Cracked Windshield? Here’s What You Need to Know

• Reduced Visibility

If your vehicle windshield is cracked or shattered, it will also reduce visibility. Moreover, this risk factor will also create hindrances due to light reflection while driving. Therefore, repairing a cracked window on an urgent basis will be helpful in smooth and hurdle-free driving.

• Affects the Airbag Deployment

If your windshield is cracked, it will ultimately affect the airbag deployment because sensors responsible for airbag deployment are present on the windshield. The airbag will not deploy on time if your windshield has some cracks or chips.

• Vehicle Structural integrity

Having cracked window glass also impacts the structural integrity of your vehicle. All the auto glass whether windshield, side windows, or rear windows is attached to the vehicle roof and provides structural integrity.

• Compromised Safety

Having a cracked glass window is parallel to compromised safety. The damaged window also allows the outside dust, air, and rainwater to enter inside of the vehicle. Moreover, during roll-over accidents, the vehicle’s roof and the rest of the frame can get damaged and cause serious injuries.

• Ejection Risks at Accidents or Collision

During a collision or accident, due to the damaged or cracked glass window, there will be a higher risk of ejection of passengers. In this situation, you should always wear a seatbelt to protect yourself from ejection.

If you are driving a car with a cracked or chipped windshield, you should repair it on an urgent basis. Because driving a vehicle with a cracked windshield is full of risks and hazards. Here, we have enlisted multiple steps for your DIY project to repair a cracked windshield. For a DIY project, you need a windshield repair kit.

• First of all, you need to clean the windshield with the best glass cleaner and then use a dry towel to remove cracked glass fragments. Furthermore, you can also use alcohol or a spirit solution to remove any decontamination from the windshield surface.
• After cleaning, use the applicator to fix it above the center of the cracked area. It must be ensured that the suction cups of the applicator are firmly attached to the surface of the windshield.
• After placing the applicator properly, you need to screw the resin chamber into the central ring of the applicator. Screw down the chamber until it gently touches the glass surface.
• Now, you can inject the resin into the cracked area of the windshield through the resin chamber. You must make sure that there is no leakage of resin through the chamber.
• After injecting resin, you will screw the pressure generator into the resin chamber for generating pressure on the applied resin to make it sit perfectly. You’ll also need to remove the pressure generator and insert it into the resin chamber again.
• For smooth application of resin, you can also apply heat on the inside of the vehicle glass by using a heat gun.
• It must be ensured that there are no air bubbles in the inserted resin.
• After following all the steps, now you can remove all the apparatus from the windshield surface.
• Let the car remain under sunlight and air for 15-20 minutes to dry the resin completely.

If you have a severe type of damage and want to seek professional service, you should always know about the cost of repairing or replacing cracked windshields. We have enlisted some crucial factors to be considered while calculating the entire cost.

• Type of Vehicle

One of the major factors affecting the repair cost of the damaged windshield is what type of vehicle you have. Because each type of vehicle has unique windshield specifications. For example, luxury cars have modern and multi-featured glass screens while normal vehicles have simple windscreens

• Type of Damage

Another important factor to be considered while estimating the total cost of windshield repair is what type of damage your windshield has got. If the windshield has some minor cracks such as bull eye or chipped crack, it will be repaired at a lower cost than extensive types of damage.

• Insurance Coverage

If your vehicle is insured, then insurance coverage is another crucial factor to be considered. Try to analyze your insurance policy, whether it covers full cost or has some deductible charges. If your insurance policy covers full windshield repair costs, it will be highly beneficial for you.

• Labor Cost

While seeking some professional service, labor cost is an important factor. Labor cost also depends upon the type of damage and type of tools for repairing the windshield. Moreover, labor costs may also vary from region to region.

• Extra Features

Some windshields contain some special sensors such as light sensors and water or wiper sensors for automatic wipers functioning. Moreover, windshields are also connected to the ADAS system for automatic airbag deployment.