{"id":31,"date":"2017-02-09T22:52:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T22:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/info.glass.com\/decoding-car-windshield-bug\/"},"modified":"2024-04-03T21:18:46","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T01:18:46","slug":"decoding-car-windshield-bug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/decoding-car-windshield-bug\/","title":{"rendered":"Decoding Your Car’s Windshield"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What Kind of Windshield Do I Have?<\/h3>
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This permanent bug on your windshield is probably a bit different than what you have pictured. The automotive glass industry actually refers to the stamp pictured above as a “bug” or “monogram” which can usually be found on the bottom corner of your windshield. The bug provides pertinent information about the windshield<\/a>, which can be helpful to both consumers and glass shops for looking up the windshield part number.<\/p>

Why Is It There?<\/h3>

If you’re going to have your windshield replaced soon, it may be beneficial to provide the glass shop with the information in the bug. Or if you recently had your glass replaced, you may want to confirm that the shop used quality glass. So what do all of these numbers and symbols mean?<\/p>

What Does It Mean?<\/h3>

We’ll start with the most obvious\u2014this glass is for a Nissan and is most likely the original factory part since it displays the company logo. The company that made the part for Nissan is Vitro and it was manufactured in Mexico. Not all glass will have these logos displayed, but all will list the Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) number<\/a> that the company is registered under. For example, Vitro is registered under DOT 287.<\/p>

What about the line reading “LAMINATED AS1”? U.S. federal regulations require that glass pass certain safety tests. AS1 glass passes them all, AS2 does not pass all the impact tests, and AS3 is typically of a darker tint and is referred to as privacy glass. Since AS1 is the only glass to pass all safety tests, it is the only glass allowed for windshield use.<\/p>

The E with a circle around it may be displayed if the product is also distributed in Europe. You may also see “CCC” with a circle around it if the product is distributed in China. Both of these markings carry similar meanings to the US’s AS1 safety rating. The long number next to the E which reads “43R-000499” also pertains to European distribution. The first section, “43R”, indicates the part conforms to the European standard of safety regulation number 43. The set of numbers that follows, “000499”, is the approval number assigned to the part.<\/p>

Next, we’ll look at M119. This is the manufacturer’s part number which allows them to identify the glass. There may be additional symbols, illustrations, or codes added by the manufacturer to indicate information such as date of manufacture, added options<\/a>, and more.<\/p>

Replacing the Glass<\/h3>

When having your glass replaced<\/a>, these manufacturer designations may help the glass company identify the exact glass needed for your vehicle. But because some vehicles can have up to 20 different windshields depending on equipment options, they may need the vehicle identification number, or even to do a visual inspection to identify a match.<\/p>

Get an Estimate<\/a>\n<\/p>

I have a windshield in my garage and I <\/span>don’t<\/span> know what vehicle it’s for. How do I figure out what vehicle the windshield goes in?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>

This is a question we commonly receive at Glass.com. Unfortunately, identifying what vehicle a loose windshield fits is not as straightforward as one might guess. The issue is that the bug does not contain information that identifies the year, make, and model of the vehicle the glass fits. This is likely because certain windshields can fit multiple vehicle years, makes, and models. Succinctly listing all the compatible vehicles would be nearly impossible for the manufacturer. Manufacturers also don’t always know ahead of time exactly how many years a certain vehicle may be manufactured. The bug is simply meant to indicate the facts listed earlier in this blog; mainly stating the name of the manufacturer, that it complies with certain safety standards, and basic information regarding the actual manufacturing of the part. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Without any other information printed on the windshield, t<\/span>he only way <\/span>to accurately know<\/span> what vehicle <\/span>a<\/span> windshield is meant for would be to have a copy of the original purchase order. <\/span>Unfortunately, t<\/span>hese typically get lost over the years and <\/span>won’t<\/span> accompany the windshield. <\/span>Other times, they <\/span>become destroyed<\/span> over time from moving the windshield around, rodents, and weather.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Some clues, however, may help you narrow down your search. First, the car make is commonly listed within the bug’s information. For this reason, you\u2019ll at least know what vehicle make the windshield matches with. Next, look at the manufacturing date which may coincide closely with the vehicle’s year. Hopefully this will help you limit it to a certain range of years, in which only certain models were present. Finally, some glass techs who have been replacing windshields for a long time can use the measurements to help identify which vehicle it might fit. However, just because the measurements are the same does not mean it’s an exact match. This method is not foolproof and your local auto glass company will likely recommend that you order a new windshield to ensure an exact fit.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Installing the proper windshield for your vehicle, old or new, is important for many reasons. A proper fit helps to ensure that the windshield <\/span>is properly bonded<\/span> to its frame. The windshield is an integral part of a vehicle\u2019s safety system in the event of an accident, so it is paramount that the windshield <\/span>stay<\/span>s<\/span> in place upon impact. Additionally, a proper fit will ensure that leaks such as air leaks and water leaks do not occur. These leaks can be annoying at <\/span>best<\/span>\u00a0and detrimental to your vehicle at worst. Lastly, installing the correct windshield ensures that you retain all the same features that your vehicle came equipped with from the factory. For example, if your vehicle features rain-sensing windshield wipers, but you replace the windshield with the wrong part<\/a>, your car may not be able to perform this feature any longer.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/u><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You’ve probably seen thousands of bugs go “splat” on your windshield. But did you know your windshield is stamped with its own permanent “bug” from the manufacturer? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":59482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1352],"tags":[12],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70099,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/70099"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}