Dave_D

Hi all,

I've been through the ringer over a windshield problem.

In short, the "insulated glass" windshield in my 2010 Cayenne S Transsyberia significantly reduces cell phone and radar detector reception. Radar detector warnings occur at a mere 100 feet. Cell phone calls drop out so frequently that my passengers routinely roll down a window to speak.

I've spoken with the local Porsche dealership who could only produce a tech note that shows an invisible hole in the insulation, behind the rear view mirror, through which a radar detector should be mounted. This Porsche tech note is inaccurate! The hole displayed in the tech note is significantly larger - maybe 4x larger than in reality. I parked my vehicle at a speed sign (V1 reading a full alert when held outside the vehicle) and tested various placements of the radar detector. When placed squarely in the hole, the detector warning was reduced to 10-25%. When moved upwards, signal improved to maybe 40%, until pushed up against the ceiling console. For better reception - maybe 70% - the detector must be removed from its mount and wedged upwards behind the mirror, perpendicular to the glass and facing the sky. This might even provide 100% reception, if not for the crazy angle. From this, one can conclude that there is indeed a hole through the insulation, but perhaps a design flaw in its size and/or placement.

I've reported my findings to the local dealership. They've done little more than shrug their shoulders.

A few months ago, I was blessed with a crack in the windshield. Covered by warranty, the dealership offered to replace the glass but only with the same part number. Researching after market options, every compatible windshield is described as "solar glass." Is "solar glass" the same as "insulated glass?" According to that installer, there's lots of "solar" glass being sold these days, but nobody is complaining to him of poor cell phone or radar detector performance.

So, what is this "insulated" glass in my Cayenne? Technical data, please, somebody! Does this merely refer to the sound insulation? Or, is there an escalation path at Porsche - somebody who cares enough to get to the bottom of this and spell out my options? I would think they'd want to know about this flaw.

Lastly, it would also be helpful to know if the side and rear glass in these Cayennes is similarly insulated. Radar detector performance appears to be better at the sides and rear though I suspect it is also muted. I don't see the point of going with a non-warranty, uninsulated windshield if side glass will continue to cripple cell phone reception.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

ltc

No, it is not sound insulated.
It is meant to be (somewhat) thermally insulating with regards to solar loading on the P!g..the byproduct of which you have already discovered.

TGED

I think the standard windshield for Porsche cars in North America is tinted and solar. Thermal insulated windshield is an upgrade. You can further upgrade it to heated windshield. In some other market the standard windshield is non tinted and non solar. I believe some countries do not allow any type of tinting on auto glass, not even factory tinted glass.

Dave_D

Based on your replies - thank you! - and additional research, I have determined these windshield types/options:

• thermally insulated glass (a.k.a. "heat-absorbing glass," Porsche's official name for option PJ1, described in this tech note)
• solar glass (another name for thermally insulated or metal oxide glass?)
• tinted glass (another name for solar glass?)
• metal oxide glass (described here as being used for radio antennas and defrosters while also known to disrupt toll booth transponders, GPS, etc. Perhaps this is the same thing as Porsche's "thermally insulated glass?")

To further complicate things, one of my local Porsche Club friends tells me that she believes that Porsche discontinued the use of "the glass that disrupts cell phone reception" but couldn't provide any references. A Google search turned up nothing conclusive, except some EZ-Pass/FastPass literature that names some Cayennes and Caymans among vehicles with incompatible windshields.

So, to solve this problem with a replacement windshield, I need to know which of the above options to avoid (in all of its names) and whether or not Porsche's glass still incorporates this technology / exhibits these problems.

Again, any assistance is appreciated.

Dave

Frank 993 C4S

Have you thought about an external antenna as pat of your hands-free kit?

ltc

Regular tinted windshield replacement should solve your problems.
In fact, your insurance company likely won't use Porsche dealer glass, but the equivalent, non OEM branded, windshield anyways.

user 83838290

had same problem on my 06 TTS, replaced windshield for a regular tinted Pilkington (not to mention it was about 1/3 the price of the original) and now my V1 works like a charm.

catchacab

Purchase a remote installed radardetector. The Beltronics STiR+ is as good as the V1 if not better. The only thing is that it doesn't have the arrows.

s4for5

Arrows are what makes the V1 the best detector around IMO
Once you have used it nothing else gives you the same amount of valuable info at a glance.
At high speeds all I want to do is glance and react appropriately to where the signal is coming from.
Arrows behind? A quick glance in the mirrors tell me if anything is closing on me.
We love ours and have every car hard wired and extra mounts for easy swaps.

Dave_D

Thank you for that recommendation!

I've spoken with my local installer. His catalog shows two Pilkington windshield replacement options for the Cayenne. One is labeled "solar" and the other "solar + solar coated," which he described as much less common and twice as expensive. He couldn't say whether or not "solar" was "metal oxide" or not - he suspect that it was. That said, the second option sounds more like my "thermally insulated" glass to me, but he's calling the manufacturer for clarification.

Fingers crossed....

Dave_D

...and things just get more complicated.

The word from Pilkington is that the 2010 Porsche Cayenne Transsyberia has the "solar + solar coated" glass and that it is "laminated" - indicated by the dual layers of glass when you roll down any of the side windows. Apparently, this might (or might not) be a factor. Wow, that's great.

Furthermore, Pilkington reports that Porsche received enough complaints about the cell phone filtering that they began installing bluetooth antennae on 2011+ vehicles. Wow, that's even better. So much for your EZPass, radar detector, garage door opener or GPS device. [Okay, you can program the garage door opener into the console.]

So, I can replace the "solar + solar coated, laminated" windshield with "solar (and presumably laminated)" but without any guarantees that it'll fix the problem. Oh, joy.

And we have another addition to the windshield vocabulary - "laminated" - and we're no closer to a guaranteed solution. This is ridiculous.