am hopefully worrying about something that's a non-issue, but I'm getting my windshield replaced tomorrow. I've seen cars before with rust issues under the windshield and if I discover issues there, I will be wanting to contact the dealer. I know they would probably not do anything for me if the windshield is not original so I want to figure out if the windshield being replaced is original.

Should look like this on the lower bottom passenger side. This is an actual windshileld freshly replaced by All Star Glass last year. I made sure they ordered the original part from my local Audi dealer, along with a brand new Gel Pad for the rear-view mirror.

[80sGuy]

^^Forgot to mention that the replacement does have the AUDI rings on it.

[vce1232000]

The Gel-pad is for the optional rain sensor that is mounted inside the mirror assembly.All B7 are not equipped with that option.But having the premium package I was lucky.The etching on the window was a toss up on passenger or driverside bottom corners.Different times of manafacture.

[80sGuy]

^^My car has the rain-sensor.

[Biged243]

I was curious, so I looked at mine. And what do you know, it's aftermarket. Could explain why I have more road noise than I expected.

[80sGuy]

^^Road noise has nothing to do with the windshield being aftermarket, though I wouldn't recommend any after-market windshield either. They needed to be aligned perfectly on each side and the top cannot be lower or higher than certain degrees. When mine was installed I got wind noise galore coming from the right side. I then called the installers back the same day to have it removed before the glue dries up and showed them how to do it right. The difference was day and night!
9 out of 10 times most installers would just slab the glass on top of the polyurethane and call it a day. If you owned a BMW it is worst, you'd have to buy all the necessary shims and bracket and align them to perfection -- which most installers wouldn't have a clue. Otherwise you're f'ked!

[Obsidian]

Many insurances companies won't cover the cost of OEM glass without and OOP. In my experience PGW is hands down the best replacement glass with Pilkington right behind them.

Sent from my XT912 using Tapatalk 4

[80sGuy]

My insurance covered it. Initially they wanted to repair a small chip but it was right on level with my eyesight which by law must be replaced. My deductible was $300 and that's what I paid. Still kind of sucked though.

[Obsidian]

My insurance covered it. Initially they wanted to repair a small chip but it was right on level with my eyesight which by law must be replaced. My deductible was $300 and that's what I paid. Still kind of sucked though.

Oh yes, I forget glass coverage isn't state law in most places. Here in AZ insurance is required to provide FREE glass coverage. I never get chips repaired, just replace the whole thing. Lol

Sent from my XT912 using Tapatalk 4

[vce1232000]

Many insurances companies won't cover the cost of OEM glass without and OOP. In my experience PGW is hands down the best replacement glass with Pilkington right behind them.

Sent from my XT912 using Tapatalk 4

PGW is one of the worst aftermarket glass out there now.PPG back in the day it was real good.The DOT# will give you where its made.Even if it does say PGW it might not be made in their plant.It just has their logo on it.It was subbed out from another compant like XIN or XYG.Both very horrible fitting and quality glass.You can get most insurance companies to cover OE glass.In our case it would be Sekurit,Saint Gobain,or Sigla.Just not OEM dealer glass unless it meets certain conditions under your policy coverage.

The full cut method is what is used these days to install glass.That would be all urethane cut down to leave about 2mm and a new bead of urethane on top of the 2mm.The old method was called partial cut.It was just to squeeze of a light layer of urethane on top of the old and slap window on top.Also all urethane is not created equal.Some have different tensile strengths.Different drive away times"SDAT".

Again most performance european cars call for high modulas urethane when stationary glass is bonded to the chassis.It creates a stiffer chassis strength.

[Obsidian]

PGW is one of the worst aftermarket glass out there now.PPG back in the day it was real good.The DOT# will give you where its made.Even if it does say PGW it might not be made in their plant.It just has their logo on it.It was subbed out from another compant like XIN or XYG.Both very horrible fitting and quality glass.You can get most insurance companies to cover OE glass.In our case it would be Sekurit,Saint Gobain,or Sigla.Just not OEM dealer glass unless it meets certain conditions under your policy coverage.

The full cut method is what is used these days to install glass.That would be all urethane cut down to leave about 2mm and a new bead of urethane on top of the 2mm.The old method was called partial cut.It was just to squeeze of a light layer of urethane on top of the old and slap window on top.Also all urethane is not created equal.Some have different tensile strengths.Different drive away times"SDAT".

Again most performance european cars call for high modulas urethane when stationary glass is bonded to the chassis.It creates a stiffer chassis strength.

Could be the case... I got mine replaced right when PGW absorbed PPG.

I used PPG a few times and always love them but since PGW has taken over quality may have gone down but I have no current experience. Worst case I say Pilkington then. *shrugs*

[vce1232000]

If I had the choice between the 2. Pilkington would always be on top.

[vce1232000]

I was curious, so I looked at mine. And what do you know, it's aftermarket. Could explain why I have more road noise than I expected.

Certain aftermarket glass are not made equal in quality.Just because it says Acoustic on the glass doesnt mean it will perform the same as a OE or OEM.The difference can be as much as a -2db-+2 db.that you can hear.

[Sylvania A4]

Could be the case... I got mine replaced right when PGW absorbed PPG.

I used PPG a few times and always love them but since PGW has taken over quality may have gone down but I have no current experience. Worst case I say Pilkington then. *shrugs*

I work for Pilkington (actually now it's NSG Pilkington) and I don't think I'd recommend a replacement from here. Unfortunately, there is a considerable arrogance to this company because we are the inventors of the float blah blah blah. This arrogance has pigeon-holed us into doing the same thing we have been doing for over a hundred years while our competition continues to advance. I would stay with Saint Gobain personally. PGW is trying to really shape the future of automotive glass and at times can fall short on doing the basics properly, plus many of their facilities, like Pilkington are 100 years old, so it can be expected that glass will not always leave the plant within specification. Also, AGR, automotive glass replacement, often has a less stringent specification for surface defects, which will include light scratches, distortion, and possible defects in the ceramic paint or poly film in the laminate. Just some things to keep in mind.

[Biged243]

So I researched my glass. It's an fy which is a Chinese aftermarket glass that safelite likes to use. It has gotten not the best reviews and the review did say something about it being thinner which would let more noise in expecially since it is not an autistic glass like the factory. At least it works and I can live with it till it needs to be replaced.

[JPS]

I was wondering about my windshield also. Stupidly loud when its raining, real annoying.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

[vce1232000]

I work for Pilkington (actually now it's NSG Pilkington) and I don't think I'd recommend a replacement from here. Unfortunately, there is a considerable arrogance to this company because we are the inventors of the float blah blah blah. This arrogance has pigeon-holed us into doing the same thing we have been doing for over a hundred years while our competition continues to advance. I would stay with Saint Gobain personally. PGW is trying to really shape the future of automotive glass and at times can fall short on doing the basics properly, plus many of their facilities, like Pilkington are 100 years old, so it can be expected that glass will not always leave the plant within specification. Also, AGR, automotive glass replacement, often has a less stringent specification for surface defects, which will include light scratches, distortion, and possible defects in the ceramic paint or poly film in the laminate. Just some things to keep in mind.

As you already know.Maybe up to 30% of pilkington glass is not from pilkington itself.It comes from other manafactuers.It just has the Pilkington trade logo on it.The Dot #177 is made internally if not mistaken.I have installed many Pilkington brand windows and find it one of the better aftermarkets.Not the best,just better.

FYG is made in China,when 1st introduced into the US auto glass replacement market,it was terrible.It has since improved and has become OEM on many make and models.

Safelite uses alot of XYG,XIN,and SGC.All three in my opinion are very low quality glass.SGC is safelite's own manafactuer brand glass.You can look at their reviews on www.pissedoffcustomer.com.

Acoustic innerlayer glass has a different style laminate to keep noise levels down interior wise.Inferior glass companies claim acoustic qualities in their products.But fail to deliever how the OEM and OE performs.

[typeslone]

I just had the windshield replaced on my B7 last month. I used aftermarket glass, however it was Saint Gobain-Sekurit glass. I would have used oem from the dealer glass (I work for a vw dealer, pay cost for audi stuff) but my warehouse had no stock at the time and I needed it asap. The glass guy we use at the dealer is good, he's been in the glass business for 20 years. He has done a few windshields for myself and my family over the years.

The only difference I can find between the original audi logo'd saint gobain-sekurit glass and the aftermarket version is the lack of the word acoustic on the new glass. The fitment was 100% spot on perfect, everything for the rain sensor was perfect also. After driving a month I still can't notice any audible acoustic difference between my original glass and the aftermarket piece. I will also say having a new pit and crack free windshield made my rain sensing wipers work better. I think the old glass had so much pitting on it from long highway trips that it skewed the signal for the rain sensor.

I would stay away from off brand glass though. Always stick with the oem or oe supplier when you can. I have seen too many issues with wind noise and leaks with the cheap stuff. Safelite is a customer of mine at the dealer (they buy oem glass from me when they can't get it aftermarket), I wouldn't use them. I've seen to many screwups. Just remember even good glass can be an issue if the installer is incompetent.

[midnight407]

I used aftermarket glass, however it was Saint Gobain-Sekurit glass.

Saint Gobain-Sekurit is an OEM. OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer.

The OEM windshield has the Audi rings on the lower left corner.The B7 era used OEM such as Sigla,Sekurit,or Saint Goblain.

[vce1232000]

Saint Gobain-Sekurit is an OEM. OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer.

OEM is original equipment manafactuer.OE is only original equipment.There is a difference.The quality and manafactuer tolerance is higher on OEM.That is is what I experience when installing between the two.

[midnight407]

You're right. Things manufactured by an original equipment manufacturer are higher quality than the original equipment which, apparently, is not made by an original equipment manufacturer. I'm retarded.

[RustyBucket]

The only difference I can find between the original audi logo'd saint gobain-sekurit glass and the aftermarket version is the lack of the word acoustic on the new glass.

I noticed the same thing on mine but, below the text, there is a logo that looks like an ear that has some kind of arrow like it's being deflected. I assume that logo is there instead of the word "acoustic" and means the same thing.

[vce1232000]

You're right. Things manufactured by an original equipment manufacturer are higher quality than the original equipment which, apparently, is not made by an original equipment manufacturer. I'm retarded.

Not retarded.I thought the samething at onepoint.Until I started noticing it when working with certain products.Im not saying it applies to all parts in general.I can only apply it to what I experienced and How I know a particular AGR industry works

You can buy Oem and Oe windows at the dealer
But you can only buy Oe from aftermarket suppliers,Very rare to get OEM from aftermarket,well at least in most cases.Theres always exceptions to the rule

[midnight407]

you can only buy Oe from aftermarket suppliers

If you can only buy original equipment from aftermarket suppliers, please define "aftermarket"

[vce1232000]

Aftermarket is anything that is made in place of the Original Equipment Part that is not allowed to have a trademark logo from such.That is the best way i can describe it.

I don't understand why you would have a video pix above???I just trying to explain the difference.Im not trying to riddle anyone.

But anyway.You have the right to your opinion and I respect such.In this subject of auto glass parts.I prefer the OEM,OE,or good aftermarket in that order.This is my opinion

[vce1232000]

I guess this website can describe it better then I can for other parts of the car
http://www.epsparts.com/contents/sho...ISCUSSION-PAGE





Genuine, OE, OEM, Aftermarket, Oh My!





Since there are many different interpretations as to what the above terms mean, I will do my best to define them in their relation to the automotive parts industry, and our web catalog, epsparts.com.

In our web catalog the terms GENUINE or OEM will appear next to a part manufacturer name, to help you in making your choice, if one is available. If neither appear then the part is either an Aftermarket or OEM Equivelant manufacturer. There really is not much else to it! Following is a detailed description of what these and other part descriptions mean.

Genuine / OE - Genuine or (OE) Original Equipment is basically the original part used by the car manufacturer on the car when it left the factory. That part could have been made under contract by an OEM supplier, like Bosch, Mann, Hella or other OEM supplier, for instillation on the new car. There are many parts like body panels, brake rotors, interior trim items, etc. that are made in the car manufacturer's own factories, or sometimes factories under contract to produce that product only for the car manufacturer. At epsparts.com we use the term OE interchangeably with the term Genuine. An OE part and a Genuine part will both come in the original car manufacturers packaging, such as Mercedes, BMW, Porsche or whatever the original car brand. An example of a Genuine Porsche part is 996-803-183-09 seat belt lock. You can rest assured that any part labeled "GENUINE" refers to a part supplied by epsparts.com that is the OE part in the vehicle manufacturers packaging. The Genuine part and OE part are equivalent, as described above. Sometimes the OE or Genuine part comes from the OE supplier, like Mercedes, in a multiple unit package, and therefore may not be shipped in that package.

OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer refers to a part that is manufactured by a company like Bosch, Mann, Hella and others under design from the car manufacturer, like Audi, VW, etc. This part is then made available for sale by the OEM manufacturer, but in that manufacturers packaging. In many instances the car manufacturer's part number and logo are removed to prevent copyright infringement. The bottom line here is that the OEM part is the same part as was installed originally (OE) and is equivalent. Many times I will use the term OEM equivalent and this refers to a part that meets the same quality standards as the OEM part. Sometimes what was used as OE on the new car may no longer be the OEM, a good case is Bremi and Bosch ignition products for BMW. I told you it was confusing! An example of an OEM part is this Mercedes heater blower motor 211-830-09-08.

OEM Equivalent - A part that would be considered an OEM or Original Equipment Manufacturer Equivalent would be one that is, for instance, an OEM part for one car company say Saab but not for another car company. A good example of this would be an oil filter for a particular Volvo engine is Mann, however the OEM oil filter for a particular Saab is Mahle. Mahle would be an OEM Equivalent oil filter for Volvo and Mann would be an OEM Equivalent oil filter for Saab. The important issue here is the quality of the actual manufacturer, Mann or Mahle being up to the standards to be able to produce an OEM product for ANY car company. That level of quality remains true in all of the products manufactured by that company. Another even more illustrative example would be the same car manufacturer using 2 different companies to produce a product for different models of cars. For instance a particular Porsche model will use a Mahle fuel filter as OEM, and a different model of Porsche would use a Bosch fuel filter as OEM. Both are OEM Equivalent filters, not just for Porsche, but for any car line that may have a part available from Bosch, Mahle, Hengst, Knecht, Mann etc. This kind of information is available in my Product Manufacturer Index for most of the part manufacturers we supply products from. This is an ongoing project, and many are being added and or updated.

Aftermarket - is just that, something that is made by a supplier other than the OE or OEM manufacturer. Unfortunately the quality of aftermarket parts can vary widely. At epsparts.com we do our best to eliminate any aftermarket supplier if their products do not meet our high standards, i.e. are not close to the OE or OEM part in quality, fit and part life with the Genuine or OE part. A good example of high quality aftermarket part is this Volkswagen shock absorber from Bilstein VE3B055HO Although Bilstein is an OEM suppler to some companies, like Mercedes, it is an aftermarket to VW and Audi, which I would call OEM equivalent or better. Sorry, getting more confused? Many times an Aftermarket part is an improvement over the original like this BMW water pump 888010330.





So why am I taking the time to help clear up the smoke surrounding the terms OE, OEM, OEM Equivalent, Genuine, Aftermarket, etc.? It is because many suppliers in the business do not care if they lie or mislead there customer's by referring to an aftermarket part as an OEM one. I have seen Chinese made brake rotors labeled as OEM in many different web sites and in eBay, especially in eBay!



I am very concerned that my customers receive the highest quality parts at the most reasonable prices. In my quest to accomplish this I need customer feedback regarding their parts experience, whether it came from me or not. Knowledge is power they say, and that knowledge is the power to inform and educate all of use regarding smart choices in keeping our cars in top shape. Please feel free to contact me if you have an experience, good or bad, a tip you want to share, or a recommendation for or against any particular brand or part.



Thanks,



Randy Steele

[vce1232000]

I noticed the same thing on mine but, below the text, there is a logo that looks like an ear that has some kind of arrow like it's being deflected. I assume that logo is there instead of the word "acoustic" and means the same thing.

Yes,That would be the logo in place of the work accoustic.Some windshields have other part# that fit the same car without OEM or OE features like accoustic properties.But is alot cheaper in price

[typeslone]

OEM is original equipment manafactuer.OE is only original equipment.There is a difference.The quality and manafactuer tolerance is higher on OEM.That is is what I experience when installing between the two.

The previous post was pretty much on the money. I work for vw and also deal with oem vendors so I will use audi for example here. Keep in mind the whole OE/OEM/OES stuff gets confusing to someone not in the business.

OE is original equipment. It is the part audi installed at the factory when the car was built and the part you purchase from a dealership. OE parts will have the audi logo on them and also the logo and/or vender code of the company that actually produces the part as well as the audi part number and possibly the vendors own in house part number. OEM/OES is original equipment manufacturer/supplier, it is the company the makes the original part for audi, but it is not the OE part the dealership will sell you. 99.9% of the time the OEM part will be exactly the same as the dealer supplied part but it will either not have the audi rings printed on it at all, or the logo will be machined off. The audi part number may or may not be on it but it will have the part number and logo of the company that built it. The quality of the part is basically identical between OE and OEM/OES, very rarely is the OE part made to a different spec. Keep in mind that audi switches vendors all the time so you car may have been built at the plant with sachs struts on it but the OE replacements from the dealer may be bilstein instead. Both companies supply audi with parts, both are OE and OEM replacements, both are acceptable in quality.

The manufactures who build the parts for Audi are under contract and not allowed to sell genuine OE audi logo'd parts to anyone but audi. So they make a boat load of parts, and then remove the logos, or make a batch that had no audi logo to begin with. Those they can now legally sell to other vendors other than audi and brand them as OEM. Sometimes logo'd parts slip through the cracks though.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...Vs-Aftermarket

If you look at the link Hugh posted, you will see the first picture with the 3 oil level sensors. The sensor on the left is OE, it has the audi rings and audi part number and also a hella logo since they made the part. The sensor in the middle is OEM/OES. It has the audi logos and part number machined off of it, but you can still see hella made the part and it still has hella's part number. It is the exact same part in this particular case. The one all the way to the right is regular aftermarket, not make by an OEM/OES company.

I noticed the same thing on mine but, below the text, there is a logo that looks like an ear that has some kind of arrow like it's being deflected. I assume that logo is there instead of the word "acoustic" and means the same thing.

I will have to look at my glass and see if it has that little logo.

[Sylvania A4]

As you already know.Maybe up to 30% of pilkington glass is not from pilkington itself.It comes from other manafactuers.It just has the Pilkington trade logo on it.The Dot #177 is made internally if not mistaken.I have installed many Pilkington brand windows and find it one of the better aftermarkets.Not the best,just better.

You would be hard pressed to find a Pilkington windshield, sidelight or sunroof that is not Pilkington glass. Like I said, we are snobs. Also, we service Safelite now, it's a new market for us, but we are beginning to take business from Guardian in this market. The one thing you can guarantee, if the windshield is multi-thickness laminate, whereas the outer lite is say 2.3mm and the inner is 1.8mm, it's not being fabricated by Pilkington, but it doesn't mean it's not Pilkington glass. This is an area PGW is kicking our ass, they really nailed down the distortion tolerance of this multivariable laminate. And don't be fooled by the trademark, we fabricate (temper/laminate) glass with customers trademarks all the time. The DOT#177 you referenced is for one particular windshield composition, each variation in thickness and color carries a separate DOT# for windshields, for tempered product, it's an M number, again each thickness and color carries a different M number with is our DOT certification. We also have a few other internals on the trademark, but hey those are for internal use only. To summarize, we make an excellent raw material - glass - but when it comes to bending, lamination, and toughening, we are okay, nothing outstanding.

[vce1232000]

I always open to a education.Ive learned from the^^^^.We was always taught the Dot# was always assigned to the different companies that makes the glass.Like dot #65 would be exclusive to safelite only.But I did notice AGC has like 4 different Dot# for every manafacturing plant overseas.The same dot# appears the same even for the tempered parts.

The pilkington warehouse just opened up by us.Ive been going there alot.I rather install pilkington glass then say XIN,XYG or even SGC.Ive also bought some oldier LOF tempered pieces there.Guess some is still floating around after the merger.