Automotive Glass Testing in Compliance with ECE R43

Ensure Your Automotive Glass Complies with Highest Safety Standards

Glass used in automotive applications has to withstand different forms of pressure to other glass products. As a manufacturer of glass that is used in cars and other vehicles, you know full well that your products must comply with the standards stipulated in the United Nations ECE R43 homologation program. A fully accredited and notified body, TÜV Rheinland has the just the right experts to help you with all of your testing and approval processes to do with glass for automotive applications.

TÜV Rheinland is accredited as a technical service laboratory for ECE R43 testing glass for automotive applications as a precursor to audit and approval by the RDW, the administrative department and approval authority for the Netherlands. So you can ensure your status as a supplier of quality-certified glass for automotive use.

Benefits at a Glance

With TÜV Rheinland as your partner for certifying glass for automotive applications in compliance with ECE R43, you:

  • Can sell glass to the automotive and vehicle industry, with the peace of mind that your products are fully certified and approved
  • Receive full support from TÜV Rheinland experts for testing and approving automotive glass, to get sales going
  • Count on help when extending your range to new products
  • Get all the necessary quality assurance audits to ensure your production is in compliance with the required standards, verified by COP audits for RDW or appointed contractors

Our Range of Services

Along with inspections and testing that comply with United Nations ECE Regulation 43 and other industrial standards for automotive glass products, our experts offer glass manufacturers the following services:

  • Scope definition
  • ECE R43 testing on toughened glass, ordinary or treated laminated glass, glass plastics
  • Testing for:
    • Fragmentation
    • Mechanical strength (ball drop tests)
    • Head form tests
    • Abrasion tests
    • High temperature tests
    • Radiation and humidity tests
    • Light transmission tests
    • Optical distortion tests
    • Secondary image test
    • Color tests
    • Resistance to fire
    • Temperature changes and chemical tests
  • Testing on-site and off-site
  • We are authorized to assist clients from application to testing at our or your location up to and including approval; at the end of the process, the official Dutch approval authority RDW grants the certificate

Further Related Services

Besides routine checks and testing services for ECE R43 approval, you can also contact TÜV Rheinland for:

  • Evaluation of new designs and/or prototypes
  • Flat glass testing for construction work, probably on item your company also manufactures
  • Glass testing for furniture
  • Glass testing for greenhouses
  • Special bend glass testing for construction work
  • Glass testing for kitchens and showers
  • Glass testing for elevators
  • Glass testing for sound barriers for highways and/or train tracks
  • Direct contact with experts

ECE Regulation 43 and the RDW

The ECE R43 standards focus on safety aspects and on the robustness of the glass as a critical component in any vehicle. Factors that need to be considered include:

  • Impact headform
  • Impact of stones
  • Optical distortion
  • Light transmittance

RDW is the Dutch administrative department (approval authority) that grants approvals as mentioned in directives 70/156 and the 1958 Agreement of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UN-ECE) for glass as used in the automotive sector.

Regulations and directives applicable to glass for automotive use are:

  • United Nations ECE Regulation 43, safety glazing materials intended as windscreens or other panes on power driven vehicles and trailers
  • European EC Directive 92/22, adapted by 2001/92/EC, safety glazing and glazing materials on motor vehicles and trailers
  • European EC Directive 2009/144, windscreen and other glazing components as used on agricultural or forestry tractors

Examples of Work

Examples of the types of projects TÜV Rheinland has managed include:

  • E4 in glass for automotive applications
  • CE marking for construction glass and glazing
  • www.tuvdotcom.com services
  • Periodic quality control audits to comply with COP audits, sampling, and testing regimes