Just wondered if anyone knows what the purpose is of the small, round brown
colored circles that surround the windshield? I have a nice crack in my windshield and wanted to know if I replace it, does it need to be an exact duplicate of the O.E. windshield. I know in some older American cars they used
to imbed the radio antenna between the glass but we all know that most 850's have the rear trunk mounted antenna.

Get your winshield replaced by a dealer and get a factory winshield. The winshield is what holds the passenger air bag in place if deployed. Also, if the winshield isn't put in right, it will leak.
--
Drew

Dealer qoute for replacing my 850 glass = 540.00
Local autoglass replacment guy = 140.00
He told me it was a generic glass, but guess who I'm going to when it is time to replace!!

Windshield glass contains a black enamel band (called the frit) around the periphery that is baked into the glass. This black band includes a border of dots. The band has an etched surface to enable adhesive to bond to the glass. When car manufacturers install the windshield, they bond the windshield to the vehicle with adhesive placed on the etched part of the black enamel glass area (inside surface). The outside of the enamel band shades the adhesive from the Sun and protects it from ultraviolet radiation. The band also serves a cosmetic purpose by covering up the adhesive and gives the windshield edge "a more finished look."

The black dots also blend the border into the glass. Rather than a straight black edge, the dot border blends the solid band into the clear glass. Some windshields also use the dots as a third sun visor to block the sun behind the rearview mirror where most visors don't reach.

ref: http://www.wonderquest.com/

Gerald C