I've heard of this happening, but never seen it before. I got a call from one of my body shop customers yesterday about a Nissan he took in where another company which shall remain nameless had cut through the lower pinch weld, dash, and vin plate. The DOT had to come in and file a report, it will take 4 to 6 months to get a replacement vin tag and the vehicle cannot be returned to service until vin tag is in place. The company responsible has to put the vehicle owner in to a rental until all necessary repairs have been completed.
Wire cutting systems are ingenious and have their purpose. However if the user has limited experience, and is limited to one method to remove a windshield one should expect something like this to happen.

I have also taken on jobs that the 1st company could not do because the inboard lite of the windshield was shattered, therefore their cutting system could not be utilized. There is more than one way to approach any given job, and every tool has it's purpose. None of which are more valuable than the experience of a properly trained skilled Tech.

Has anyone else seen or heard of this happening?

No. This never happens. Just one more useless rumor.

Not a Rumor, (Was this in The Dayton Ohio Area??) I had heard this happening from the actual installer that did this exact same thing, The wire cut through part of the dash and cut the vin plate in half. The vin had to come from Japan and took several weeks, They also put the customer in a rental, so this can and will happen. I am new to the wire removal Kinda, Sometime in the 90's I tossed my old music wire and vowed NEVER to wire out another Windshield.... I have to admit, I struggle with the wire system, My Son has it down pretty good, I just need more experience with it, I know the cup placement is crucial and I think this is where I make my mistakes, especially towards the end of the removal, It is pretty slick I must say, just a little time consuming. I have used the cord and wire, I like the Wire better, The cord has broke on me more than once and actually broke the wire once too from having the cup in the wrong position. Perhaps I will watch it on you tube some more and actually pay attention... LOL

Quite far from a rumor.

One company has purchased numerous vehicles for this reason.

I saw this happen several times while I worked at an unnamed company that uses a wire system as it's primary cutout tool. The system works fine if you're careful and know what you're doing, but it has it's limits. I went out to do a windshield on a VW EOS where the shield encountered a large bird at high speed. Needless to say, the wire system was less than useless. Too bad their management isn't smart enough to know that techs need access to a large variety of tools to do the job at hand and the proper training to use them. When I worked there, I saw guys cut headliners, pinchwelds, dashes, vin plates, etc. Doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

When you are limited to one tool and only one tool it puts the tech in bad situations. Makes them look unprepared and unexperienced. Many jobs you have to walk from due to not having another tool to use, like shattered windshields or a bad previous job where the channel is sauced and you can't run wire. When things go smooth you look good, when wire breaks, customers start getting nervous. Especially when you have had to rerun wire 5-6 times since there is no other tool to go to. If you feel the wire grabbing or tension you don't like you can grab a lit angled mirror to see what you are caught on. Sometimes it's nothing but the bead but you don't know that and have to just keep cranking and praying it's urethane tension and not a pinchweld you're cutting through. You trade a possible dash damage from an extractor to a possible buying the car from the pinchweld wire damage/vin damage. Wire breaks in the winter, especially on factory fords. Now that cold knives and fein knives are on the banned list (from a company that remains nameless )with extractors and long knives it's going to make for an interesting winter. Sliders will be fun with just wire, especially on a Tundras with bolts and urethane.

I've heard of this happening many of times. The wire destroying all types of things and companies having to buy cars from customers. I personally don't like the wire. Paid a $1000 bucks for mine and used it once. It takes too long, gets caught on almost everything, and still can damage a dash even worse then an extractor. Equalizer makes a longer blade so cutting the dash should never happen. Or just pull the cowl and cold knife the bottom or use a fein knife with the 90 angle on it if you can't get to it. Guys get in too big of a rush and thats why you start damaging things with the "old" tools. Ohh and that company only instructs their guys to do 4 a day, which takes mostly all day. I remember when we use to do 10 to 12 a day doing it the old way and still be done by 5 or 6pm

This has turned out to be an interesting discussion. I have yet to purchase a wire system, but would like to have one on the truck. I would only use it in areas where I find it necessary. For example, if I were working on a new Caravan, VW Passat, or new Mercedes S Class. I would express the bottom, pull the side moldings to cold knife the sides, then I would prop the windshield upon my rolladeck to set it's adjustment and open the bead to easily feed the wire through and apply leverage to the top that is still adhered. Then only wire the portion where paint damage would be likely with any other method. This is how I currently approach such an application with wire handles. I find it highly effective with no risk of damage.

Any tool can cause serious damage if used incorrectly. I've seen where people have punched through a pillars and roof skins attempting to R&R windshields with Extractors. If the blades were properly sharpened, water was used, along with some finesse these situations can be avoided.

There is no one tool that replaces all others, and any tool can and will cause damage if used incorrectly or carelessly.

It's real scary how easy you can cut through a pinchweld with wire. Some of these newer cars, Ford Focus especially has many spots for wire to grab the pinchweld on. All the Mazda's as well. When I tell you that you can cut through metal and not even know it's no joke. Most of the time yes you will know, but some of these bottom pinchwelds are so thin and flimsy you could do it easily and not know. No one is going to intentionally cut through so obviously they keep cranking cuz there is no resistance. Especially if the wire grabs a seam with body filler. It's a great tool but it can be a dangerous tool. Definitely a lot easier on your body. Again, every tool has it's place.

Yep there is no perfect tool to be had. In my limited experience I sharpen every blade before use, and water the heck out of it. If I have to break out the Python (ugh) I water it as well along the line of cut. And I use (don't laugh) old license plates with a bit of a bend in them to go between the wire and the CAR. Finally, if you poke the wirestarter up high (close to glass) the wire will cut closer to glass and might avoid a few snag zones.

WTF is the name of the UNKNOWN auto glass company ???????....lol.....

I agree. You get to know the snag spots pretty quick. Running bare cold knife blades at the snag spots help greatly. If say a Honda Fit was stuffed and full of pushed urethane you might need 8-10 cold knife blades holding the wire on the bottom. Wire needs to be under the glass, so tons of ooze is not your friend. If it's a ws that over hangs then positioning clips or just use a 3-4 pokers from the inside and push them all the way down. That will give the wire a good guide. Trim protectors are a must but curved ws can be tricky, you just need to keep repositioning the wire system. The old Saab convertibles with the original metal moldings with the teeth are a wire nightmare. We've pulled out many hairs fighting those. You get 3 inches before each wire snapping. Dash protectors must follow the wire. I've seen techs with many pillar trim shavings from not paying attention but no dash damage, vin damage, yes, especially if it's a riveted one

For the Saab convertibles fw797 or the old Audi 5000 fw463 we would pull the metal molding to the side and peel it like a bannana to the side off the ws 1st. Leaving the raw glass. To use what ever cut out of choice without the snags

Side pillar interior moldings must be at the very least popped loose away from the glass to avoid damage. We remove the ones that can be easily popped off. You need headliner wedges to keep the wire from cutting those that rest against the glass. We use GlassBots so you can see it actually tracking the cut from inside and outside since its battery operated with remote control. Stop it and re-position it when necessary before any damage occurs. Using water mist from a soak-er bottle as a lubricant on the urethane will extend the life of the wire and wear on the cut out unit.

Inexpensive flexible LDPE sheet material is what we use for the Glass Bot System. It captures the wire tight to the glass, prevents wire or string from catching on seams or burrs and is self-lubricating so the wire glides over it easily. It is also 1/16" thick so when the wire or string is pulled towards the pinchweld, the cut height is good to go for re-bonding thus reducing the time needed to trim the urethane down further.
VIN plates should ALWAYS be protected when using wire or string. We recommend that the protector sheets always be used as they make the process faster when in place.
You can get 1/16" LDPE sheeting material from just about any plastic supply store. Very cheap insurance and a great product to use with any wire tool.

As mentioned, being able to view the process from the exterior is beneficial.

xs, you may have never met Larry in person, great guy and full of energy. Sorry Larry, not going to the show this year. In fact, we took the year off, normally at SEMA but giving myself a break this year.

I heard he is so cheap that he uses toilet paper, 1 ply from Sams Club.

The wire tool is an excellent tool, i was very skeptical at first and gave it a straight month just wire cutting jobs and it works great, like dan says every tool can be dangerous if not operated carefully. I think the vin plate and dash cutting happens when guys do not use the plate cover and carefully crank the wire.

As I've mentioned before I think the wire winch concept is brilliant, but I also believe it has it's place. A technician's approach to any given cutout varies depending on how they learned and the tools they use. The risk of cutting a dash or lower pinch weld would not be an issue for me as I would rarely utilize wire in this area. An express tool with the long blade is highly effective and if properly sharpened will stay well clear of the dash, pw or vin plate.
I could have used a wire system on the 2014 Mercedes S class laminated back glass I did yesterday. The innermost portion of the bead is just beyond what the longest cold knife blade can reach. The lower bead is easily cut with an express from the outside with the deck lid open and the trunk seal pulled out of the way.
I like having as many equipment options available to me as possible so I can do quality work efficiently. I don't think I would fit in at a company that limits their professionals to only one option.