Rear Window Tinted and now Defroster line melted the tint. Thoughts?

26373 Views 73 Replies 27 Participants Last post by Tira19, 2 d ago

coolesnce

Discussion Starter · Dec 12, 2018 (Edited)

2

I had my rear window tinted with a single piece of SunTek ceramic tint. a month ago ( took delivery of Model 3 end of October) With the weather getting colder I started to use my read defroster and noticed that a segment of the defroster line has melted were it covers the defroster line. I went to Tesla today for service and they said the overheat was caused by the tint and because I tinted the rear window I voided the warranty and ff I have to replace the glass that would not covered by the warranty. I also showed the tint place that I had the tint installed at and they said that the tint should not have melted since its automotive grade tine and that most likely I had a defective defroster line. Attached are some pics. I wanted to get some feedback if anyone has had a similar experience and what they did to find a resolution, Thanks in advance.

See less See more

41 - 60 of 74 Posts

MelindaV

· #41 · Dec 14, 2018

Triangles said:
That extra distortion is not because it's hotter, it's because of the difference in physical properties between laminated glass and tempered glass. The model 3 is the only car I am aware of that uses laminated instead of tempered glass for the back window.

it being laminated likely has to do with it being overhead (of the rear passengers) where a typical rear window is not over the passengers and would be fine as just tempered

Defjukie

· #42 · Dec 15, 2018

Triangles said:
That extra distortion is not because it's hotter, it's because of the difference in physical properties between laminated glass and tempered glass. The model 3 is the only car I am aware of that uses laminated instead of tempered glass for the back window.

That makes sense. But it does make it look like it's REAAAAALLLY hot.

In fact, the first time I noticed it, my wife had inadvertently turned it on (unbeknownst to me), and when I looked in the rear view I could not figure out what was going on (or if I was finally having a psychotic break).

Reactions: 4

Triangles

· #43 · Dec 19, 2018

MelindaV said:
it being laminated likely has to do with it being overhead (of the rear passengers) where a typical rear window is not over the passengers and would be fine as just tempered

I think it has more to do with IR/UV blocking and tint than anything else, since you can't really do that with tempered glass unless you have custom glass made with the IR/UV blocking materials in the glass which would be very very very expensive to do. I don't even think it's possible to do the partial tint/tint gradient with tempered glass.

groovetesla

· #44 · Dec 27, 2018

I called Tesla today to ask about this (as I'm planning to tint all glass on the vehicle next week, including sunroof and windshield). I spoke with a rep and the first thing that she said was:

"Glass is not covered by warranty."

We went back and forth with a song and dance as I tried to pinpoint her on the details and I really couldn't get a straight answer from her. She kept referring me to the online warranty details which read:

Additional Limitations and Exclusions

In addition to the above exclusions and limitations, this New Vehicle Limited Warranty does NOT cover:

"Windshield or window glass that is broken, chipped, scratched, or cracked, other than as a result of a defect in material or workmanship of a Tesla manufactured or supplied windshield or window glass;"

I asked several times what would happen if glass cracked for an unknown reason, she kept saying I'd have to take the car to the Service Center and they'd determine a cause, case by case basis, blah blah. Then she said if it was determined that it was a factory defect "it would be placed under warranty". So I kept pressing with multiple ways of phrasing it - If I have a tint and it's still a manufacturer's defect, am I covered? Again and again I couldn't get a straight answer but she did say at one point that because it's not stock it wouldn't be covered. When I tried to confirm, she just directed me to the website.

Now I'm nervous about tinting the rear glass, windshield and sunroof. Thoughts?

Another question I have - if the glass cracked and I remove the tint before taking it into the shop to have them inspect it, is there any way they can tell it had been tinted?

Love the car, not happy with their customer support and BS tactics. They actually told a friend who is on the fence about auto-pilot that they'd give him a 30 day free trial of the autopilot and then if he decides he wants it, he can pay $5,500 (instead of paying the standard 5k now). Really? You're gonna charge an extra 500 dollars to press a button 30 days later? :/

See less See more

Reactions: 2

Cut3

· #45 · Apr 3, 2019

coolesnce said:
I had my rear window tinted with a single piece of SunTek ceramic tint. a month ago ( took delivery of Model 3 end of October) With the weather getting colder I started to use my read defroster and noticed that a segment of the defroster line has melted were it covers the defroster line. I went to Tesla today for service and they said the overheat was caused by the tint and because I tinted the rear window I voided the warranty and ff I have to replace the glass that would not covered by the warranty. I also showed the tint place that I had the tint installed at and they said that the tint should not have melted since its automotive grade tine and that most likely I had a defective defroster line. Attached are some pics. I wanted to get some feedback if anyone has had a similar experience and what they did to find a resolution, Thanks in advance.

Same thing has happened to me got a professional 3M ceramic tent installed. The rear defroster has burned through the tint! Have you come up on any solution with this? Tesla service is not helping. Thanks much...

See less See more

coolesnce

Discussion Starter · #46 · Apr 3, 2019

Cut3 said:
Same thing has happened to me got a professional 3M ceramic tent installed. The rear defroster has burned through the tint! Have you come up on any solution with this? Tesla service is not helping. Thanks much...

Unfortunately I ended u replacing my rear windshield and just not getting it re tinted. I am hearing that ceramic tint on the rear windshield is causing excess heat to be reflected through the glass causing potential glass crack and rear defroster lines to run hotter , causing the tint to warp or melt. Both happened to me hence why i had to replace the rear windshield.

iChris93

· #47 · Apr 3, 2019

coolesnce said:
Unfortunately I ended u replacing my rear windshield and just not getting it re tinted. I am hearing that ceramic tint on the rear windshield is causing excess heat to be reflected through the glass causing potential glass crack and rear defroster lines to run hotter , causing the tint to warp or melt. Both happened to me hence why i had to replace the rear windshield.

Bizarre. I think there must be a defect in the defroster that was not noticeable or present until tinted. Many other people, me included, have ceramic tint and no issue.

coolesnce

Discussion Starter · #48 · Apr 3, 2019

iChris93 said:
Bizarre. I think there must be a defect in the defroster that was not noticeable or present until tinted. Many other people, me included, have ceramic tint and no issue.

Could also be how often they are using their rear defroster and temps in their area. I dint have any issues till weather got cooler and rainy and i started to use the defroster ( a few months after getting it tinted) when i noticed the issues. Hopefully if more people bring this up to Tesla they will look into it and solve the issue, maybe lowering defroster lines temps, not sure if that is possible.

iChris93

· #49 · Apr 3, 2019

coolesnce said:
Could also be how often they are using their rear defroster and temps in their area. I dint have any issues till weather got cooler and rainy and i started to use the defroster ( a few months after getting it tinted) when i noticed the issues. Hopefully if more people bring this up to Tesla they will look into it and solve the issue, maybe lowering defroster lines temps, not sure if that is possible.

I'm in Michigan so I think I would use my defroster more frequently than you do, for snow/ice at least.

coolesnce

Discussion Starter · #50 · Apr 3, 2019

iChris93 said:
I'm in Michigan so I think I would use my defroster more frequently than you do, for snow/ice at least.

Hopefully the cooler weather will keep the defroster lines from melting the tint. If i do decide to retint I'll try non ceramic.

buste2

· #51 · Apr 3, 2019

Man. I'm really debating to just tint my windows and leave the rear alone for now...

iChris93

· #52 · Apr 3, 2019

buste2 said:
Man. I'm really debating to just tint my windows and leave the rear alone for now...

I think there are only two posts here with people reporting this issue and many others have had full tint applied.

Jason F

· #53 · Apr 4, 2019

I know I've seen posts about rear defroster defects that had no tint. Either lines burning out or something similar.

Reactions: 1

iChris93

· #54 · Apr 4, 2019

Jason F said:
I know I've seen posts about rear defroster defects that had no tint. Either lines burning out or something similar.

Exactly, some of the glass is just defective.

jsteez

· #55 · Apr 12, 2019

Add me to the list of rear defroster burning the tint. I had not even used my defroster, wondering if it came on maybe during a time remotely turning climate on.
Tesla said that diagnostics show that the "rear defroster was operating within spec" and that I should reach out to my tint guy to get it fixed.

Cloud Road surface Automotive tire Sunlight Asphalt

See less See more

coolesnce

Discussion Starter · #56 · Apr 12, 2019

jsteez said:
Add me to the list of rear defroster burning the tint. I had not even used my defroster, wondering if it came on maybe during a time remotely turning climate on.
Tesla said that diagnostics show that the "rear defroster was operating within spec" and that I should reach out to my tint guy to get it fixed.

View attachment 24767

Sorry to hear. It looks to be in the similar location as mine but on the opposite side. Wonder if that area on each side runs especially hot.

GDN

· #57 · Apr 12, 2019

Just seeing this thread, but I'm wondering how new most of the tint was when these events happened? If it was newly installed could there still have been liquid or moisture behind the tint that hasn't evaporated or cured? Could it be causing a short of some sorts? If the weather is cold or cooler it can takes several days for it to cure and dry.

coolesnce

Discussion Starter · #58 · Apr 12, 2019

Mine was on for about 1 month before I used the defroster because the weather was still warm and the defroster wasn't needed.

Reactions: 1

jsteez

· #59 · Jan 5, 2020

Glass ended up cracking shortly after I noticed the tint being burned. Tesla ended up replacing the glass and I decided to not get the new piece of glass tinted. My tint guy was cool and ended up refunding me the cost of the burned piece. I think its possible that while getting tinted, the tinting process can nick the defroster lines, this can then cause them to run hotter than normal.

Reactions: 2

iChris93

· #60 · Jan 5, 2020

jsteez said:
I think its possible that while getting tinted, the tinting process can nick the defroster lines, this can then cause them to run hotter than normal.

Sure. P=I^2*R and when resistance (R) goes up from being nicked then so does the power (P) and thus the heat.

Reactions: 2

41 - 60 of 74 Posts