NHTSA Complaint #11465349 — 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK

My windshield cracked in February 2022 while parked and was replaced with a new Subaru windshield under warranty in February 2022. After having the windshield replaced, it cracked again in May 2022, with the crack propagating from the same spot at the base of the wiper blade on the driver's side windshield. The windshield glass failed. It was available for inspection at Safelite and Subaru upon request. Disagreement between myself and Subaru and Safelite as to cause. The main crack is a stress crack, which started from the base of the windshield and propagated towards the center of the windshield. There is a small radial fracture, which seems to be around a jog in the main fracture, possibly where there was a local stress field change in the glass around the intermittent tip of the propagating fracture. Subaru and Safelite claim it is an impact fracture because of the small radial/conchoidal fracture. However, a) I did not witness an impact while driving when the crack initiated, b) the same type of conchoidal/radial fracture can occur due to localized stress field changes in the damage zone ahead of a propagating fracture tip, 3) and the main fracture can then continue to propagate through the damage zone, as it seemed to do in my windshield. The fracture deviates slightly at the radial point, suggesting the radial nature is due to a local stress field change rather than an impact. Furthermore, the intersection of the crack with the molding at the base of the windshield is in almost an identical location to the February 2022 crack, which occurred while my car was parked and had no impact. Even if there was a minor impact, the crack propagating at the same location at the base of the windshield is statistically unlikely unless there is an issue with the glass. Safety of myself and others was put at risk by reducing visibility. No warnings or other signs of failure occurred prior to the windshield failure.