Can I warranty claim for a cracked windscreen?
I own a BMW X1 MSport 25e which I bought in September 2023 - so the car is still under two years old with about 14K miles on the clock. I have suddenly found that a 6-inch long crack has literally appeared down from nowhere on the top of the windscreen about 4-inch in from the offside top corner. I know it wasn't there when I parked up earlier and I also know nothing has hit it to cause the damage - there is no stone chip or any visible surface damage on the glass.
So my questions are what could be the most likely cause? Stress in the glass? Is it likely to be covered under my BMW warranty? How should I best approach it with the original supplying main dealer?
So my questions are what could be the most likely cause? Stress in the glass? Is it likely to be covered under my BMW warranty? How should I best approach it with the original supplying main dealer?
Asked on 8 July 2025 by Anthony Mitchell

A windscreen crack appearing without any obvious impact damage is likely to be caused by excessive stress, whether that is a particularly sharp pothole impact or extremes of temperature. It is unlikely that this will be covered under your warranty unless it can be proven that the windscreen was defective in some way, but if you feel this is the case then we would suggest having the screen inspected by your dealer. However, the most likely scenario is that the dealer will say it has failed due to stress and quote for a replacement. A better option may be to go through your car insurance provider if your policy includes windscreen replacement, as you will only have the pay the excess and it will not affect your no claims bonus.
Tags:
windscreen
windscreen damage
Similar questions

Official advice is to place the French Crit'Air sticker on the right side of vehicle windscreen but for most UK cars this will impinge more than 40mm into zone B and won't that therefore be an MoT failure?

My Toyota C-HR was treated with a product called Diamondbrite. Unfortunately the dealer has sprayed all the glass as well as the paintwork with the product. This causes the windscreen to badly smear in...

I hope you can help. I had a new windscreen fitted in September last year due to stone damage and in January after the snow my car was completely sodden inside, mainly drivers footwell and rear offside...
Related models

Spacious and upmarket cabin with excellent new infotainment system. Comfortable yet fun to drive. Impressive electric range from PHEVs.