NHTSA Complaint #10956961 — 2016 TOYOTA PRIUS

ON MY WAY TO WORK, WHILE SWITCHING LANES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, MY VEHICLE WINDSHIELD WAS HIT WITH A SMALL ONCOMING PEBBLE ROCK THAT FELL FROM A SEMI-TRUCK THAT WAS APPROXIMATELY 125 FEET IN FRONT OF ME. I COULD NOT AVOID IT SINCE IT WAS A "LAST SECOND" SITUATION. MY CURRENT SPEED WAS 50 MPH IN A 70 MPH ZONE BECAUSE TRAFFIC IN THE LEFT LANE WAS MOVING SLOWER THAT IT SHOULD HENCE WHY I MOVED FROM THE LEFT TO THE RIGHT LANE. WHAT I AM TRYING TO REPORT IS THAT I BELIEVE AS WELL AS MANY OTHER 2016/2017 TOYOTA PRIUS OWNERS WHO HAVE CRACKED WINDSHIELDS, IS THAT TOYOTA IS USING WINDSHIELD GLASS THAT IS NOT UP TO CURRENT SAFETY STANDARDS. JUDGING BY THE CRACK IN MY WINDSHIELD, WHICH IS NOW WELL OVER A FOOT LONG, YOU CAN TELL HOW MUCH THINNER THE GLASS IS COMPARED TO OTHER CURRENT MAKE AND MODEL VEHICLES. I AM NOT SURE IF THIS IS DUE TO GAINING WEIGHT SAVINGS WHICH IN TURN WOULD GIVE A FEW EXTRA MPG OR NOT FOR A HYBRID VEHICLE, BUT I BELIEVE THIS NEEDS TO BE LOOKED INTO BECAUSE WINDSHIELDS FOR A VEHICLE LIKE THIS ARE EXTREMELY COSTLY. UPWARDS OF $690 FROM DIFFERENT VENDORS OR $1500 FROM A TOYOTA DEALER. I HAVE OWNED 5 CARS IN THE PAST, THE TOYOTA PRIUS IS NUMBER 6, AND ALL OF THE PAST 5 VEHICLES HAVE BEEN HIT EVEN HARDER WITH BIGGER ROCKS THAN THE PRIUS WAS ON THE WINDSHIELD WITH NO CRACKS OR CHIPS. I DO HOPE THIS IS LOOKED INTO BEFORE I START PAYING HIGH AMOUNTS OF MONEY FOR NEW WINDSHIELDS.