[zico_lloyd]

Hi guys, I was on the highway and I heard something hitting my windshield and found small minor cracks I just picked up this on last Monday…

Anyways is it easily fixable?

If possible I want to do it by myself since this is tiny one..

Some may say just deal with it but after I saw it kept coming into my eye..

[gfeiner97]

If that tiny chip is bothering you that much, you should pay a professional to fix it. Attempting to do it yourself will most likely make it worse to you.

[ChipsRideBikes]

Safelite will typically fix small cracks and knicks like that for free. At least depending on your state and insurance company.

[GerryC]

I've done the $29.95 self repair. It's a nuisance and not as good as Safelite. I've had them fix 4 or 5 over the last few years.

Safelite has a good vacuum system to fill it with epoxy. It will be less visible, so not a perfect optical fix, but the epoxy will keep it from propagating into a larger crack.

I think Safelite charges $79 but it's free through my auto insurance.

Gerry

[3Wagon]

I have a chip a bit like that I just had safelite fix. Easy and completely covered by insurance.

[Lakeside]

I made it a whopping 600 miles of break-in before some debris from the other side of the highway jumped over and left two side-by-side (minor) chips. I think I drove my old vehicle 82k miles with 1 windshield incident, argh.

Safelite is the way to go for the cleanest possible repair?

[DarkThrottleM]

I would suggest windshield PPF to prevent this in the future.literally the best thing ever for glass. Saves you some major coin in the long run

[VipinLJ]

I have a few chips like that and didn't know safelite would fix it for free depending on your insurance! That's news to me and I'll be looking into it since three of them are in my line of sight, all next to each other.

Does your insurance premium go up if you use your insurance to get the chip fixed?

[Lakeside]

Originally Posted by DarkThrottleM

I would suggest windshield PPF to prevent this in the future.literally the best thing ever for glass. Saves you some major coin in the long run

I have never heard of this. I have the full vehicle done in PPF but didn't know they did glass.

[VipinLJ]

Originally Posted by Lakeside

I have never heard of this. I have the full vehicle done in PPF but didn't know they did glass.

I've heard of STEK and Clearplex for windshields. I don't think you can use regular PPF for the windshield because of the distortion it may cause. I'm no detailer or installer so I'm not 100% sure.

[GerryC]

Originally Posted by VipinLJ

I have a few chips like that and didn't know safelite would fix it for free depending on your insurance! That's news to me and I'll be looking into it since three of them are in my line of sight, all next to each other.

Does your insurance premium go up if you use your insurance to get the chip fixed?

If the chips are in your line of sight they recommend replacing not repairing. The chip repairs are not optically perfect (but better than the un-repaired chip) and can be distracting. But they will fix them if you ask.

One thing is that Safelite guarantees the fix. If it fails (and turns into a big crack), they credit the cost of the fix against a replacement windshield.

As to your premiums, it may depend on your state and your insurance. In Florida, windshield claims don't count against you and there's no deductible if you have comprehensive coverage. The state wants you to fix/replace cracked windshields for safety reasons.

And I can say that it's true. I had one car that got 5 windshields in 5 years. It made up for the one that went 11 years and 175k miles with no repairs (tho a lot of micro scratches.)

Gerry

[grannyknot]

Originally Posted by Lakeside

I have never heard of this. I have the full vehicle done in PPF but didn't know they did glass.

It's been around for 10 or so yrs now, the first films were terrible, they have improved a lot since then.
Stek seems to be one of the most recommend, it will help protect against very small pebbles, the kind that sand blast the glass over the years.
It isn't going to help much when a rock hits the glass, there is a small amount of distortion but it can get bad if the film was stretched too much during installation.

Some people have had problems with wipers leaving scratches, durability is up and down, some cars that are out in the sun a lot like DD the film can fail in as little as a year, where as weekend fun cars that are garaged can get 4-5 yrs sometimes.

Trying to get a hold of the good quality film so you can install yourself seems to be next to impossible, it's a closed circuit between the manufacturers and the installers, which is why they can charge so much.
The going rate seems to be $600-800 per windshield which is just crazy to me.

[aa2033]

I have ExoShield on my windshield. Super clear. No distortion, which i was worried about from reading up on external films. Wasn't cheap, but cheaper than a windshield, camera calibration, and possible damage by the windshield installer.

[SteezeforMyBimmerMon]

It will grow so I would get it fixed.

[Limegrntaln]

STek makes DynoFlex. Here it is in action. I have it on my car, but, it's not bulletproof, and boulders will still make it through.

It's taken some very, very hard hits, but a sharp boulder, took it out. Windshield shop filled it, but says it may still crack, eventually. In the pics, bottom is crack, top is after the repair. At least it's in the black.

[Lakeside]

I got my chips repaired today and it was depressing. My car has 800 miles on it and there were 3 damaged spots, though they were small.

I don't tailgate. My 2003 looks great and wasn't wrapped or anything. This was just bad luck on the highway.