Toyota used an acoustic windshield on the 2006-2009 refresh. If you own an earlier model it can be installed as an upgrade. You can also get a shaded windshield - I asked Safelite to see if that was an option. They installed a Pilkington.
I have a Pilkington Windshield. Been on the Jeep for over 10yrs now. Went over 8yrs with no chips/cracks. It now has 2 small chips that have not spread in over 2 years.
Just use Pilkington glass if you have the HUD and you’ll be fine (will need to rotate HUD a bit). Check out my last post if you want to see what incorrect glass for the HUD looks like, and central speaker will also sound worse.
My wife's CR-V needed a new windshield and the insurance wouldn't pay for "OEM" glass, so I checked the OEM/white label manufacturer (it was Pilkington) and got an "aftermarket" Pilkington windshield. Everything was basically the same, but the logo was on the passenger's side instead of the driver's side. I don't have the waviness that you do and they were able to calibrate the safety systems, but there was a minor defect (white spot) in the black portion of the windshield outer edge. When I talked to the glass guys about it, they said that almost none of the windshields they get from any suppliers are absolutely perfect. Most have some minor somewhere. They told me it was something to do with the way they "press" the laminated glass into the mold these days.
I paid out of pocket for aftermarket glass from Safelite instead of the OEM, got Pilkington glass. The glass had a bad warp right in my line of sight and I had to get it replaced under warranty. The replacement also had warping, but over in the corners, so not too bad. Heated wiper bed and heads up display worked fine though.
Pros:heated wiper bed worked, HUD worked
Cons:bad warp in line of sight, replacement warped
I bought mine with an aftermarket replacement pilkington glass already installed - not sure for how long. So it's been on their at least 7 years now and the quality has degraded more than any other car I've had. There are no cracks or major dings but it just has microscopic pitting all over that glares in the right light. I can clean and claybar it to perfection and it's still not great.
Cons:quality degraded, microscopic pitting, glares in light
It took a month for me to make Safelite to replace my cracked windshield to the new Pilkington.
I have OEM coverage in my insurance policy, so I had to negotiate Pilkington instead of OEM windshield. They approved Pilkington and created an order to Safelite.
Once I came to the appointment, I found they ordered OEM instead and wanted to install OEM. Took the car back and asked them to order Pilkington, rescheduled for 5 days later.
7 days later came and found out they forgot to order one. Offered to install OEM instead. Asked them to order Pilkington and reschedule the appointment.
Another 7 days later came to them again, they said the new windshield is non-oem, asked them to double-check what vendor is exactly. And it was FUYAO. I declined to install fuyao and asked to order the glass I want at past.
7 days later next appointment - they confirmed Pilkington has come, ready to install. Left a car, was told everything will be ready in 3 hours. 1 hour later incoming call from them: “It happened the windshield we’ve got is for previous outback generation, not compatible with yours. Would you like to have FUYAO instead? We already removed your old windshield”. I declined this, I was struggling with them to have Pilkington, and didn’t want to back down. Told them they owe me a loaner car if my is not drivable, and I will wait for my Pilkington glass. 20 minutes later their manager called me and offered me to install FUYAO as a temporary solution, they will order Pilkington and once it will come they’ll replace it. And that I (insurance) will pay only for one glass. So I agreed, they installed the new Fuyao, recalibrated EyeSight (they even left lane-assist enabled). The glass was crystal clear, they cleaned it.
In 10 days Pilkington glass had come, I drove the car to them, they replaced fuyao to Pilkington. The new windshield was not clean as the previous one, and I also doubt they made recalibration one more time (lane keep assist was disabled).
Coming home I found they lose windshield cowling clips, one was absent, the second one was incorrect bigger size and didn’t fit the body hole. They grabbed it from the intake collector resonator mount.
So, overall, I disappointed of their work and organizational quality.
