Window tinting?

One question: Why would you want to keep your windows closed in the hot sun?

 

..."especially when parked"...

 

That's what I meant to say.

 

I'm pretty sure windshield tinting it technically illegal and would need replacement if you chip and had to replace your windshield.
If the goal is to keep the interior cooler; you'll need to leave at least a quarter inch gap in your windows to let the hot air out of your cabin. I've installed window visors so water doesn't get in.
You should have it ceramic tinted, that'll reject the most heat from the sun. I did limo tint on the rear doors and go with the lightest tint they have for the front doors. The rear hatch should be around 70% because of the angle. IMHO any darker, it'll be difficult to see out of your rear hatch at night.

Hope this helps....

 

You can get clear windshield "tint" that blocks almost all uv. It is installed on the inside of the windshield. I have it on our 2022 Rav4 Hybrid.

 

Pretty sure the car already comes with that from the factory. I think it's 99% UV blocking on the windshield, and 97% UV blocking on the rest of the glass.

 

The window film was added after purchase. It is also legal here and in California (among others) for use on windshields.

 

Sure, but I'm saying the glass Toyota uses already blocks 97-99% of the UV. I don't know how much real effect adding any additional film will do to block UV.

Toyota announced the UV blocking tempered glass(sides and rear glass) about 15 years ago. I assume they still use it today(I believe it has something about UV as part of the label). They were using a UV-blocking plastic in the laminated glass(windshield) for years before that.

Toyota Glass Blocks UV Rays | Capitol Toyota

 

Oh, absolutely it's the IR that heats up the interior. I agree that's what you'd need to be looking for. I was just trying to make it clear that additional UV protection was not needed.

I'm not sure what system Toyota uses. Just that the press release said a film on the interior of the side and rear glass, and the UV protection is part of the laminated middle layer of the windshield(and front side windows if you have a Limited or XSE+).

 

Also, you need to consider what will happen if you tint the interior of the windows and then have to remove the tint later. There are at least a few horror stories of owners of other Toyotas needing to replace all the windows because removing the tint film pulled away sections of the UV coating, leaving a patchy mess.

I'd at least make sure you've got a good tint installer and that they're aware there might be a UV film on the inside of the glass(check the label on the different glass panels to see if there's anything UV related on them). Then they can advise you of the best choices for your particular car and situation. Maybe there are tint films that are more appropriate for coated glass, or maybe they've had experience with this particular type of glass and there won't be a problem. But I wouldn't trust randos like us on the internet for a big question like this.

 

All I know after ceramic tinting, passengers in the rear seats no longer complain about the sun burning the back of their necks. It did seem to lower the amount of heat coming through the glass. I throw up sun shades on my windshield and do notice more heat coming through the windshield than the side windows.

Just my observations......

I've got 3M ceramic tint on mine.

 

Yes, definitely make sure the shop does quality work and uses quality materials for the job! Make sure it's not a fly by night, here today, gone tomorrow shop. You may pay a little more, but it'll be done correctly. Almost all tint shops around here will give you a life-time warranty on the tint and workmanship. If they're a fly-by-night, you won't be able to collect on that warranty.
The shop had to redo one of my rear doors, developed a bubble in the corner. They probably didn't clean it or missed a finger print in that corner.

Good Luck

 

Sorry, I should shut up, but I'm going to try and make one last post to clear things up(pun partially intended).

What we're dealing with is the electromagnetic spectrum(EM). On one end, we've got gamma radiation. It's incredibly high energy and has extremely short wavelengths. Like a billionth of a millimeter. Unless you're Bruce Banner or getting extremely delicate brain surgery, you don't want to be anywhere near gamma radiation. On the other end, we've got radio waves. Radio starts at around a millimeter wavelength and goes up to hundreds of kilometers. Being low energy, it's pretty darn safe.

In the middle of the spectrum, we've got the three types of radiation that we deal with car tinting: ultraviolet, visible light, and infrared.

UV: The highest energy and shortest wavelength of the three. These wavelengths will do damage to the car and your body. They will bleach out fabrics, cause plastics to become brittle and/or get hazy, kill your skin cells(sunburn), hurt your eyes, and possibly give you cancer. Broken down into UVA(closest to visible light - not great but not insanely bad - 95-ish% of UV we see), UVB(much worse - skin cancer lives here - 5-ish%) & UVC(very, very bad, but the atmosphere blocks virtually all of it).

Visible Light: Middle of the three. It allows us to see.

IR: Lowest energy and longest wavelengths of the three. Transmits heat. If you feel your skin getting warm from the sun, it's IR. If the seat get hot from being in the sun, that's IR. It can make you uncomfortable from the heat, but it's not really going to harm you like UV.


If the car's glass already has UV blocking applied as part of the glass making, then you can ignore that and focus on the the other two spectrums. How much visible light is it going to block, and how good is it at blocking IR(if you live in a climate where that's important to you). So if you're shopping different film products and one spends all its time marketing it's UV-blocking properties, that might be a waste of money if the glass is already doing that.

I hope that was at least a little bit helpful to someone.

 

Same.