Should I repair my windshield?
Posted on mai 20, 2014 by Frank
Our moms used to say that driving a car is like having a bomb in your hands: you better watch out if you want to keep your life safe. Automotive safety is a very important issue that everybody should have in mind while they are behind a steering wheel!
There are three elements that are considered crucial to the safety of your car: airbags, seat belts and auto glass (windows, windshield and back glass). However, it is abnormally common to see people drive their vehicle with a huge crack in their windshield, not caring whether it is dangerous or not for them. In some cases, they are right… but there are situations where a windshield repair is critical to protect your health.
In this article, we will see which kind of cracks can be dangerous and require an immediate windshield repair from a professional technician.
Can my windshield be repaired or not?
In some cases, damage will be so important that you will not even be able to repair the glass: you’ll have to go for windshield replacement in instead. Here are three criteria on which you can start your analysis of the situation:
1) The size of the crack: If the crack is smaller than a 1$ (CAD) piece, there is hope for you. If it’s bigger, it might be too fragile to be fully repaired and sustain further accidents.
2) The location of the point of impact: Is the impact too close from the edges? If the distance between the edge and the impact is lower than 4 centimeters, you should replace.
3) FOV or not: If the impact is right in your field of vision, it is preferable to change the auto glass as it severely hampers your vision and you put other people’s lives at risk by driving this vehicle.
Well, that’s a good start! Things are still pretty abstract, though; you have not seen yet which impacts are deemed “problematic” and which impacts do not even need to be repaired. Thanks to the following image, though, you should be able to have a better idea on the gravity of the situation.
The different cracks and chips
One image equals to a thousand words, right?
All these impacts present a certain amount of risk to the occupants of a car. Let’s analyze the different colors to see how fast a reaction is required.
Green impact: For these three hits, the damage has just started to become problematic. It will worsen over the next days (or weeks), but you can still drive your car without becoming nuts. Book a windshield meeting repair as soon as you can and be conscious of whether the chip is expanding or not.
Yellow impact: Youchie! This is not a superficial chip anymore. The windshield is starting to crack and you should get it repaired as soon as possible.
Red impact: This is an urgent problem. If you wait, you will not be able to solve it with a simple repair and you will have to replace the whole windshield. Your passengers and yourself are also at risk in case of accident. BE QUICK!
What about the long, thin crack?
We have all mounted aboard a student car where there was a loooong, but pretty thin crack. It doesn’t look so scary, it does reduce greatly the value of the vehicle and we always wonder if there is a risk.
Actually, you could drive for a long time before the windshield breaks. This does not mean that you should leave the crack like it is and have a good laugh! The glass is still a lot more fragile because of it and, if an accident occurs, it could break and hurt you.
Some specialists are able to repair long cracks but it depends on how much you have waited before. The longer it is, the harder it will be.
Do consult a specialist if you hesitate about the gravity of the issue. Do not put your lives at risk!