What does windshield tint cost, and what do you get?
A full windshield starts at $200, applied from the inside like every other window the shop tints. That figure is for LLumar ATC; most drivers want near-clear AIR ceramic on a windshield, and the shop quotes the AIR price for your vehicle.
| Windshield job | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full windshield, LLumar ATC | From $200 | The starting price on the shop’s sheet |
| Full windshield, LLumar AIR or IRX | Quoted per vehicle | AIR is the usual pick |
| Strip across the top 75 mm | Quoted per vehicle | The only windshield film that is road-legal in BC |
| Exterior windshield protection film | Not offered | The shop doesn’t install it |
A computer plotter cuts the film to your model’s windshield outline, so no knife is drawn across the glass or the trim around it. The film is then shaped to the curve with heat and fitted by hand. LLumar’s lifetime limited warranty covers the film, and the shop’s own lifetime warranty covers the labour. Most windshields are done the same day the car comes in.
How much of the windshield can be tinted in BC?
Only the top 75 mm. MVAR s. 7.05(8)(a) permits light-reducing material on a windshield only where it sits within 75 mm of the top edge, and allows nothing below that line, whatever the shade. A full windshield film, clear AIR included, is not road-legal in BC.
If police stop you, the usual ticket is $109, made up of the $95 fine and the $14 victim surcharge; paying within 30 days brings it to $84. A Notice & Order goes further: it directs you to strip the film and present the car at a designated inspection facility, and Mission RCMP puts the penalty for missing that 30-day deadline at $598. Designated facilities fail the film too: the 2025 manual’s item 12e rejects any aftermarket windshield tint lower than 75 mm from the top, and any reflective tint.
Before you book: the shop installs full windshields when a customer asks, and talks through these consequences first. If you want to stay road-legal, the top strip is the option.
For the law on its own, read is windshield tint legal in BC; the ticket amounts are broken down in BC’s tint ticket amounts.
Why is LLumar AIR the usual windshield film?
Because it rejects a real share of the heat while leaving the view almost unchanged. On LLumar’s spec sheet, AIR 80 lets through 77% of visible light and still rejects 60% of infrared energy (IRER); AIR 90 lets through 84% and rejects 40%.
| Measure | AIR 80 | AIR 90 |
|---|---|---|
| Visible light transmitted (VLT) | 77% | 84% |
| Total solar energy rejected (TSER) | 43% | 30% |
| IR energy rejection (IRER) | 60% | 40% |
| Selective IR rejection (SIRR) | 86% | 57% |
| Glare reduction | 13% | 5% |
| UV blocked, 300–380 nm | Over 99% | Over 99% |
LLumar measures those numbers on single-pane 6 mm clear glass. A windshield is laminated glass, so the light reaching your eyes through the finished windshield will be lower than the film’s figure on its own. The shop also lists AIR at 70%, which isn’t on the spec sheet, so no published numbers exist for it. ATC and IRX can also be fitted to a windshield, in shades that pass far less light than AIR. The LLumar AIR film page covers the film in full.
UV is a smaller part of the case on this pane. In a 2016 JAMA Ophthalmology study of 29 cars, windshields blocked 96% of UVA on average against 71% for side windows, and a 2025 study of 34 models from 2015 to 2025 measured 99.25% for windshields. Heat and glare are the reasons to film a windshield.
Will windshield film affect the cameras and sensors behind the mirror?
It can, and some carmakers say not to tint the windshield at all. Read your owner’s manual before you book, and tell the shop what driver-assist features the car has.
Toyota Safety Sense
Toyota’s 2025 Tacoma owner’s manual, printed for the USA and Canada, says plainly: “Do not attach window tint to the windshield.” The same page bans stickers, clear ones included, in the area in front of the front camera, and warns against letting glass cleaner reach the camera lens. If your Toyota manual carries that line, you are going against the manufacturer’s instruction by filming the windshield.
Subaru EyeSight
Subaru’s EyeSight bulletin, 06-43-12R, written for 2013 and later Legacy and Outback models, is about coatings and cleaners rather than film. It bans water-repellent coatings on the windshield, inside or out, and tells technicians to cover the stereo camera openings with tape or plastic wrap before any cleaner or polish goes on the inside of the windshield. It doesn’t mention window film. The coating ban matters if you planned a water-repellent treatment on the glass; the camera-covering step matters for anything done to the inside of the windshield, including a tint install.
Bring your manual’s wording to the shop before any film is cut; the decision stays yours.
How is a full windshield tinted from the inside?
The film goes on the inside face of the glass, the same side as on the door and rear windows, after the plotter cuts it to your windshield’s exact outline. The inside of the glass is cleaned, the film is laid on wet, squeegeed out and finished at the edges by hand.
Expect a light haze or small water pockets for the first week. They’re moisture still drying out from behind the film and they clear on their own. From then on, wipe the inside of the windshield with a microfibre cloth and a glass cleaner that contains no ammonia, and keep scrapers off the film. Nothing changes on the outside of the glass, which the shop doesn’t film.
How do you book a windshield tint in Langley?
Send the year, make and model, say whether the car has a camera or sensor package behind the mirror, and choose AIR, IRX or ATC. The shop replies with a price built from the $200 base and, before anything is cut, explains where BC law stands on the job you’ve asked for.
If you’d like the side and rear glass done in the same film, ask for it at the same time; the films are compared on the ceramic window tint page. Should you ever need the windshield film off for an inspection or a sale, tint removal is a separate service at the same shop. Ask through the windshield tint quote form, or phone the shop on 604 534 6433.
