When I look through the side of the windshield on my car, it’s all wavy and distorted. Is this normal?
This distortion is called “cross-car distortion.” You will notice it when you’re watching a vehicle cross in front of your car and also when you’re turning left and looking through the right side of the windshield at other vehicles. Front-seat passengers see the same distortion when they look through the left side of the windshield. Since cross-car distortion occurs when you look through the glass at an angle, it may be even more noticeable for short drivers. Wearing nonprescription sunglasses, which tend to reduce depth perception, also may increase the perceived distortion.
Some cross-car distortion exists in the windshields of Honda vehicles manufactured since 1994. In fact, all of these recent Honda windshields have this distortion to some degree, and the condition should be considered normal. Because the aerodynamic windshield of recent Hondas is at more of an angle than in the past, the cross-car distortion may be slightly more noticeable, even though the jump distortion is at the same low level as before. These windshields meet all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for glazing materials, and this minor distortion is allowable within the industry specifications for automotive glass.