And then, they are left with a small and insignificant looking ding in their windshield. Although a vehicle owner might be tempted to equate a windshield ding as a cosmetic blemish similar to a ding in their vehicle's door and decide to ignore it, a ding is actually a chink in your windshield's armor and can lead to damage sufficient to require windshield replacement.
A ding, or small hole in the outer layer of your windshield, creates a weak point in the surface. Windshield glass expands and contracts gradually as temperatures rise and fall, and a windshield that is not compromised by small vulnerable areas such as dings can handle the transitions by distributing the pressure equally throughout the surface of the glass.
The same pressures might be produced by sudden jarring motions caused by striking objects in the road or running into potholes, but an intact windshield can absorb the stresses.
However, an event such as blowing a warm defroster on a very cold windshield, which can result in a rapid expansion of the glass, or a sudden impact and jarring of the vehicle can cause the stress to fan outward from the vulnerable point. This can create a crack to form across the entire length of the windshield, obscuring visibility for the driver and leading to possible repair citations from law enforcement. Windshields are designed to shatter into small, relatively harmless, particles of glass to avoid the physical damage to occupants of a vehicle should a failure occur.
This is because they are composed of layers of annealed glass sandwiched around a layer of malleable transparent plastic. A ding is likely to occur in the outer layer of the windshield glass. Of course, this doesn't mean that the impact of a failed windshield is completely harmless. The glass particles can still present dangers in the form of cuts and eye damage and contribute to an accident if the vehicle is being driven. A cracked or otherwise compromised windshield is always at greater risk of failure should an incident occur.
Fortunately, auto glass specialists can often repair dings in windshields before they get a chance to wreak havoc at a future time. The windshield will regain its structural integrity as well as its former beauty because the process will restore the windshield to its original unblemished surface. If the damage is too severe because the ding has begun to spread its tentacles in lines across the windshield, auto glass experts can replace the windshield.
Actually, many auto glass companies will come to your home, work or any other place of your choosing to repair or replace your windshield. Most auto insurance policies with collision coverage cover windshield replacement, and some insurers will waive the deductible if you decide to be proactive and get a ding repaired before it leads to windshield replacement.
Your insurer will often have a selection of preferred providers with whom they have worked in the past and will arrange service and billing with any provider chosen by the customer, who needs only to pay the deductible when the job is complete.
If you're in need of windshield repair , contact Capital Auto Glass. We work with all insurance companies and come to you for repairs to ensure that you make the wise decision to say goodbye to the ding in your windshield. When your windshield gets cracked, you may decide that you can live with it for now. After all, what harm could possibly come from a crack in your windshield, besides making your car look bad?
Actually, there are three ways that you could be putting your life and the lives of those traveling with you in danger. No matter what time of year you are driving, your windshield undergoes the stress of sudden, extreme temperature changes. In the winter, your car's heater clashes with the frigid cold on the outside of the glass. In the summertime, your air conditioner's cold air fights with the heat of the sun. These temperature changes make the glass in your windshield expand and contract.
When it is intact, the strength of the glass is able to withstand the pressure and strain. However, if there is a crack in your windshield, the pieces surrounding the crack strike each other when contracted glass expands suddenly. This sudden expansion increases the chance of your windshield shattering. If this happens while you are driving, the shards of glass could severely cut you or one of your passengers.
Even if the glass does not cut someone, the distraction may make you swerve and drive off the road or into a nearby vehicle. The structural composition of your windshield is not the only part of your vehicle that is compromised when the glass is cracked. The impact develops a star-shaped cavity and a piece of glass chips off.
If not taken care, a star crack can escalate very quickly. Combination Break Combination Break A sharp pebble or an object strikes and sometimes the impact develops a combination break.
If not taken care of the crack, it can go from a small crack to a long one. Well, this is something very common on vehicles in India. Stress Crack Stress Windscreen Crack A stress crack is a type of an internal crack that can not be felt by moving our fingers over. To diagnose the crack, this requires moving a ballpoint pen over it.
Fun Fact: This is not developed by any impact, instead sudden change of temperature causes a stress crack. For instance, a vehicle buried under the snow should be cleaned using cold water. When poured Hot water, Voila!
With the types of cracks clear, let us take a look at whether the cracks can be repaired or is it a windscreen replacement that is required. Though mysterious, windshield stress cracks usually have an underlying cause. Below are a few of the more common causes of stress cracks in car windshields:.
Temperature changes — One of the most common causes of stress cracks is due to extreme changes in temperature. The same is true of using hot water to melt an icy windshield. Pressure changes — Pressure changes, including wind pressure, can also cause stress cracks. For example, explosions send out shockwaves which rapidly change the atmospheric pressure in a large radius from the blast zone.
Cars located many miles away from the explosion can have blown out windows or cracked windshields. One of those roles is to support the roof in the case of a rollover accident. Another is to deflect passenger side airbags upon deployment.
Sometimes the location of the damage may warrant a replacement from the manufacturer. Get the Best Drivespark Stories. Subscribe Now notifications. India - 29,, World - ,, Hide Sample. For Daily Email Alerts. Must Watch. Don't Miss!
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