[lake_eleven]

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hi, my '21 45e windshield was replaced yesterday by Safelite. When delivered, there was a cent sized air bubble at the windshield camera (photo atatched) just below the 'Connected Drive' wording.
Technician said it is an air bubble and would go away in a day. Its still there today.
Wanted to check if anyone had this issue, if this air bubble will eventually go away or it needs to be fixed by the technician. There are no sensor/camera warnings or anything until now.

[bobt1972]

I'm not a glass expect, but I struggle to see how it would go away on its own, similar to the air bubbles after applying the tint. Hope I'm wrong, though!

[SnohoRaptor]

Guess you could try gently heating it from the outside to confirm.

But I agree, that's likely not going to disappear

[iconoclast]

Manufacturing defect. It will not go away. It should not have been installed. Demand replacement. This is one of the many reasons I go with OEM glass and have the dealer install.

[joesid]

I don't have a G05, but that looks like the gel pad for the rain sensor. Safelite likely reused the old one. If you remove the rain sensor, you should be able to remove the air pocket by gently massaging the gel pad. If not, replacement pads are available.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by lake_eleven

hi, my '21 45e windshield was replaced yesterday by Safelite. When delivered, there was a cent sized air bubble at the windshield camera (photo atatched) just below the 'Connected Drive' wording.
Technician said it is an air bubble and would go away in a day. Its still there today.
Wanted to check if anyone had this issue, if this air bubble will eventually go away or it needs to be fixed by the technician. There are no sensor/camera warnings or anything until now.

I've had that happen after a safelite install too...I had the car for years after and it never went away. Luckily for me it didn't negatively impact any of my cars features though I didn't like looking at it I believe joesid is correct, you might try his suggestion if you don't want to bring it back to safelite.

[JimVR4]

If joesid is correct and I think he is - Do you think the rain sensor is working normally with this issue? If not then it should be on Safelite to correct it.

[center001]

I've had (believe it or not) 3 windshields replaced in the past year..each time with OEM glass...and thankfully have not had that issue. That looks like OEM glass to me so I think it is an installation problem and I would for sure have them re-do it....or at least try. Not sure about your BMW dealers around there but here (MN) none of the dealers install glass and outsource to local glass places like Safelite.

Also as a sidenote if any of you out there are driving around newer X5's without glass insurance coverage...I'd recommend getting it. These windshields cost close to $4k to replace (with OEM glass).

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by joesid

but that looks like the gel pad for the rain sensor.

It appears to be in the frit band of the windshield and if so then it is most likely in the laminate. If that is the case then it is a defect and should not have been installed to begin with but should be replaced. I

[Nuke88]

Originally Posted by lake_eleven

hi, my '21 45e windshield was replaced yesterday by Safelite. When delivered, there was a cent sized air bubble at the windshield camera (photo atatched) just below the 'Connected Drive' wording.
Technician said it is an air bubble and would go away in a day. Its still there today.
Wanted to check if anyone had this issue, if this air bubble will eventually go away or it needs to be fixed by the technician. There are no sensor/camera warnings or anything until now.

That's horrible man. I'm sorry to see that bs installation safelite provided to you. I would go back and complain to safelite and demand them put in a new windshield/remedy the situation.

Tech said that to you so he didn't have to redo the windshield install.

Best of luck

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by Nuke88

That's horrible man. .....
Tech said that to you so he didn't have to redo the windshield install.

Best of luck

Yes, it was a lazy tech but he doesn't need a new windshield, its an air bubble in the gel that sticks to the inside of the windshield like joesid said. Happened to me twice. Its in the auto rain sensor area and for me it never impacted the sensors ability, just looks bad and should be remedied.

[Burnt C6]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

Manufacturing defect. It will not go away. It should not have been installed. Demand replacement. This is one of the many reasons I go with OEM glass and have the dealer install.

Safelight just did a replacement on ours. They used factory BMW glass. Our X6M50i has all the windshield sensors they can put on it. we did have to take it to their location to have the install done for the calibration of things though.

[Aimster82]

I think you can only get OEM. Safelite replaced mine and it didn't have this problem. I would demand a new one.

[lake_eleven]

Went back to Safelite to have this fixed. Still a small bubble/gap. Came back frustrated, did not want him to fiddle with it anymore to cause more problems.

[DG05M50i]

I just fixed mine today on my 2021 X5 M50i if anyone is looking to do it, read instructions below.

My windshield was replaced by the original owner. I bought the car and discovered it wasn’t working becuase of air and dirt on the gel on top of the sensor.
Took it to BMW under warranty and they said they cannot warranty it since it’s not a factory windshield and quoted me $375 to replace the gel and “calibrate” the sensor. I declined the repair.

I bought this gel on Amazon.
https://a.co/d/0ucQk29


To do the fix:

I turned the car completely off, made sure it was not on ignition either.

Took the plastic trim pieces off around the mirror
Took the mirror off by sliding it down…be careful as exerting too much force will slide it right off and may scratch the dash or iDrive screen. And disconnected the electrical connector.
Next, I disconnected the rain sensor.
Took the metal pin off that held the rain sensor.
Took off the gel pad that caused it not to work.
Cleaned the sensor and windshield (where the sensor goes) with rubbing alcohol. Wiped both the sensor and area in the windshield with microfiber to make sure there is no dust particles on both.

Took the sensor and put it on a leveled surface.
Injected the 2 part gel onto the sensor and made sure it went all the way to the edge and formed a decently thick crown. On my vehicle, I covered the rain sensor with the gel. Some cars have a raised edge for the gel not to get into the sensor, but mine was one flat surface.

Once it cured (about 4 mins indoors), I took it and clipped it back into place and checked from the outside that there are no more air bubbles. I connected the sensor and put the wiper in auto mode and sprayed water and worked right away!

I did not have to re-calibrate anything, just re-used the sensor that came with the car.

Please note: if you have an air bubble after doing the new gel, it will likely not come out so I re-did the gel with a little bit more and i had no air bubbles to massage out the 2nd time.

Just be careful of the gel nozzle because it may solidify in the special nozzle, so try to do the repair quickly to avoid a clogged nozzle if you have to re-do the gel.

$16 to get it up and running, saved myself $375 at the dealer. The cheapest gel pad that is for the car was about $40 and the gel linked above worked like a charm.

Hope this helps!