Tesla windscreen or windshield replacement guide for owners
Last updated 12-Jan-2023
We have put together a Tesla windscreen or windshield (depends where you live in the world) replacement guide for owners explaining what owners need to know when talking to the glass replacement companies and how to ensure autopilot calibration.
Windscreen resin injection
This is something well worth doing quickly. Avoiding the need for a new screen has to be preferable to a replacement, it's cheaper, it's more environmentally friendly and it's less likelty to result in problems with fitting errors. Windshields can also be hard to come by and in some countries there have been waits for up to a 6 month wait for a replacement screen. Whatever the reason, the resin injection might just help protect the screen from getting worse if it does not cure the issue all together.
Tesla glass is really no different to other cars. Stone or rock chips, sometimes called a "bullseye", can typically be repaired with a resin injection. Each country has specific rules regarding where these occur and the type of repair, typically above a certain size and in the drivers line of sight they are not permitted.
As a rule of thumb, if the chip is under 10mm it can be filled, with the allowed size getting bigger if it is none within the drivers straight ahead field of view (top to bottom of the windscreen and about the width of the steering wheel). When you contact your local glass company they will typically walk you through the location and size to determine the appropriate course of action.
All glass repair/replacement companies can do this type of repair and many will establish the minimum viable repair before agreeing to a replacement glass, primarily because insurance companies who often pay for the repair demand this.
Windscreen replacement
If the glass is not repairable then a replacement screen is required. Tesla is not materially different to other car windscreens, they are resin bonded into the car, however the size of the glass can be much larger than some cars, especially cars like the Model X. Some makes of car do have different requirements, a BMW i8 windscreen for example is a specialist fitment due to it sitting on resin carbon fibre and the traditoinal "cheese wire" removal could damage the structure of the car. This isn't the case with Tesla.
Where Teslas, and many modern cars, have special requirements is the ADAS cameras fitted to the windscreen. The act of replaceing the glass requires the removal and refitting of these sensors and they can need calibration as a result.
Most glass repair companies will allocate more than one fitter to replace the glass, they will determine the needs based on the vehicle. We believe 2 people are typically needed for MS and M3 and 4 people are required for MX due to its extended size
Windscreen replacement guide
We recommend following these steps:
- Check your insurance for approved glass replacement companies and contact these. Insurance companies are often happy for you to do this directly and the glass replacement company can check your details and notify the insurance company on your behalf.
- Measure the size of the crack and work out the location with respect to the drivers line of sight. This is important when establishing the type of fix that is required and it is worth having this information to hand.
- If you suspect a replacement screen (or any glass on the car) may be required, make a note of the part number. This is written on the glass and will typically be a number like 1105965-00-D or 1028696-01-B (we have not listed all the possible numbers). The glass varies between models due to whether there is a heated windscreen wiper area and the version of AP that the car may have installed. There are also variances for left and right hand drive cars and general model changes. Having the existing part number will reduce the chance of the fitters ordering the wrong glass.
- Establish with the repair company whether a replacement is required or whether a resin injection fix is suitable. If a resin fix is suitable then this can be easily arranged with no further work required on the car. They will use the size and position of the crack to determine what is required.
- If a resin injection fix is suitable, this will be arranged and takes less than an hour to perform. The windscreen is not removed.
- If a replacement windscreen is needed, provide the part number to the glass replacement company. Some may not want it, but we have heard too many stories of the wrong glass arriving and the replacement aborted, the existing part number should help them.
- The glass replacement company will obtain the glass, almost always directly from Tesla, and arrange fitting. There is nothing particularly unusual about Tesla, many cars also have cameras and attachments to the windscreen, but the galss company may want to do it in one of their workshops so they can control the environment, ensure the car is kept dry and calibrate the cameras. Tesla do however have exceptionally large windscreens and may require more than one person to fit the glass. Do not assume Tesla will do a better job, they often subcontract glass fitting to 3rd parties and windscreen fitters replace glass all the time whereas a Tesla mechanic may not do the work very often.
- Once the glass has been replaced, if a resin binding agent is used, the car may need to be left for 2-3 hours for this to cure sufficient to drive the car, and a further week before a power wash can be used.
- Once the screen is fitted, the cameras, generically known as the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), may need calibrating. Since software version 2020.32.1 the car has an option for the owner to recalibrate the cameras under the service menu.
- Following the manual calibration and a short drive, the system should report any issues if the screen has not been fitted correctly.
- On older cars without a calibration option, a short drive is usually all that is required
- Some glass replacement companies suggest taking the car to Tesla for calibration. This is rarely the case today unless the car reports a problem or autopilot starts behaving differently to normal.
