So after waiting a week for an appointment I finally had the new windscreen fitted today. It was carried out by National Windscreens through my insurers Aviva.

The two chaps who turned up seemed like good guys and they seemed to know what they were doing so I let them get on with it.

I was busy with work so didn’t keep an eye on them and when they knocked on the door to leave the key and say it was complete I was in the middle of a call.

So anyway, finished work and went to look at the job. Well, to say I am not happy is an understatement.

The car was left filthy - dirty, greasy handprints everywhere.
The trim in the engine bay and also the A pillars internally had not been correctly refitted - just wedged in and not fastened.

The actual windscreen is not square in the frame resulting in uneven gaps. The main issue being it sitting proud of the frame on the drivers side with a huge gap.

The screen itself is XYG brand and feels cheap. It says it is acoustic, but no mention of being solar control. Anyone else have experience of this brand?

And then finally, I have just noticed there is a very fine crack in the glass!

I have raised the issue with National Windscreens 24hr call centre this evening and I have been promised a call tomorrow from the depot who serves my area. I will see what their response is.

So I had the call from the Manager of the local depot today. He was very apologetic about the whole situation and promised it would all get sorted. The only issue now is that apparently you have to wait a week for the sealant to fully cure before they can replace the screen again, so have to wait until next Tuesday to get this resolved. All a bit of a saga!

I just hope it all goes smoothly next Tuesday and it is finally sorted. This time I will be watching the job from start to finish.

So the saga continues…….

National Windscreens came out yesterday to fit the second screen. Two really nice chaps, fully understood the care they needed to take with the car and did a good job of putting all the correct protection covers in place etc. they had a good working style and were being very careful etc.

However, the screen was fitted and on checking the job, it is tight up against the A pillar on the off side but a huge gap on the near side. The screen is also sitting too low on the near side so a gap at the top and it means the trim panel for the brake servo won’t fit. I have wind noise at 50+ mph due to the gap on the drivers A pillar to windscreen.

So, screen number 3 is being fitted next Tuesday. If they don’t get that one right I am at a loss what to do. Give up on National and go to my JLR dealership? Find a good independent? Hopefully it is third time lucky.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

On an earlier Discovery 4, I wanted the correct windscreen fitted, rather than whatever my insurance company would select. I went to the dealer and got charged £800. It was fitted by Autoglass, but overseen by the dealer and I wasn't going to pay unless I was happy. It was fitted correctly.

Car was written off a month later as someone crashed into it.

OMG Alex, that is awful. Hope you get it fixed next time round First time FFRR owner

If the third attempt isn’t correct then I think the approach Inigo took may be the best option.

I am insured with Aviva so I may also need to raise the issue with them and see what response I receive as National Windscreens are their ‘approved contractors’ - I think ‘approved’ roughly translates to ‘cheapest’. I would have thought that 3 cheap windscreens would be more expensive than 1 correct first time though.

I am dreading going through this. Unfortunately, today whilst I was cruising along an empty country road, there was an almighty pop, like when the plastic on a drinks bottle pops, but x10. I continued on in wonderment as to what it may have been. When I stopped, I noticed my windscreen has randomly decided all on it's own accord to crack. I have put in a repair for now, but it does mean a new screen is something I will need to sort.

Does anyone know if you are able to appoint your own glass company, or if you have to use who the insurer use?

I am also insured with Aviva. 2015 Range Rover Autobiography 4.4 SDV8

Sorry to hear you are about to have to tackle this too Gary.

I am fairly sure you can appoint a company of your choice to do the work, I just used National Windscreens as that is the ‘approved contractor’ for Aviva, and at the time had no reason to think I would have the problems I have had.

If Tuesday does not prove to be successful then my next step is to advise Aviva I will be appointing a different contractor and expecting them to cover the cost. It may be wise for you to go down this route from the outset.

Also, try to get an OEM or Genuine screen, as I don’t rate the XYG screens that National fit, they are thinner that the original and suspect they will not wear well becoming scratched/pitted easily in use.

I don't know if it's a thing on the L405 too, but the L322 was very sensitive to glass thickness, and aftermarket windscreens have caused problems with the auto wipers, headlights and radar control. 2015 Range Rover Autobiography 4.4 SDV8

I can’t be certain but it does feel like my auto wipers are not as sensitive/precise as they were with the genuine screen. I have adjusted them to ‘max’ to get them to work and they still seem a bit hit and miss.

You are entitled to your car being restored to the same condition and specification that it was prior to the glass damage.

It doesn't matter how old your car is you are entitled to a genuine windscreen.

If the insurance company won't do this then complain to the Insurance Ombudsman, apparently they always come down on your side...

If you had an accident would you allow the repairer to use pattern parts....?? Pete

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2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

I have had a few done by Autoglass and always invited on going to their fitting shop to have it done and looking at the windscreen before it is fitted each one has been good - might be worth a try

I was with aviva, I requested a JLR windscreen and they agreed.
It was fitted and was broadly ok but trim pieces were not fitted correctly and interior was damaged.

When I complained I was told that the best engineers were at the windscreen service centres rather than out on the road.

Having said that we had a windscreen replaced on our transit at a service centre and they fitted a non heated and swore blind that cables weren’t there for a heated windscreen. Despite the old windscreen being heated and us having the button on the dash.

So you can’t win, just usual lack of care from companies unfortunately.

I thought I'd give an update, and thanks for this thread, as I may have also experienced the same woes.

I have spoken to Aviva and they said they use National Windscreens, AutoGlass and Auto Windscreens as approved repairers, and I may approach any of them with my policy number to claim - the online system apparently directs you by default to who has availability / National Windscreens.

They advised AutoGlass are well used to the process for approving and fitting a genuine windscreen, and seemed to be aware certain luxury vehicles suffer from sensor issues and inferior quality with aftermarket screens.

So, claim started with AutoGlass, and currently awaiting the genuine Land Rover windscreen to arrive and then I can get booked in. 2015 Range Rover Autobiography 4.4 SDV8

I wish I had done that Gary! I hope you will get a much better result than I did. Let us know how you get on.

I am glad to say that at least on the third attempt yesterday I finally had a new screen fitted correctly and they made a good job of it. The only issue is that it is an XYG screen rather than genuine or a Pilkington screen so in terms of how it performs in terms of acoustic damping, heating, resistance to pitting/scratches etc is yet to be seen.

Finding a good technician who has proper experience and takes care, along with using a genuine or high quality glass is so important - I just didn’t realise this unless my experience of the last few weeks. Hopefully I won’t need new glass again, but if I do I know I will be approaching it differently to just trusting the insurers approved firm to do it right first time.