Windshield Distortion

[DrummerBoy]

I notice a fairly large amount of distortion in my 2009 Vibes windshield. The drivers side is fine, however the passenger side has distortion covering about a third of the way towards the center. I even notice some waves in the middle. The viewing through the glass is clear, but when passing other cars or especially guard rails or fences you can see the objects showing waves. Does anybody else have this? I know all windshields have some abberations especially towards the corners, but this is in a large area. Luckily it doesn't bother me since the drivers side is fine, and passengers don't notice it when looking straight ahead.

[tribalman]

sounds like regular refraction judging from how the passengers don't notice it on their side, do they notice it on the driver's side or when not looking straight forward on the passenger side?

[DrummerBoy]

Yes, the passangers notice it on the drivers side. It's even more noticible when I wear my polarized sunglasses which would normall cut down on the reflections but enhance the stress in the glass and the laminated layer.

[lovemyraffe]

I noticed a bunch of distortion in my late f-i-l's '08 GMC Sierra but only in the back seat. If I was driving it or riding in the front passenger seat, there was no distortion. The polarization in your sunglasses could make the distortion more noticeable. Without getting really detailed as to how this works, the polarization will cut glare and will effectively change the index of refraction between the glass and your sunglasses.

[DrummerBoy]

Yeah, the polarized lenses allow you to see all stress in the glass, even the checkerboard pattern in the rear window. I'm actually an optician, so don't worry about the technical details...LOL. We use a device at work called a polariscope to actually inspect stress patterns in lenses. Do you notice any distortion in your Vibe? Thanks for your reply.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by DrummerBoy »Yeah, the polarized lenses allow you to see all stress in the glass, even the checkerboard pattern in the rear window. I'm actually an optician, so don't worry about the technical details...LOL. We use a device at work called a polariscope to actually inspect stress patterns in lenses. Do you notice any distortion in your Vibe? Thanks for your reply.Holy crap, I'm an optician too. We should start our own forum for opticians who drive Vibes. I don't notice any distortion in my Vibe. I do notice the distortion in many of the newer cars of all makes and models.