# Windshield glare problems



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Clean the inside of the windshield. The vapors from the dashboard oils will coat the inside of the windshield and cause all sorts of glare problems. I use Windex and paper towels to do this. Do the same on the outside. Here's a tip to figure out where any leftover streaks are - on one side of the glass clean using horizontal wiping motions and the other side use vertical motions. Streaks will occur in the direction of the cleaning motion so you know which side the streak is on.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

The windshields in these cars are absolute garbage. Ive had 2 x 2012 Cruze Ecos delivered since April, and both windshields have been the same. Driving into the sun on my Silver eco with 300 miles on it, the windshield has what look like pin holes all over it. Both cars are the same and were delivered just like that 3 months apart.


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## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

As stated, clean the inside of the windshield.

As to the pinhole effect, if you park under trees you'll have that. Requires some scrubbing to remove.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I have neither glare or pinhole effect on my ECO MT. Glare is almost always caused by the film on the inside of the windshield. Pinholes are a result of either extended dust pitting from driving or from something physically stuck all over the outside such as pollen. All windshields will develop both at sometime. There's not much you can do about the extended pitting other than hope for a good rock strike to get an insurance replacement (don't go do this yourself, just pass a few construction trucks).

Since I drive directly into the sun on my morning commute, I get to see how many drivers don't know how to deal with glare. You can see the glare in their windshields. I find it absolutely amazing how many people won't spend the 15 minutes a month it takes to clean the inside of the windshield.


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## Dale_K (Jul 16, 2011)

Microfiber towels seem to leave behind very tiny (guess that's why the call them "micro") fibers on the interior surface. They reflect light like little diamonds when driving toward the sun. I find cleaning the inside of the windshield very frustrating. I even thought about trying car wax or detailing spray but I've been a little too chicken, for fear of permanently screwing up the windshield. Plain newspaper seems to be better than the microfiber but still not perfect.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

It used to be that newsprint was the absolute best for cleaning a windshield and not leaving streaks. Unfortunately the soy based inks in most newprint today leaves streaks. I hadn't thought of microfiber leaving behind crud simply because I hadn't seen that effect. I carry a microfiber cloth in my car so I can do an "emergency" glare removal if I haven't cleaned my windshield in a while.


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## budd (Apr 12, 2011)

i clean my winshield with meguiors (spelling?) pure claritie i think its called. does an excellant job stays cleaner longer. i use the foam product.


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## Bohdan (Apr 28, 2012)

I have always used RainX on my Cars glass. Its great as it removes build up and leaves a protective film behind.


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## NYCruze2012 (Jan 16, 2012)

Stop smoking in your car! Just kidding. Shamefully I am a smoker but will not smoke in my car.

Sent from my DROID3


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

NYCruze2012 said:


> Stop smoking in your car! Just kidding. Shamefully I am a smoker but will not smoke in my car.
> 
> Sent from my DROID3



Non-smokers are non-exempt, zillions of exhaust pipes with most emitting an oily film.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

The car is 4 days old. I noticed the pin hole effect with 12 miles on the car. Impossible to be from driving the car anywhere.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

CruzeTech said:


> The car is 4 days old. I noticed the pin hole effect with 12 miles on the car. Impossible to be from driving the car anywhere.


If your car was transported by truck or train from Ohio to California, it went through the Rocky Mountains, most likely on I-80 or the rail line that parallels it. In case you haven't noticed, we have multiple large forest fires going on. Wind has been carying the soot and smoke from the High Point Fire west of Ft Collins, CO to the northeast. I-80 and the railroad next to it fall directly under the smoke plume. Cars during transport aren't normally covered. The soot from the fires will coat them as they pass through causing the pinhole effect you see. Wash your car (by hand) and ensure your windows are really clean. I suspect your car will actually change color (more shine and brightness) as the soot is removed.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

One more item - both trucks and railroads use diesel engines for power. Diesel exhaust is filled with microscopic soot. Part of the reason GM charges $759 for shipping is to help the dealership pay for detailing the car before delivery. This doesn't mean run it through their crappy touchless car wash. It means hand washing if needed. Raise stink with GM and have them instruct your dealership to detail the car for you. If, as I suspect, GM won't intervene, let your insurance company, state insurance commissioner, AG and NHTSA know that your dealership is delivering cars that have windshields that can't be seen through when light is shining directly on them. This is a safety issue. In all instances, name the dealership.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

I went out there and waxed it, and I can tell there is still something on the clearcoat. I will get a claybar. The more and more I think about it, it may be something on the window itself. I have tried to get everything to get it off my first car, and nothing worked. However, I havent claybarred the windshield. I will do that as soon as I can run out and get one. But I see what you are saying about it getting dirty in transport. 

When they delivered it, I went to the back and watched the guy detail it. It was really clean and the paint seemed pretty smooth, but I only ran the back of my hand over a little spot. Today when I waxed it, I can see little red dots on the hood that I cant get off even trying to use my nail. They are so small you cant see them without being within an inch of the hood. Chances are, this is whats all over the windshield. Although looking at the windshield from the front of the car, it almost looks like little bubbles. Maybe its the laminated windshield coating for the sound deadening.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

There have been several reports of small red spots showing up on white Cruzen. They're rust spots from the brakes on the trains.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

Silver would be about the same thing. Its about as close to white as you are going to get beside the Gold one. Maybe the powder blue would be close too. I will try to clay bar it, see how it goes.


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## Starks8 (Jul 20, 2011)

CruzeTech said:


> Silver would be about the same thing. Its about as close to white as you are going to get beside the Gold one. Maybe the powder blue would be close too. I will try to clay bar it, see how it goes.


Let us know how it goes!


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

I dont see any reason why the OP cant clay bar the inside of the windshield. That should get anything off.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Defined those little red spots as dots of rust particles. Son helped me clean those off, started with mineral spirits then the clay bar. Took a major effort, then followed with a good wax job. They never came back after that. Dealer suggest I pay that 400 bucks or so and buy that exterior protection and blamed the cars brakes for that. Brake dust was entirely different.


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## rustinn (Jun 7, 2012)

Well as much as I should clean the inside before posting, it looks as though it's from the outside. I believe the source is Houston's unforgiving rains and the residue they leave behind on the car. This gunk is building up on my car, already has on my parents cars, and I've tried Invisible Glass but to absolutely no avail. I'll try the inside tomorrow though, although I doubt that'll work.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

I just got my hands on a clay bar and it made a huge difference. I was expecting it to clean it up a lot. But I didn't realize just how bad the windshield was.

True test will come tomorrow when I drive it to work. But right now, I would say it looks and feels 100% better. I also clay barred the hood and got all of the red dots off. It feels like brand new paint. I just waxed it yesterday and wasn't all that impressed with the feel of the paint after the wax. The clay bar made all the difference in the world. 

My microfiber towel test is to chuck the towel across the roof at an angle so it skips and glides off. After the wax job, it hit the paint, rolled and stopped. I clayed the hood today, chucked the towel across it and it didn't even slow down. SMOOTH!! I'll have to hit the entire car with clay tomorrow and get a new coat of wax on it. 

So far, I'm impressed. Although I did notice some factory tint bubbles that look like like little dots. Those I can definitely tell are part of the window. 


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app


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