Trying to replace my Gorilla Glass on my 20204 Gladiator using Safelite. They are saying it is on back order for 2 months now

[BlackRuby23]

I keep my deductible high because it's easier to pay out of pocket for anything under ~$5k, not deal with the hassle and keep my rates low. I pay $180 for 6 months of full coverage with $10k additional of upgrade coverage for things like the suspension and wheels/tires.

Interesting. What company? $180 for 6 months of full coverage is pretty damn tempting. I increased all my deductibles to $1,000 from $250 last year to save money. It has already netted me over $500 in savings. In about 6 months it will be over $750 in savings, so even a claim then would be a wash. I will check if my company offers $5,000 deductibles. I have had one insurance claim in almost 40 years of driving.

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[MikeNH]

You've got your mind set on GG being of zero advantage at all, so there's nothing going to change that.
Again, you do whatever, it's YOUR Jeep, your face.

You have a 2023 - bet you can't buy the same windshield I have in plain glass for that money. Again, we're at apples and oranges here. Not only is the glass for ACC/FCW different, but the 2024 has the antenna in the glass.

You can't compare insurance prices from one state to another. Doesn't work.

- this is all for others lurking or looking in from other places -

It's not the same as other windshields on the inside layer - the layer inside facing the occupants.. GG doesn't shatter into shards like regular windshields can.
There are a number of YT videos showing what happens when it's hit hard.

GG is lighter, thinner - and defrosts faster. I've seen that for myself in my Jeeps.

What on earth are you on about? Laminated safety glass has been around since like the 70s. It doesn’t shatter into shards.

 

[JonMN]

Took over a month to get replacement Gorilla Glass windshield for my 2024 Mojave X. Having the FM antenna in the windshield did not help--the "non-antenna" windshields were easy to find. Not sure how many aftermarket choices would have that feature.. While waiting, I searched for a replacement. While several sites listed them as available, most had a policy against shipping windshields. Just had to wait. Wish I had ordered a backup to have handy!

FYI, my part number, with Adaptive Cruise and antenna, is 68519032AA. I believe this had been replaced with 68519032AB.

 

[Pismo61]

Did the standard Mopar glass through Safelite,593.00.Genaric glass was around 400 and change.SoCal.This was in January 2025.Gorilla glass was double the price.

 

[Deleted member 57233]

Interesting. What company? $180 for 6 months of full coverage is pretty damn tempting. I increased all my deductibles to $1,000 from $250 last year to save money. It has already netted me over $500 in savings. In about 6 months it will be over $750 in savings, so even a claim then would be a wash. I will check if my company offers $5,000 deductibles. I have had one insurance claim in almost 40 years of driving.

Progressive. My deductible is $750.

 

[Viper501]

There are a number of YT videos showing what happens when it's hit hard.

I was about to choke thinking they were going to fire that ball at the GT … GG is a real thing. Mine has been hit by all kinds of debris and it’s developed some interesting pits but no cracks yet. Given the verticality of the glass on the JT it is especially vulnerable, like tank armor, since there is a thinner cross section than with angled windshields. Almost all of my prior vehicles with angled windshields but not GG had at least one, if not several more, replacements during my ownership. Same roads, same driver, different result. May not be scientific but it is my experience. Presuming the current windshield in the JT ever breaks then the insurance will be putting back in a GG.

And as an aside not mentioned by anyone, there is a very real quality difference in generic versus OEM windshields. Optical variances in the generic windshields I have seen can be significant. I am not willing to accept a generic based on that issue alone.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

What on earth are you on about? Laminated safety glass has been around since like the 70s. It doesn’t shatter into shards.

Go find the other videos I posted over the years. Yes, that layer facing the cabin is just soda lime glass and can indeed do that. It can delaminate under high impact. And you are off by decades....well before the 70s. I'll have to dig up those other videos to show you, I guess. Did you not read the snippet of text I posted from the web?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I was about to choke thinking they were going to fire that ball at the GT … GG is a real thing. Mine has been hit by all kinds of debris and it’s developed some interesting pits but no cracks yet. Given the verticality of the glass on the JT it is especially vulnerable, like tank armor, since there is a thinner cross section than with angled windshields. Almost all of my prior vehicles with angled windshields but not GG had at least one, if not several more, replacements during my ownership. Same roads, same driver, different result. May not be scientific but it is my experience. Presuming the current windshield in the JT ever breaks then the insurance will be putting back in a GG.

And as an aside not mentioned by anyone, there is a very real quality difference in generic versus OEM windshields. Optical variances in the generic windshields I have seen can be significant. I am not willing to accept a generic based on that issue alone.

Here's some shots of regular windshield glass, which is simply soda lime glass on the two outside layers (the bread of the sandwich) with a resin layer in the middle - what you see on this side of the glass is, well, glass pieces coming at you after the impact.
YES, windshields CAN and do often splinter under high impact, sending shards into the interior.
I've been doing street rods, customs, and been in the auto business long before the JT even existed. I know windshields, and have very person experience where my car was crushed by another and yes, there was glass all over me, minimal cuts, luckily, as it wasn't a frontal impact.

BTW - Laminated windshields came into being in the 1930s - waay before the 1970s. They were old-hat by the 70s. Chop a street rod, go restore a classic.
You'll see the effects of age on the glass, and even the laminations with the classics.

See that "fog" ? That's glass coming at us - it delaminates. (I've been cut badly removing broken windshields over the years doing salvage, replacements and so on)

GG can't do that. The layer next to you flexes, but doesn't shatter into shards of glass.


Glass coming at you - this is a regular laminated standard cheap windshield ->

This is the interior layer broken into shard shards of glass, and having absorbed the energy of the object that hit it - it's traveling at a very high rate of speed at your face ->

I ain't new to automotive or windshields by any stretch.

What on earth are you on about? Laminated safety glass has been around since like the 70s. It doesn’t shatter into shards.

LOL - yeah, it can, and as shown over and over in videos, testing by FoMoCo and others, it does.
I'm not fresh off the turnip truck regarding glass, cars and so on.
You missed by about 40 years on laminated windshields. I've dealt with cars from the 30s and later - pretty much all laminated glass. It's all basic soda lime glass with a layer "bonding" the two layers together, but with the right energy and impact, that bond is broken, so it acts like any other glass since it's not tempered glass.
What do you see in the last two pics above? GLASS, sharp pieces, coming at your face at high speed because of physics, they have absorbed the energy of the object that hit the glass. That energy was transferred. Since the glass has lower mass than what hit it, it could go just as fast.
My son was driving his Jeep in our area several years ago, down by the river area, his windshield was hit by a bullet (some idiot shooting out there in the woods should be hung) It was more of a glancing blow, but I do recall how it looked, and what was missing on the interior layer - some glass.

Been building puddle jumpers, customs, and more since the 1970s. And having worked in a shop that did towing and impounding for the IHP and local police, I've seen almost every type of accident out there. The glass inside some of those - you could get cut pretty badly.

Sorry, I opt for superior safety for me and my family and passengers.
Do what you want - it's your Jeep, your face, your passengers.
Me - I've made my choice based on science and decades of experience.
Make your own choices. But don't spread iffy-information.

 

[biodiesel]

I keep my deductible high because it's easier to pay out of pocket for anything under ~$5k, not deal with the hassle and keep my rates low.

That's been my approach as well. I use an excellent paint and body guy for my personal work. He works fulltime at our local paint and body shop that everyone uses for insurance claims. The work he does for me is in his spare time. He charges a fraction of what my insurance would pay if I went through insurance. It's easier for me to skip the insurance company and pay out of pocket for most repairs.

 

[StevieY1]

Not with my insurance, and again - the hassle of replacements, and the safety issues are my motivation. You can do what you want since you are the passenger in your vehicle, but for me, my wife and family - it's Gorilla Glass after the studies I've seen.

One reason I traded my 2020 for a 22 was the GG - and of course the SelecTrac..........

Maybe your insurance isn't all that good? I don't know, doesn't matter - but no, I can't replace it 3 times or even for less than my deductible.

My "Gorilla" Glass got cracked right across the windshield in multiple places when a very small stone was thrown going at 7 mph. It was so slow I saw the trajectory and was astonished it caused a star and then a series of cracks all across the windshield. Been waiting for my replacement on warranty since early Feb. - last I checked with the dealership, delivery had been moved to April 21st - haha.

Anyway, in the meantime I've ordered and received from Summit Racing their 3 panel clear glass protection that I will install the minute its back on. Cost me 400 Canadian to get it up here but don't want the hassle next time. Supposed to last roughly 18-36 months and as it "wears" you simply pull the older layer off giving a fresh one until ur down to the last one and eventually virgin glass again.

Brand is Racing Optics Windshield Defense Tear-Away - 229.00 American

 

[ShadowsPapa]

My "Gorilla" Glass got cracked right across the windshield in multiple places when a very small stone was thrown going at 7 mph. It was so slow I saw the trajectory and was astonished it caused a star and then a series of cracks all across the windshield. Been waiting for my replacement on warranty since early Feb. - last I checked with the dealership, delivery had been moved to April 21st - haha.

Anyway, in the meantime I've ordered and received from Summit Racing their 3 panel clear glass protection that I will install the minute its back on. Cost me 400 Canadian to get it up here but don't want the hassle next time. Supposed to last roughly 18-36 months and as it "wears" you simply pull the older layer off giving a fresh one until ur down to the last one and eventually virgin glass again.

Brand is Racing Optics Windshield Defense Tear-Away - 229.00 American

The part people "don't get" is that the outer layer is still soda lime glass.
The GG inner layer helps reduce chips and breakage on the ordinary outer layer. I won't go into the science because the internet hates science, physics and factual proven information. They prefer word of mouth from other internet sources like themselves. So I won't waste the time on that.

YES, it can still chip and crack. the GG reduces that possibility by around 60% (fine, ignore Ford engineers, whatever)
You aren't wasting money on an outer film - it can prevent those tiny chips as it's flexible enough to cause a bounce for many objects.
Our drawback is - oops, science again - the verticle nature of the windshield.
The glass has to absorb the full energy of what hits it because it stops for the most part. That means our glass takes on a lot more energy from the same object hitting it than the windshields of a Mustang. Those are glancing blows, and the projectile keeps moving, retaining a lot of its original energy. Plus - the effective thickness of the glass when it's angled back is much greater than if it's straight up witha 90 degree impact.

There's probably a dozen threads on this, the science behind it, what GG does and doesn't do, examples in videos and pictures and more.

 

[nas4a]

I just had my GG windshield replaced a few weeks ago. Took a golf-ball sized rock that was launched out from between the dual rear-wheels of a semi coming out of a farm road while I was going ~60 mph. The rock was so big I saw it and actually physically dodged thinking it was going to murder me. It ultimately hit right above the black area of the windshield, right in front of me. It sounded like a small-caliber rifle shot when it hit. A loud, sharp crack. I knew the windshield was done for, but was surprised it didn't crack more initially. I had a quarter-sized crater with some indentation/glass loss in the middle, and then two cracks snaking up from the crater. The cracks grew on my drive home.

Ended up getting it replaced via my insurance company (New Jersey Manufacturers) with one call. I told them I had OEM gorilla glass, and they made a note on the service order to Safelite. Safelite came out and replace it with gorilla glass, I paid my $100 deductible, and less than a week after the incident I was back on the road.

No clue if GG is "worth it," but I can't see how it's worse than normal glass, and for what I paid as an option, I'd do it again.

 

[StevieY1]

I just had my GG windshield replaced a few weeks ago. Took a golf-ball sized rock that was launched out from between the dual rear-wheels of a semi coming out of a farm road while I was going ~60 mph. The rock was so big I saw it and actually physically dodged thinking it was going to murder me. It ultimately hit right above the black area of the windshield, right in front of me. It sounded like a small-caliber rifle shot when it hit. A loud, sharp crack. I knew the windshield was done for, but was surprised it didn't crack more initially. I had a quarter-sized crater with some indentation/glass loss in the middle, and then two cracks snaking up from the crater. The cracks grew on my drive home.

Ended up getting it replaced via my insurance company (New Jersey Manufacturers) with one call. I told them I had OEM gorilla glass, and they made a note on the service order to Safelite. Safelite came out and replace it with gorilla glass, I paid my $100 deductible, and less than a week after the incident I was back on the road.

No clue if GG is "worth it," but I can't see how it's worse than normal glass, and for what I paid as an option, I'd do it again.

Haha, after my initial star I was driving along and a big crack happened in the glass with no impact but it ended up sounding like a huge impact when it cracked across the windshield. From what I've read briefly about Gorilla Glass is that a small percentage of their finished panels are suspect due to the special process the glass goes through in the tempering process. They are under much higher stress during manufacturing and therefore there are panels that fail spectacularly - like mine did, haha, gulp.

 

[Gvsukids]

Hoping to give the Gorilla another try

Hopefully you have glass coverage.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Haha, after my initial star I was driving along and a big crack happened in the glass with no impact but it ended up sounding like a huge impact when it cracked across the windshield. From what I've read briefly about Gorilla Glass is that a small percentage of their finished panels are suspect due to the special process the glass goes through in the tempering process. They are under much higher stress during manufacturing and therefore there are panels that fail spectacularly - like mine did, haha, gulp.

The initial caused the latter - uneven stresses. That's why you get things replaced ASAP. Once there is a crack on that outer soda lime glass, the tension is uneven on it. I've seen glass pop due to improper installation or a minor "tweak" to part of the vehicle's chassis.
GG isn't tempered. It's chemically modified. Sodium ions are replaced with larger potassium ions, creating a compressive "stress". When that becomes uneven - it will pop, like yours did.
I can cause a standard windshield to "pop" and crack clean across with a simple bit of damage to an area close to the edge. (and unfortunately, I have done it - rats!) The crack wasn't at the initial point of damage. But I caused the stresses to be uneven.

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