[jburke4689]

I just got a crack in my windshield yesterday. Started as a star near the edge
and expanded to a six inch crack almost immediately. Overnight it has grown to twelve inches. I started researching replacement. I have the HUD and lane departure warning so I knew it wouldn't be cheap. Dealer said $2,300. My insurance said use SafeLite. I have used them before and I am fine with it.
Quote from them is $738. At the very end they have a message saying the car requires camera calibration after the replacement and the cost is $300 but they give you the chance to opt out. You just have to sign a disclaimer. I just got off of the phone with my dealer on the subject of calibration They said maybe one in 50 needs calibration and they charge $280. Safelite says they all need calibration and charge $300. I'll stick with what BMW says. I'll close out this thread with the results.

[BigKutta]

Firstly, you can ask for an OEM windshield and the insurance company has to pay for that. I wouldn't take generic glass. Second, regarding the calibration, there are now installer who say its not needed but really depends on the installer. A good one probably does not need you to calibrate. I would get the OEM windshield first

[mgattmch]

I have the same options as the OP and my windshield developed a big crack last winter. SafeLite did a fine job installing a new windshield (BMW OEM), fortunately for me everything worked fine after replacement. Nothing required programing. Total cost was approximately $1,500, I had a deductible of $750, so the insurance paid half the total cost.

[Bbb34]

I'm not an expert, but from what I know, cars with HUD need OEM glass, I remember reading about issues in cases where aftermarket glass was used.

I would not settle for anything else. Yes, they cost more, but that's the price of having HUD.

[BlackWidow]

Im almost positive that I got aftermarket glass from Safelite with no issues. Now over 2 years, and I didn’t need no calibration for the HUD.

[TLK]

The calibration procedure is the BMW procedure for changing glass when the car has a KAFAS camera for the driver aids. The reason is that you have to put the rear view mirror / camera on the new glass and you aren't going to be able to get it positioned and angled the exact same as the previous installation, so the module can run a calibration. If you can place it very accurately or don't care about lane departure or collision avoidance features there is no need to recal.