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Thread: Worst rock magnet I've ever owned

  1. #1
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    Worst rock magnet I've ever owned

    What is it with these things? It seems every time I drive the highway I have the pleasure of hearing a stone smack the windsheild. I was lucky 4 years, no cracks or divots. Then last winter a huge crack appeared at what I suspect was a previous stone strike.

    Now I think water ingress is an issue. But how? Did my windsheild crack both the interior/exterior layers of glass AND the layer of plastic bonded in between? Isn't that unpossible? The plastic is there to STOP that action dead.

    Never have I owned such a car that has suffered so many intense stone strikes. I get my Saturn sits higher but it's hood isn't peppered with strikes. So what gives with these things?


    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member klroger's Avatar
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    Do you have a lot of construction / gravel trucks travelling the highways in your area??? I haven't had any issues & as of the last wash, I don't see any marks on the hood or windshield of the Pumpkin. All of my driving is on asphalt roads, mostly the Trans-Canada Highway & most vehicles are Super-Sized Pick-ups hauling air or pulling trailers with ATV / UTV's on them or transports. I do have a little bug / stone deflector on the front, but I really don't know if it helps or not... Maybe look into one of the deflectors??? Just a thought...
    I didn't know what to do, so I didn't do anything

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2018 Mirage GT 1.2 automatic: 37.3 mpg (US) ... 15.9 km/L ... 6.3 L/100 km ... 44.8 mpg (Imp)


  3. #3
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    90% of my time is spent on the Queen Elizabeth Way or the 400 series in and around Toronto. With so much traffic you'd think gravel and whatnot would be tossed to the gutters. Besides, it's been years since I've actually seen a gravel truck without a cover, behaving like a crop duster dropping gravel everywhere. That was a common thing back in 2000.

    I have no clue why my poor bug is being relentlessly hammered. I can count on one hand the stone strikes on my bike windshield, and this is over 5+ years! I get that many Mirage strikes each SEASON yet I don't drive a whole lot. I've got 71 K on my '17.

    Maybe a deflector is the answer.
    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


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    My black 21 G4 looks like it has white spots. The paint is so thin it takes nothing to chip it

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    Senior Member Ares's Avatar
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    8 years of ownership and I didnt change the windshield since it's gotten a crack at (probably) yr 2 or 3.

    It's a cheap car; of course the windshield will also be cheap...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ares View Post
    8 years of ownership and I didnt change the windshield since it's gotten a crack at (probably) yr 2 or 3.

    It's a cheap car; of course the windshield will also be cheap...
    My windshield is fine. But I have stone chips in places I didn't know they could be.

  7. #7
    Senior Member precisionxt's Avatar
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    We have tons of construction here in North Texas but I've somehow managed the last 4 years without a windshield chip or crack. I did lose a fog light but those are much cheaper and simpler to replace so I'm not complaining. I do agree with the paint being easy to chip though. I go over them with fingernail polish every three months or so. Once the construction in my area dies down, I'd like to put some $$ aside for a half-decent paint job. I know that coveted blue paint adds at least 10 HP!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 41.5 mpg (US) ... 17.7 km/L ... 5.7 L/100 km ... 49.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Moderator inuvik's Avatar
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    8 years for me and I'm still on the original windshield with no cracks or chips. One advantage where I live is the low speeds. You have to drive 100+ miles to get to a highway with a speed limit over 55mph. And let me tell you here on the Southern Oregon Coast nobody drives fast, I mean nobody. It isn't unusual at all on US101 which is only a two lane here for people to putting along 40-45 in a 55.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Maybe consider getting paint protective film? Or clear bra? I’m considering them as mine is black and boy it get DIRTY FAST, FASTER than my G41 and I expect that.

    But it a cheap economy car at end of the day. I can’t go liability on my G42 nor am eligible for GAP.

    At Mitsu Motor, if you’re reading this, please DO NOT discontinue the Mirage line up until 2035. From Aaron Donald’s fan.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Ares View Post
    8 years of ownership and I didnt change the windshield since it's gotten a crack at (probably) yr 2 or 3.

    It's a cheap car; of course the windshield will also be cheap...
    Price out a windshield for a later model. Just got a quote of over $1000 plus install for a 2023. Too funny! The ones without all the fancy sensors in them are still cheap to buy aftermarket but the aftermarket(at least out this way) doesn't sell windshields for the fancy sensor equipped models.

    I had the windshield replaced when I bought my current 14 Mirage a couple years ago. So far no chips or cracks 34k kms later.
    Fog lights, those are rock magnets for me. I bought the car with both fog lights punched out, I replaced then then broke one shortly after(iirc) I replaced it? now both are broken again. I'm not replacing them again. I'd go with a small light bar(and only use it in the boonies) instead.


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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)


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