Windscreen crack, no obvious damage (chip): Is this common?

[Gdcobra]

Hi all.

Just noticed today that I have a crack in my windscreen although there does not appear to be any damage such as a chip which this could have propagated from, almost as though could be caused by deflection of the glass or similar and just wondering how typical this is.

 

Crack is on passenger side about 4" from the centre of the screen and seems to extend from the outer edge downwards though the black area around the mirror then turns left for about 4" (for now).  Anybody seen anything simlar.

 

I'm assuming that as this is a crack there is no possibility of a repair?

 

Does anyone have any recommendations of who to use to repair it (or recommendation on who not to use probably more important)?

 

Thanks in advance for all help.

Edited 3 January, 2023 by Gdcobra

[Ootohere]

?

Do you have 'Glass cover' with your car insurance?

If so then who is it that they want you to use for the windscreen replacement?

[Gdcobra]

Hi Toot, thanks for the feedback. 

Not checkted that yet, don't think I have cover but even if I did I may prefer to use a different supplier than they want to use if they don't have a decent reputation.

I'll keep you posted when I've looked into the details

 

[cnc]

Had this happen on the wife's Octavia, we got in one day and there was a large crack roughly 6 inches long beginning where it was hidden behind the A pillar trim, no obvious signs of any impact plus we would have heard something hit it, it just appeared overnight for no apparent reason.

 

It was covered under the insurance (we paid a small excess) and a new heated screen was fitted by National Windscreens who did an excellent job. I have also used National Windscreens for my previous car and again the service and repair couldn't be faulted.

[numskull]

1 hour ago, Gdcobra said:

Hi Toot, thanks for the feedback. 

Not checkted that yet, don't think I have cover but even if I did I may prefer to use a different supplier than they want to use if they don't have a decent reputation.

I'll keep you posted when I've looked into the details

 

Most insurers use reputable glass installers as the costs of getting poorly fitted units rectified is high, especially those which are heated and have camera units fitted, which need to be set up and adapted to the car. Unfortunately no, I’m afraid cracks cannot be repaired. 

[ApertureS]

1 hour ago, numskull said:

Most insurers use reputable glass installers as the costs of getting poorly fitted units rectified is high, especially those which are heated and have camera units fitted, which need to be set up and adapted to the car. Unfortunately no, I’m afraid cracks cannot be repaired. 

Can promise you this isnt the case... The people that fit windscreens are often fairly incompetent OR theyre so over worked and rushed they dont care. Once it has been sent to the windscreen company the insurer is no longer a part of it other than paying the bill, any poorly fitted or damaged stuff is the windscreen companies issue.

 

I know this as Auto Windscreen done my car and my fathers car (2 separate occasions, 2 separate locations) and caused rougly £3500 worth of trim and paint damage to mine, and over £7000 worth of damage to his Audi TTRS, A lot of paintwork was required to put both mine and his car right. 

 

Next time im just gonna pay the extra and take it to the dealer - at least that way any damage caused is on them.

 

 

Also regarding cracks being repaired, they 100% can be repaired as I have to repair many cracks a week for my job, the longest crack ill attempt to repair is often about 6-8 inches long with very good rates of success. 

[numskull]

Let me be clear about what I meant.
You are not actually “repairing” a windscreen with injected resin, you’re providing a cosmetic finish to mask the damage and to stop water penetration, but the actual structure of the glass remains compromised in that position and that’s why there are rules on the sizes of a fix applied to damage. 

Granted, things have probably changed, but when I worked with them, neither AW or AG would repair anything over 40mm, so 1.5 inches in the D Zone and they would never attempt a repair if it emanated from anywhere on the outer edge either, as it would inevitably just continue to spread with the constant stress the glass is under and in the case of an airbag deployment or should the car turn over, this could cause the glass to fail completely which is not something you want in either scenario. 

[ApertureS]

5 hours ago, numskull said:

Let me be clear about what I meant.
You are not actually “repairing” a windscreen with injected resin, you’re providing a cosmetic finish to mask the damage and to stop water penetration, but the actual structure of the glass remains compromised in that position and that’s why there are rules on the sizes of a fix applied to damage. 

Granted, things have probably changed, but when I worked with them, neither AW or AG would repair anything over 40mm, so 1.5 inches in the D Zone and they would never attempt a repair if it emanated from anywhere on the outer edge either, as it would inevitably just continue to spread with the constant stress the glass is under and in the case of an airbag deployment or should the car turn over, this could cause the glass to fail completely which is not something you want in either scenario. 

I agree I wouldn’t be repairing a crack from the outside edge as the twisting motion of the chassis with cause it to return at some point or another, yes.

 

You may not be doing a structural repair as such but it’s still a repair that should, if done correctly, stop it spreading further.

 

If the car turns over or the airbag deploys, a crack no matter how big in the screen will make absolutely no difference to laminated glass failing (assuming you mean failing as in coming out completely?) the glass will crack anyway in either of these situations so a crack pre existing won’t change that.

 

the other thing is autoglass/auto windscreens have a financial interest in replacing screens and not repairing, so who can blame them for doing the bare minimum repair.