Rear defroster grid destroyed by tint shop?

May 1, 2020

Took our 3 day old (new off the lot) to our local tint shop. They’ve always done impeccable work. When we went to pick it up the owner said when he went to prep/install the back window the entire defroster grid was loose, so he didn’t apply tint. He told us it should be under warranty with VW - that it must’ve been a manufacturer defect. Took it to VW (we have a great relationship with our service manager) and he was pretty adamanat that VW wasn’t going to cover it - not a manufacturer defect. He stated the tint installer 100% screwed it up. Tint installer is likely going to replace the back window, but has already been laying the ground work that we don’t need an OEM window. Service manager says we 100% shoukd get an OEM window so we don’t have problems down the road with sensors , etc. burning out. Anybody have experience with this? Is it unfair for me to request an OEM window? I mean - literally a 3 day old car.

DynamicATL · May 1, 2020

58 minutes ago, Guest Michelle D said:

Took our 3 day old (new off the lot) to our local tint shop. They’ve always done impeccable work. When we went to pick it up the owner said when he went to prep/install the back window the entire defroster grid was loose, so he didn’t apply tint. He told us it should be under warranty with VW - that it must’ve been a manufacturer defect. Took it to VW (we have a great relationship with our service manager) and he was pretty adamanat that VW wasn’t going to cover it - not a manufacturer defect. He stated the tint installer 100% screwed it up. Tint installer is likely going to replace the back window, but has already been laying the ground work that we don’t need an OEM window. Service manager says we 100% shoukd get an OEM window so we don’t have problems down the road with sensors , etc. burning out. Anybody have experience with this? Is it unfair for me to request an OEM window? I mean - literally a 3 day old car.

Honestly, I would bet the tint shop is correct and it was defective from the start. This is not uncommon, many models are bad for this...you can literally wipe a micro fiber across the defroster lines and move them. There have been threads on here about Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, and Porsche having this issue. Personally, if we caught this before tinting it, we would not cover it. It would need to be covered by the dealer since it is most likely defective glass.

Edited May 1, 2020 by DynamicATL

Tint Slayer · May 1, 2020

On the tint side of things, you can only completely remove portions of a defroster not loosen it, if it was 3 days old it was a manufacturers defect. Go to different dealer for the warranty work they're trying to blame the tint guy. This is not uncommon for this to be a manufacturers defect and 3 days in very likely is and your service manager is likely full of it. The grids are either loose or not, especially 3 days in..

I'll also add if the tint guy did do anything to cause a defect in the defroster it would more likely happen removing tint or happen on a much older car not a 3 day old car. You should thank the tint guy for pointing this issue out early for you. Don't listen to car dealers, go to another car dealer and just say it was loose so you're not giving them an out by saying it was at a tint place that didn't install tint on defective defroster grid.

If you're going to try make the tint guy pay for a glass he didn't touch (or in your words "..he didn't apply tint") and warned you it was defective, then i'd tell you to kiss my ass you're lucky i'm even replacing it let alone OEM. Youre lucky the tint guy doesn't just tell you to get lost.

Edited May 1, 2020 by Tint Slayer

May 1, 2020

Thanks! I’ll go to another VW dealership and see what they say.

Tint Slayer · May 1, 2020

Just now, Guest Michelle D said:

Thanks! I’ll go to another VW dealership and see what they say.

Let us know how it goes, post a pic of the loose grid if possible too would like to see how it looks. Good Luck!

May 1, 2020

Spoke to our tint pro again and we’re going to go with what he recommends as far as glass replacement. He was adamant about covering the cost, but I don’t believe he erred in any way. It’ll be the first time I’ve ever DEMANDED to pay, but it was obviously not his workmanship that caused the issue.

FYI it was a Jetta GLI and VW told us to F right off regarding warranty.

DynamicATL · May 1, 2020

21 minutes ago, Guest Michelle D said:

Spoke to our tint pro again and we’re going to go with what he recommends as far as glass replacement. He was adamant about covering the cost, but I don’t believe he erred in any way. It’ll be the first time I’ve ever DEMANDED to pay, but it was obviously not his workmanship that caused the issue.

FYI it was a Jetta GLI and VW told us to F right off regarding warranty.

Yeah, that is the problem with dealerships, as soon as you get anything done to your vehicle they want to void warranties. We had an issue with a Honda dealership when my wife took her new Honda HRV in for a dying battery. They instantly blamed the led lights and remote starter system for draining the battery even though this is a common issue. Cool, we told them we would take everything out to see if it still persists even though I knew that had nothing to do with it. The next day I was taking it to the shop, I noticed the gauge cluster was milky looking and fogged up. When we pull it out, they clearly dropped it and super glued it back together. There was two brackets glued back on, glue was all along the seam where the front/back of the cluster meet, etc. We took it back with everything removed, the battery issue still there, and now with this new issue. They tried to blame the shop (they didn't know I own the shop) saying that we had to tap into the back of the cluster. That's when I go from 0-100 quickly since that is completely false since it was only a remote starter add-on and speed is now tracked through GPS, so need to hook up a speed sense wire. We ended up going through 3 different bosses for them to finally admit they probably broke it and they replace it. Now she is not comfortable taking it back to them and looking to trade it in on something that is not a Honda.

Tint Slayer · May 4, 2020

On 5/1/2020 at 4:48 PM, Guest Michelle D said:

Spoke to our tint pro again and we’re going to go with what he recommends as far as glass replacement. He was adamant about covering the cost, but I don’t believe he erred in any way. It’ll be the first time I’ve ever DEMANDED to pay, but it was obviously not his workmanship that caused the issue.

FYI it was a Jetta GLI and VW told us to F right off regarding warranty.

Kinda shows you who had your back. Tint guy wants to pay and the Dealer could've easily paid to fix what is obviously their issue told you to F right off. Sick of car dealers, one of the biggest purchases you make and they act like they're not responsible for that $80 grid.

OlfaMan · May 6, 2020

This was in the WFAANZ news letter a little while ago. (Window film association of Australia and New Zealand)

Tiguan tint trouble

If an owner of a VW Tiguan come into your workshop wanting tint on the rear screen – would you do it? Many tinters wouldn’t to avoid potential dramas down the line.

The Tiguan Owner’s Manual advises against putting stickers of any kind on the inside surface of the rear screen, as removal of such could damage the window heating system.

So, before you touch the rear screen of a Tiguan – always advise your customer of this recommendation. If they still want to proceed, have them sign a waiver. If the film ever needs to be removed (for whatever reason) and the demister bars are damaged during the removal, the entire rear window may need to be replaced.

Edited May 6, 2020 by OlfaMan