Distinguishing Between Heated and Non-Heated Forester Glass
Determining the correct replacement windshield starts at the lower black frit band where the front wiper blades rest when parked. When you look closely at that black ceramic border from outside the vehicle, you will either see bare glass or a visible pattern of copper-tinted electrical grid lines running horizontally beneath both wipers. If those heating elements are present, your vehicle is equipped with the Cold Weather Package, requiring glass that corresponds to NAGS base part number FW02986 and OEM reference 65009SC050. If the bottom glass band is entirely solid black with no wiring elements beneath the resting rubber blades, the vehicle uses the non-heated glass matching NAGS part number FW02985 and factory part 65009SC030.
Your Forester trim level offers another clear indicator of which glass variant sits on the pinchweld. Base X models were typically shipped from the factory with the standard non-heated solar green glass. Higher trims, including the 2.5X Equipped with the All-Weather Package, the 2.5X Limited, Touring models, and the turbocharged 2.5XT trims, almost universally included the wiper deicer grid tied to the interior heated mirror switch. You will also find an electrical pigtail harness hidden beneath the cowl top grille on these equipped models, which clips into the glass terminal to supply current to the element.
Hardware Details on the SH Body Windshield
Unlike earlier SF and SG iterations that featured frameless door glass, this third-generation SH body introduced fully framed door assemblies, which subtly changed how wind moves across the windshield perimeter. The replacement windshield is finished around its top and side edges with a three-sided reveal moulding profile rather than a completely flush mount. At the bottom, the glass rests against a multi-piece plastic cowl grille secured with specialized retainers like the GGCF 3101 fastener system, shielding the windshield wiper motor assembly beneath.
Because I run a mobile-only service that travels directly to your home or workplace anywhere across Toronto and the GTA, I handle these delicate cowl fasteners and the interior A-pillar garnish clips on-site without you having to drop the car off. Inside the passenger cabin, those A-pillar trims contain specific tether straps to allow side-curtain airbag clearance, requiring careful unhooking before accessing the perimeter of the glass.
Absence of Cameras and Cold Weather Stress Fractures
The SH body Forester is blissfully simple when it comes to interior glass attachments because Subaru did not introduce the EyeSight forward-facing camera system to North American Foresters until the fourth-generation redesign launched in 2014. The windshield also omits integrated rain-sensing pucks or internal radio antenna wires, as the audio reception antenna sits externally on the rear of the roof. Both glass variants come factory-tinted in green solar laminated glass designed to mitigate cabin heat gain without interfering with interior visibility.
This generation has a distinct tendency to develop sudden stress cracks during sub-zero winter temperatures. When drivers trigger the wiper deicer grid or switch high-temperature cabin defrost against freezing glass, the thermal difference can cause a tiny, unnoticed stone strike near the bottom perimeter to fracture instantly across the driver's view. Replacing the cracked pane restores structural integrity and, on heated models, ensures the integrated lower grid functions properly again before freezing slush packs the cowl.
