Chip in Windshield

Hey guys,

 

I was driving home from work the other day on I-290 and I heard this WHAP like something hit my windshield. As soon as the sun came up the next day I checked it out and sure enough a !@#*!@$ rock came up off the highway and put a nice little chip in my window.

 

It chipped it enough that you can physically feel it to the touch on the outside of the window. It appears as if it went through into the middle portion of the glass, but I cannot physically feel it inside the car.

 

A couple questions:

 

1) Someone told me they can 'buff' those out, like when they restore a classic car windshield. Anyone ever hear of this? Any input on this method?

 

2) If I do have to replace it, is it going to be a pain in the arse because of the heated wipers? (ie: getting glass / installing)

 

3) Is my insurance company gonna give me extra grief because of the wiper defroster?

 

4) Should I have my Subaru dealership replace it?

 

Thanks in advance guys...

1) i dont know about buff it its a chip, but they can patch windshield chips before they turn into big cracks, We have full glass coverage on our insurance never had a problem using it thats what we pay for it for but I dont know about questions 2 and 4

Windshield chip repair. They inject or fill the crack or chip with resin. This hopefully will keep it from spreading.

 

I believe they charge around $30.

Chip cannot be repaired if it's bigger than a quarter or if it's in the driver's direct line of sight.

 

Windshield replacement is not that expensive even with the wiper defroster. at least it wasn't for me.....around $300.

With this chip repair, if the chip is visible now will it still be after it's filled?

 

 

Chip is maybe dime sized and it's just below my line of sight...

 

 

Wowsers... $300 around xmas still sucks!

I hope my insurance covers that... I had better have free glass coverage!!

Any thought on letting the Glass Guys do it or having my Subie dealer do it (will they even?)?

Just my $.02 but get the chip repaired ASAP!!!

 

I just had a tiny chip turn into a full blown crack across my windshield this weekend. It was likely caused by the snow/ice that was on the windshield and the fact that I had the defroster on full blast. It is my second windshield in a little more than two years and it cost me $425 to get it replaced last time - and I shopped around for the best price.

 

BTW - def don't go to a dealership. They don't do it themselves anyway, they usually just have a local place that they work with and jack up the price - the cheapest I could find a dealership to do it for was $550!!

Fantastic... this on our fist day of snow in New England!

 

I have to call my insurance company at lunch and see what my glass coverage is. If it's full then I won't have to pay a dime to have it fixed right? (Believe it or not I've never replaced a windshield in 10 years of driving)

Chip to crack too about 1 day for me. It would have passed TX inspection but I got it replaced. Was $50 through insurance would have been $300 out of pocket. And no, my insurance did not go up.

Damn... so this thing could spread fast from what you all are saying?

 

Maybe I should call insurance before lunch...

Yes - especially when it starts getting really cold out and you blast it with hot air from the defroster so stop procrastinating and just doeeet!

 

Depending on your state, your ins company may or may not cover it. I can tell you that they don't in NJ. Anyways, a chip repair is only about $50 - you might as well call around and find a place; most will come out to where you are and do it.

It happened Friday night, and I just drove my car again this AM to go to work and noticed it. It was too dark to tell if it was chipped Friday night when I got home.

 

Definitely gonna do something today or tomorrow, just not sure if it's replace it or fix it.

 

If they 'fill it', will I still notice the mark from the chip?

I used to manage a small fleet of vehicles when I worked for the government, and had to get a ton of rock chips repaired. I had spoken with our glass shop contractor in depth about them. Some people say they can't be repaired (filled) if the crack pattern is larger than a dime, some say a quarter. Like Hassa said, a small crack can easily turn into an irreparable one with expanding and contracting glass caused by defogging/defrosting. Also, even if the temperature is not cold, waiting too long can allow dirt to get into the crack, and then the resin they use can no longer bond properly to the glass.

 

As for insurance, even if you don't have full glass coverage, the insurance company may pay in full for a spot repair if you ask them, because that's cheaper for them than to have to replace the entire windshield (even after your deductible contribution).

One more thing...

 

If they 'fill it', will I still notice the mark from the chip?

 

You can see the filled crack if you look directly at it, but it's far less noticeable than an unfilled crack. If it's not directly in your line of sight, it probably wouldn't be noticeable enough to be distracting, especially if it's small.

The weird thing is if it is to small they can't repair it either I guess. When i bought my Legacy it had a chip in the windshield. They tried putting in the resin and when they buffed it out it buffed out all the resin. So they said they would have to drill it and probably shatter the windshield to fix it. Luckily I had it in writing that they would fix my windshield so they just replaced it.

 

Took a few monthes to get it all worked out but the chip never got worse. actually I'm kind of lucky that way. I have an old convertible that has 3 seperat chips in the windshield that have stayed the exact same for years. course I know that isn't the norm.

in MA front windshield is under coverage.

my friend got a huge pebble in his front windshield

the glass repair guys went to his place to replace it

in MA front windshield is under coverage.

 

So it's a MA insurance thing where glass is definitely covered, no matter what?

 

I assume I would be anyhow though, I got full coverage, full everything.

 

Like I said, in my 10 years of driving I've never had to replace a windshield... figures it waits until I have my $30,000 sex machine to happen... it couldn't have happened to my POS Mercury Cougar at age 16 instead!

Most insurace will cover repair for free, USAA uses Safelite and they will come to you to fix. Used them at least 3 time they do a great job. It depends on your coverage but replacement may be a small deductable.