Is It Better To Fix That Small Windshield Chip Or Wait Until It Spreads?

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You’re driving down the road, and you hear the snap of gravel clinking against your windshield. Then you hear a much louder snap, and your windshield has a new crack in it. No problem, right? Cracks happen all the time, and usually, they’re not that big a deal. Maybe they’re even just quench marks, those weird spots on your rear window. But should we wait for a small problem to get worse?

We could try fixing the windshield ourselves. It depends on the size of the crack. If it’s too deep or in our line of sight, though, then the windshield has to be replaced. If the crack is elsewhere, then we may have a chance to repair it, and nip this in the bud. However, finding the time to fix such a small problem can be an arduous task these days. How long can we wait to fix a crack in a windshield, and do we really need to?

Maybe it improves the architecture. If it’s not Baroque, then why replace it? But really, you should fix it early on.

Cracks can start as tiny chips but spread over time. Environmental factors such as changes in temperature can affect the growth of a crack. As the temperature rises and descends, the glass can expand and contract, leading to the crack becoming deeper. Vibrations and the terrain you drive on can also put stress on the crack. If you attend to it early, you can prevent further damage and save on costly repairs in the future. Most cracks can be repaired using a kit if they’re shorter than an inch across, or a dollar bill can cover them.

This kind of crack repair, done right, will make the windshield seem like new. A crack bigger than a dollar bill will require professional help from a repair shop or car service center. We can always wait, but then we risk moisture getting in between the two laminated glass layers of the windshield, causing a contamination of the layer of polyvinyl butyral embedded therein. This can lead to cloudiness and obscured vision, not to be confused with the nasty vision-obscuring haze inside your windows that can occur for a number of reasons. This kind of windshield damage needs an instant windshield replacement.

So does a crack near the edges of the windshield, which are a windshield’s strongest holding points. If a crack occurs here, the glass’s structural integrity has been compromised. This requires replacement ASAP.