Fml - chip on windshield

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ohliuw
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 26
  • Views Views 4K
Yeah no dealer I ever knew of did any windshield replacement, much less chip repairs, in house. All call in a glass company and simply serve as a middle man.

My Honda dealer in Ottawa did the replacement. (Civic Motors Honda)

Posted the following on a previous windshield replacement thread...

My dealer ended up invoicing my insurance $3100.00 CAD!! (minus $500.00 deductible paid by me to dealer).

Recently had a rock hit my windshield right on the frame. I looked when it happened and didn't see anything (as it was hidden from the interior) so thought it just bounced off without damaging the windshield. After a few days, I hit a large pothole and the crack spread down and is now migrating across my windshield. It will be covered by insurance but I will have to pay the 500$ deductible. I am getting it done at my Honda dealer as I don't want to mess around as it is still under warranty and I don't want to give them a reason to void it. They had to order the windshield from Montreal (I am in Ottawa) and it will take a week to get here. They also said that the camera calibration will be done and is mandatory. I was told it would take from 8:30 AM until 5:30 PM to complete the repair and camera calibration. I asked why and they said because they had to remove the old windshield carefully, scrape the sealant from around the frame, put the new sealant, put the new windshield, then wait 2 hours for it to set. After the two hours they need to calibrate the camera. It will probably be around 2k. Ill update when I finally see the bill.

A family friend who is the manager of a Honda/Toyota/Lexus dealership told us that they have been seeing this happen more often with the Clarity. He said this is due to the wind tunnel effect the body creates at high speeds that seems to pick up small debris from the road and throw it over the vehicle.

Don't make the same mistake as me and not inspect the windshield from the outside after hearing debris hit the window. It would have saved me 500 bucks if I would have caught it when it was just a pit (as pits smaller than a loonie/toonie are cheaply repaired or covered by insurance at no extra fee).

Edit: BTW, incase anyone was wondering, my insurance rate went up when renewal time came around. I am guessing it was due to my windshield replacement as I haven't gotten any tickets.
 
Last edited:
I have allways kept superglue in the glovebox since this will work prety good. I think this is what auto window experts use to patch chips. Always seems to spider out quick so I try to get it glued quick.

Last time I used wa son side window when rock hit it. Seems to work and saves $$$ on insurance.

Edd
 
No disrespect intended but I don’t suggest this practice. Super glue is definitely not what the glass places use.

And if you do use superglue or one of the DIY kits found in auto part stores, the contamination will prevent any future professional repair from working properly.

And most insurance companies in the US do professional chip repairs for free. Even if yours doesn’t it’s only about $50 to just pay out of pocket.

The pros will first grind any loose pieces out, then put the damage area under a suction vacuum to suck all air out of the crack, then utilizing that vacuum they release non-yellowing UV resistant resin into the chip and the vacuum forces it far into all radiating cracks. Then they put it under UV light to cure the resin.
 
More food for thought:
If I understand it correctly, the windshield is acoustic glass which has a middle layer of some super duper golly gee wiz space age film/polymer/laminate that reduces the sound transmission.

So the total thickness may be the same as required but it’s two thiner pieces of glass laminated to that middle whatever. Doesn’t that mean the piece of glass on the outside is thinner and more easily cracked by an impact? Might this explain the seeming large number of windshield cracks reported? As in the windshield thickness and structural strength passes muster but the design makes it more susceptible to impact damage.

I thought all modern windshields (and maybe all the other glass in cars) were pieces laminated together. This to keep the glass pieces (although less sharp due to tempering) from becoming projectiles.
 
Our Clarity windshield has taken two big hits from rocks. One of the two was so hard I couldn't help but pull over to look for a crack. I found a scratch near the center, but that's all. I don't think the Clarity's windshield is softer than others. Of course, now that I've written that...
Exactly the same happened to me a couple of weeks ago. There is a barely visible tiny little crater near the lower passenger side so I just ignored it.
 
No ofence taken. I shoulda explained a little more. Alot of dings on glass I see are the size of a watermelon seed or smaller. These are the chips I was thibnking about. Not worth to get fixed by glass expert but super glue will fill the ding anf prevent problems. The dings bigger than a nickel with spider legs already will be fixed by the glass experts.

Always learn alot on here from the folks who know.
 
Back
Top