Nobody wants a rock to hit their window. Sadly, though, road debris does a lot of damage to windshields. From trucks carrying gravel or building waste, rocks can fly out, and it’s easy for cars to kick up debris on a major road.
Your tires can even kick up small rocks, and those pebbles can easily chip or crack your windshield if you consistently drive on dirt roads.
Do not worry about how the damage happened; you need to know what to do if you ever find yourself with a rock chipped window. Continue reading to find out why it’s so important is auto glass replacement how to handle the windshield repair process.
Don’t Ignore The Damage
You might think you don’t need to fix a small chip or crack in your window if you have one. No, that couldn’t be further from the truth. If you ignore a small chip or crack in your windshield, it can get bigger very quickly.
Driving vibrations and changes in temperature outside, which make your glass expand and contract, can both make the chip grow into a big crack. If you drive quickly over speed bumps, potholes, and other road bumps, a small chip can quickly turn into one or more cracks.
Driving with a broken windshield is against the law, so if you don’t fix a small chip or crack, you could get a ticket, and it could be a pricey one. Also, driving with a broken glass can make you less safe.
Of course, your windshield is what holds your car together, but it has to be whole for that to work. If you get into an accident with a windshield that still has a chip or crack in it, the glass is much more likely to break completely.
And if the glass breaks, it won’t be able to cover your airbags, so they might blow out instead of in, leaving you with very little protection.
Assess The Damage
You should look at your window when it’s safe to do so after a rock hits it. Try to figure out how bad the damage is by looking at the damaged area.
In most cases, your windshield can be fixed if the chip or crack in the glass is less than six inches high. In most cases, you should get a new windshield if the crack is bigger than six inches.
Consider Using Insurance To Pay For Repairs
That means your windshield should be covered if a rock hit it out of the blue and cause a chip or crack. If you can or should use your insurance to help pay for the fixes, though, it will depend on how much your deductible is.
This is because the cost of auto glass repair will probably be much less than your deductible. So it probably won’t make sense to use your insurance. It might be best to file a claim, though, if you need a new windshield and the cost will be more than your deductible.
