06-19-2020, 09:34 AM | #1 |
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Rear window tinting causes light refraction issues
Hi Good BMW Folk.
Just had my windows tinted 35%VLT , very happy but I notice at night the cars behind me, their headlights make horizontal glares in the shape of the rungs of a ladder, those are the demister lines. It is very annoying and quite unsettllng and could be quite dangerous. I did some quick google searches and it seems to be very common with tinting as the tint does not sit flat around the demister filaments so the light refracts differently. Some pix below I found which look like what I have. Anybody else have this problem ? And what would the solution be besides removing the tint. Thanks |
06-19-2020, 09:58 AM | #2 |
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How long has the tint been on? It needs a good few weeks to completely dry and you should see a reduction in those water pockets around the defroster lines.
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06-19-2020, 10:11 AM | #3 |
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06-19-2020, 10:13 AM | #4 |
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No, you should avoid using the defroster as much as possible as it could melt/distort the tint film. Keep it out in the sun and it will dry faster.
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06-19-2020, 07:41 PM | #6 | |
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06-19-2020, 08:07 PM | #7 |
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Hmm that looks pretty bad. They didn't double up on the film did they? That happens sometimes when they do film over film. Honestly give it a week and if it's still like that ask them what's going on.
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06-19-2020, 09:20 PM | #8 |
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Apologies, those pix are not from my car, but it looks exactly like that, not sure if they put double when I look it seems like a single sheet.
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06-19-2020, 09:24 PM | #9 |
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It's very hard to tell if they doubled up...you have to look really close at the edges to tell.
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06-19-2020, 09:39 PM | #10 |
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06-20-2020, 01:50 AM | #11 |
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Yuk....that looks horrible.
If it hasn't corrected itself in a week (which I doubt it will), take the car back to the installer and ask them to re-do the job. This is a painful exercise for you and the installer, but I don't think I could live with that in my rear view mirror.
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06-20-2020, 02:36 AM | #12 | |
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It really is quite distracting , the light is quite glary. Oh well at least its something minor and not major. So your rear windows are tinted and you have nothing like this? |
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06-20-2020, 08:31 AM | #14 |
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06-20-2020, 07:04 PM | #15 | |
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I see just one headlight image, rather than the light refractions that you see. That would drive me nuts.
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06-21-2020, 04:26 AM | #16 | |
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If they cant fix it I may ask them to remove it as its very irritating and dangerous and somewhat ruins my night driving experience |
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06-23-2020, 03:28 AM | #17 |
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So the dealer emailed the tinting place.
And they said apparently 3 series specifically reflect more light due to the angle of the rear window!! They said its not a film type or brand issue. So I went to another tinting place and he checked there was no issue with the installation , but he said the tint was highly reflective and thats why Im getting the glare. He showed me other cars with other brands of tints and the reflection was pretty much zero, even though they were different cars. So Im just going to have it removed, I cant have it compromise safety. If I get the rear tinted by somebody else the colours of tint may not match up and that will be terrible. So unless I remove all tinting from all windows and then go somewhere else and redo it all and pay for it again, seems I have very little choice. Anyway I hope it looks ok ..aaargh So BUYER BEWARE !!!!, make sure you check your rear windscreen at night for the terrible "Ladder Rung Glare" |
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06-23-2020, 04:53 AM | #18 | |
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06-23-2020, 04:55 AM | #19 | ||
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06-23-2020, 08:27 AM | #20 | |
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I’m getting 3M window tinting on Thursday. Any tips to avoid this issue? |
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06-23-2020, 04:44 PM | #21 |
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I've had the ceramic tint from tint-a-car and have had no problem (except for excessive instrument backlight dimming on cloudy days - a known issue with tints that cut out UV rays)
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06-23-2020, 04:56 PM | #22 |
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The dimming demon grrr...honestly it's my biggest gripe with the G20.
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