It may even be at a location in your windshield where it is not obstructing your vision. Get your windshield repaired at an auto glass shop as soon as you notice damage. Cracks can inconvenience you while on the road and even be dangerous under certain conditions. When your windshield develops a crack, it is more than just a simple aesthetic problem. Contact Capital Auto Glass to find the best solution for your broken windshield.
Whether you choose to repair or replace the windshield, getting it fixed can often prevent further damage in the future.
Therefore, your chances of getting the windshield crack effectively repaired often correlates with how soon after the accident you took your damaged car to the repair shop. Therefore, the mechanic may advise you to completely replace the windshield to eliminate the chances of the damage potentially expanding.Įven a small crack that is filled with dirt and debris may be harder to fix. Having a blurry spot right in front of you when you are operating a vehicle is usually not conducive to save and comfortable driving.Īdditionally, cracks that are on the side may spread more easily. If the crack is right in front of you when you’re driving, it’s often a good idea to get the windshield replaced, since repairing the crack may leave the area blurry. This will typically depend on the size of the crack and the extent of the damage. Whether you should repair or replace your windshield often depends on your particular situation.ĭifferent states have different laws and guidelines stating whether your broken windshieldĬan be repaired or if it must be replaced. If your windshield gets damaged, it’s important to immediately resolve the issue. Contact us at Capital Auto Glass if your windshield is damaged so we can talk about the best route to repairs or replacement. Even though a surprise crack in your windshield can be frustrating, you should know that windshield repairs are not difficult and are often covered by your car insurance. Plus, the windshield may start to crack along the edge, where the crack will not be immediately noticeable even if you are present at the time.
Pressure and force that negatively impact your windshield can come from a lot of things, including: : High wind speeds against your windshield, like during a storm Traveling at an excessively high rate of speed : Explosive reactions in the atmosphere near your car Heavy physical weight on the windshield Pressure cracks can definitely be unexpected, and the simple truth is, you may never know exactly what pressure or force it was that cracked your windshield if you were not present when the force occurred. Your windshield is designed to handle this form of pressure, to an extent. As you are traveling down the road, for example, the wind exerts a certain level of pressure or force against your windshield. Pressure can be looked at as an invisible weight against your windshield. Too much pressure applied in any one area of the windshield's surface can be enough to cause cracks to form in or around that particular area. Windshields are made of glass and plastic components, so naturally, they can only withstand so much pressure. Therefore, you could easily find a crack later and have no idea what originally caused it. Because these types of cracks are formed by stress, they don't always show up immediately when the damaging factors affect the windshield. A few examples of things that can cause this kind of thermal tension include: : Excessive heat near the outside of the windshield : in the winter time, such as close proximity to a fire or other heat source Hot water or other liquid poured or spilled over the windshield when it is cold Extreme heat inside of the car when the weather outside is cold, such as a small interior fire or the heat turned up too high Exposure to really hot sunlight when the rest of the car is shaded or cooled. While the windshield is designed to handle thermal variations to an extent, a drastic difference between temperatures that happens suddenly could definitely cause enough stress for a crack to form. When the outer glass is hot and the inner glass is cool, the inner layer will contract while the outer layer will slightly expand. These layers are bonded together, but drastic and sudden temperature changes can cause major problems. The car windshield is not a single piece of glass it is actually created out of layers of glass and Plexiglass materials to prevent shattering.