So from the original pics posted, seems like a typical impact crack. I wish I could have caught this before your swap over... It is normal to not be able to feel the crack, as it's caused by pressure pushing onto itself. It is definitely cracked on the outside lite. Unless it's an armoured car(flat glass), laminated glass will always be 2 layers and never 3.
Cold (and hot) temperatures do cause the glass to crack, but not if its done gradually. The easiest way to crack it is with temperature shock -- quickly heated from freezing, or cooled from screaming hot. A crack in glass will speed up or slow down based on pressure zones in the glass that are formed as it cools off the mold in the factory.
I love that Tesla's are capable of self calibration of cameras. I spent almost 30k on a camera recalibration system that works on every vehicle that isn't a Tesla for windshield replacements in my shop.
For gforce2002: that glass shop lied to you to duck a warranty. While there are microscopic cracks in every piece of glass, and glass can break all on its own, you should have been provided some form of warranty against this. This is a stress fracture and could be the glass' fault, or the fault of the installer. Either way, you should have been provided a replacement.
The camera needing a physical pitch adjustment probably was an issue with the mounting bracket glued to the windshield. This is a common problem with many ADAS windshield systems. An extra fraction of a millimeter of glue under the bracket can upset the camera angle enough to do this.
My guess is there was a small pit from a rock hit low on the glass and close to the heater grid. The heater grid broke it. This happens all the time.
Gforce2002 post 13: no glass just breaks by itself in time, there would have been a hit, esp on those patriots. They are prone to hits near the sides due to the shape of the glass and the side moulding system. One small, and I mean miniscule rock hit near the edge and they crack. This could apply to Lexus guy posting one before you too, I would suggest running a ball point pen along the crack, especially near the edge and I will bet you find the impact. It'll be in the black area near the edge...
I'm not surprised your Ranger is stumped. He's a jack of all trades, good at it all. I'm a 20 year glass guy, extreme specialist. Worked on just about any car you can name, and prides myself on a job done perfectly... It's my livelihood.
MrElbe is exactly right: temperature shock causing crack travel.
Your crack growing while not driving it: I'm going to guess it's still cold out at night and at some point during the day, the sun is coming out and is directly on your glass. You might have noticed very small changes in the crack, almost like tiny stairs, and then a longer straight section... This is the crack working through a pressurized section of glass before finding an easy path...caused by a temperature change...
Hopefully all of this has been some help to those in this thread. I am happy to answer any questions at all regarding anything glass or related. Have a great day!!
