Side/rear Glass problems of the 2010 Kia Motor Soul

The contact owns a 2010 kia Soul. The contact was driving 30 mph when the windshield was struck by a small rock causing extensive damage to the glass. The vehicle was taken to a glass specialist who advised the contact that the windshield would fracture again if struck and recommended replacing with tougher glass. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and advised that they would have an engineer further examine the windshield glass. The failure mileage was 5,000 and the current mileage was 10,813.

I have had my kia Soul since may 2009. I have experienced chips in the glass and paint as well as scratches to the glass from a plastic ice scraper ai have used on 3 other vehicles without issue. I do not use ice scrapers often here in texas, but this is the first time I have had windows scratched by a plastic utensil designed for the task I was performing. I think the windows are made of a hybrid compound that is not fully glass to be so easily chipped and scratched. It reminds me of the polycarbonate used in the glasses I wear. They are "scratch resistant", but when push comes to shove I will have scratches from the most benign occurrences. I believe the glass in this vehicle will be a hazard over the long term by creating issues with viewing the road. The scratches catch the light and cause star effect lighting right in the portion of the windshield in front of the driver. This car has less than 5000 miles.

Factory installed windshield chips and cracks from the edge easily and often. I had the first window replaced at about 5,000 miles and that window was a genuine kia window installed and now it has two small chips and a crack from the edge of the glass and one big chip at 8,000 miles. I have not changed my driving and have never occurred this many window defects. I believe the window to be not properly annealed or treated in the furnace or it is just too thin.