I was out for a ride Saturday when all of a sudden an acorn hit my windshield so hard is actually caused a small chip! I was completely surprised after cleaning off the mess to discover there was actually a small amount (1/16" dia.)of glass missing. The windshield is defect free otherwise and this leaves me wondering about a possible repair.

Anybody got any info on this sort of thing based upon having had it done successfully?

Thank You

Bob

 

Call or bring it to Safelite. They'll let you know if anything can be done.

They fixed a pretty good one on mine about a year ago. It was hit by a rock. You can still see it, but it hasn't gotten any worse.

 

Several years ago I got a chip with a small 'spider' from a rock off the back of a truck. Had it repaired by Safelite, you can still see where it is, but it hasn't gotten any worse.

 

Your insurance will pay for the repair too. A repair is much cheaper than an entire windshield. Call your agent, they will connect you to the people who set up the repairs and you will be on your way.

 

I've had a number of wind shields fixed by drilling the chip and filling it. I'm sure that there are a lot of places in your area that can do that.

 

I have full glass coverage. Had a stone chip repaired by Safelite 3 years ago,excellent job and guaranteed for life.

 

Definitely get it repaired immediately, even if it appears to be a clean "bulls-eye" hit with no apparent spider cracking. Variances in temperature combined with pressure waves associated with opening and closing doors can produce fractures from the originating hit that you may not be able to see now with the naked eye.

Driving 75 miles round trip to downtown Houston for work has introduced my F250 windshield to more than a dozen noticeable strikes in the last ten years. I would just pay for it out of pocket as even though many insurance policies will repair with no deductible it is still considered a claim on your insurance, impacting the payout/premium ratio that all insurance carrier underwriters use in the calculation of your rate at renewal time.

A really good technician with quality materials can eliminate the appearance of some spider cracks almost completely. I've used the same guy for years because he is a mobile service that does work for most of the high-end dealers in town. I've seen him make cracks more than 2" long virtually disappear and the repair lasted the life of the windshield (I've had several windshields replaced in this same truck because Ford's are notorious for stress cracks running the width of the windshield in the eyeline where they will not pass inspection).

 

As a former Safelite Mobile Pro, get it repaired. Sometimes repairs won't help (depends on time of chip), but they will deduct the cost of the repair from the price of a windshield.

If you do need a windshield, keep in mind that the price can vary a LOT depending on if you go with insurance or pay cash. You can also shop around and make glass companies price war against each other.
Depending on your region, smaller safelite shop managers have even more leeway than mobile techs or big regional hubs with glass prices.

Also, a repair is not designed to make the chip vanish (that is just a bonus sometime). It is primarily to stop it from spreading more. Whatever you do, never press against your glass from the inside when you have a chip, and be careful about applying pressure while cleaning the inside around the chip area.

 

Not all states have No Fault where insurance will pay without a deductible.
FL used to replace my windshield for free. NC is out of my pocket since my deductible is so high.

My last windshield was 400.00 from Safe-lite installed.
It is pretty sand blasted 80K miles later and I will be buying another soon.

 

We had a small chip like the OP described a couple years ago and SafeLite said it was too small to repair. I was under the impression that they really need some starring, and then then can only stop the star from spreading rather than make it invisible.

I think they used to advertise that the repair would be invisible, but it's not. If fact, it doesn't really look any better; it just won't spread.

 

RocketDawg, the only time it is too small to repair is if the chip doesn't penetrate the outer layer of glass. Windshields are actually 2 panes with a flexible gel/vinyl like layer in between. If the chip actually fully cracked the outer pane, then drilling it, no matter the size, and injecting the resin then sealing should be done.

If you ever do get a windshield from safelite, and are going through insurance, make sure you request OEM glass, or at least PPG. Safelite has their own brand called SFG or SGC (it has been years since I did it) and I always found their glass didn't fit as well and tended to have more warpage (old forms).

 

I appreciate everyone's input on this topic. My particular chip is so insignificant as to be almost hard to find and I can barely catch the edge of my fingernail on it...we are talking about perhaps a few thousandths of an inch depth and at most 1/16" diameter.

I lived with chips of this size and larger on my C5 with absolutely no detriment. There is no staring or cracking going on at all. So I believe I will live with it for now or possibly pursue one of the resin repairs. I think its a case of first windshield chip syndrome...I'll get over it somehow...

Bob

 

It costs nothing to have Safelite look at it and tell you if it needs fixed.

My experience with them was 50% success. Had two chips on a windshield on a daily driver, and I made the mistake of waiting a while after the first one to get it repaired. The repair was completely covered by insurance and no deductible was paid.

After the repair, the chips were pretty much invisible, but I could find them because I knew where they were. When it rained and I used the wipers, there was an area around the repairs that did not wipe dry like the unrepaired areas. That caused streaking and did not change with time and was a little distracting since one chip was in my line of sight when driving. After about 8 months, after dealing with several days of snow and ice on the windshield, the repair popped out of the old chip.

I called the glass company and they put in a new windshield and applied the cost of the original repair against the windshield cost.

If a chip is not in my line of sight, I will get it repaired right away - if it is of a size that I want fixed. 1/16 of an inch is to me enough that I would not like it on my windshield.

If in my line of sight, the decision is more difficult. I don't like the idea of anyone changing the windshield on my Corvette. I almost never am in the rain, so I would probably get a repair even if in the line of sight. A windshield change would only be done if the repair popped out or if I was concerned about getting the streaking when windshield wipers are being used.

 

 

When bought my 02 from the dealer (used) my wife noticed a chip in the windshield. I didn't see it. I was too excited. So I told the dealer, that needs to be repaired or I will not buy the car.( I would have bought it any way) they did right by me. Had to come back and they gave me an IOU. Went back and they fixed it. If you looked hard enough you could see it. I sold it and the new buyer didn't see it! But it looked good! so get it fixed by satellite or your local glass shop.

 

I am considering having insurance replace my 2011 GS windshield, how did yours turn out after the replacement?

 

I've had a few chips such as yours repaired on my windshield, and one had to know where the chip was in order to see it.
It's been 3 years, and over 3oK miles and have had no issues.