Winter can be brutal on cars. Cold weather strains batteries, drops tire pressure, and makes even routine starts feel unpredictable. While drivers usually expect and prepare for frozen doors or sluggish engines, there’s another part of the car that can take a hit when temperatures swing fast: the windshield. Rapid changes from freezing cold to sudden heat can stress automotive glass. For some drivers, that stress shows up as chips or long cracks that seem to come out of nowhere. That’s what one Lexus owner says happened to him after turning on the defroster in his nearly new SUV. TikTok creator @lifewithbleu_ shared his experience in a recent video that garnered over 43,500 views as of this writing. How Did The Lexus Windshield Break? In the clip, the creator sits inside his SUV as snow blankets the ground outside. "So this is my 2025 GX 550," he says. "I have almost 13,000 miles. I bought it in June." He explains that the crack appeared during a cold morning when he couldn’t find his ice scraper. "I came to turn on my defroster because I couldn’t find my scraper for the season," he says. "And my windshield cracked all the way across." He then shows the damage on camera, pointing to a long crack stretching across the bottom of the windshield. "I’ve never experienced anything like that from just turning on a defroster," he says. After the crack appeared, he says he searched online to see if others had experienced something similar. "It is a known problem," he says. "I don’t know if Lexus is gonna cover that or not." He says the cracked windshield was the breaking point after months of frustration. "I’m sick and tired of this vehicle," he says. "I cannot wait to get out of it." Is It Common for Defrosters to Crack Windshields? Experts generally warn against blasting the defroster on high when a windshield is frozen. Sudden heat against ice-cold glass can create stress fractures, especially if the windshield already has small chips or imperfections. That said, multiple Lexus GX 550 owners claim their windshields cracked with little to no warning, even without temperature changes or visible impacts. Owners of 2024 and 2025 GX 550 models have reported similar issues across Facebook groups, Reddit threads, and Lexus forums. One owner says their windshield cracked at just 500 miles. Another claims they’ve had two cracks within a year of ownership and fewer than 8,000 miles, even after replacing the glass once. A Reddit user reported two separate cracks within a single week, with less than 5,000 miles on the vehicle. Some owners say the problem isn’t just the cracking, it’s getting the windshield replaced at all. On LexusGXForum, one user wrote that Lexus couldn’t give them an estimated timeline for when a replacement windshield would be available, leaving them stuck waiting with damaged glass. Does Insurance Cover These? Whether a cracked windshield is covered depends heavily on the driver’s insurance policy. Many plans include windshield protection, which can cover repair or full replacement without affecting premiums. Some policies even waive deductibles for windshield claims. The issue GX 550 owners are running into, however, isn’t always coverage; it’s availability. Even if insurance approves the repair, replacement windshields for newer models can be difficult to source. Advanced driver-assistance systems, built-in cameras, and specialized glass often mean longer wait times and higher costs. In some cases, insurers may approve repairs but delay work until parts become available, leaving drivers with limited options. Commenters Share Their Thoughts In the comments, viewers weighed in on both the cracked windshield and the Lexus GX 550. "The GX550 is notorious for windshields cracking," one person wrote. Another focused on the shift in Lexus engineering. "The best ones were made until the year 2020," they wrote. "The new ones with a four-cylinder turbo engine suck." Others echoed the creator’s complaints about the interior. "I test drove two Lexus SUVs and felt like it was just cheap plastic," one said. Some shared similar experiences with other vehicles. "This happened to me when I had a Jeep Wrangler," one person wrote. Motor1 has reached out to Lexus via email for comment and to @lifewithbleu_ via TikTok messages for any updates. We’ll update this article if either replies. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team