[melgish]

Vacation couldn't be better. 'couple of days in St. Charles, MO. followed by a trip to New Orleans, LA...

Except about 25 miles north of Memphis, a passing truck kicked a stone up and cracked my Prius's windshield. Not much of a crack... a sliver about 3/4" long. Of course, due to my infamous luck, the crack is exactly eye level, dead center of the driver's side window.

So I need to get it fixed. Has anyone here dealt with one of those 'fix the crack' places? What kind of results did you get? What was the cost?

 

[paul16451]

Most auto glass shops can fix a small crack for about $50-$60, with good results. But if you're going to do it that way, do it soon, because cracks have this annoying tendency to grow bigger, the longer you wait to fix it, and once it gets longer than a few inches, you're stuck with replacing the windshield which will cost several hundred or more to do. I had to do that on my old Classic Prius...and used a no-name brand windshield for $230 (the Toyota windshield would have cost $700!)

 

[tochatihu]

windshield crack

I had a windshield star crack repaired 3 years ago and it has not spread appreciably since then. If your glass shop thinks it can be repaired, I would go that way.

DAS

 

[KTPhil]

Don't wash the glass, or let it get dirty. Any dirt or moisture wedged in the crack will reduce the effectiveness of the repair. Do it ASAP.

 

[Hep]

It will leave a small noticable defect in the windshield, so if it is in your primary line of sight, you may need new glass. If it is off a bit you will not notice it for long. Had one fixed on my (now my daughter's) Beetle 5 years ago and still going fine.

 

[melgish]

Well they're comming out between 8 and 12 tomorrow, so I'll let you know how they fare

 

[melgish]

Well, around 11:00 on Friday SafeLite came out and repaired the crack. It's still visible, but less pronounced. Hopefully the sealant/epoxy/magic they use will keep it from growing beyond it's current size.

In the dark, it's not visible at all. During the day...it can be ignored.

Am I happy...no...but I'm a whole lot less unhappy now that it's fixed...

 

[paul16451]

My windshield got cracked a couple days ago, turns out my insurance DOES have a specific clause for glass-only damage and will cover 2/3 of the repair cost of a new windshield. If only I'd known that with my previous Prius (which I had to do TWO window replacements on, one for accidental windshield crack and one for vandalism on the side window).

Silly me didn't think to even check with my regular insurance (I thought they wouldn't do anything until I met the collision deductible, which is a LOT more than windshield cost) until I read the advice of someone up here to try it.

Lesson learned.

 

[AnOldHouse]

I'm not a big fan of insurance and I think many people over-insure the little things in life (extended warranties, UPS package insurance, etc.), but glass coverage just makes good sense. It's very cheap.

In almost 5 years and over 130,000 miles on my Toyota Tacoma pickup, I have had to have the windshield replaced 3 times! Yes, I'm on the fourth windshield (which is kinda nice because it's nice and clear as new, no scratches or pitting). And I didn't pay a dime for any of the replacements because my insurance is 100% glass coverage.

 

[evander]

Glad you got the little crack repaired. I had one that I allowed to creep for a few months. Insurance covered most of a whole windshield replacement by that time, but unfortunately Safe-Lite didn't do a great job. Air whistled noticeably. They came back to seal the area, but still no improvement. I finally went somewhere else which as I remember, State Farm continued to cover. I was very lucky as I later discovered that fixing the hole earlier would have been a simple process.

 

[melgish]

I got the receipts, but I don't think I'm going to bother my insurance company on this one... The didn't raise my rates when I accidentally knocked over the cell-phone oblivious pedestran who jumped in front of my Saturn last year, and I have no desire to give them a second opportunity.

Come to think of it though... it can be said that it was the exact moment when last year turned to the excrement it later became. They could have based that curse movie on it...

 

[jflowerus]

Next time you get a small crack or star, go to Walmart or an auto parts store and get a windshield crack repair kit for about $5 or less and fix it yourself. It's easy and the kit includes the same apoxy fixer the pros use and come with a suction cup tool to force the apoxy into the crack.
I have used these kits about 4 times now and they work just fine.

 

[dontcheff]

My Prius windshield got cracked on the 3rd day after I got my brand new Prius. Toyota fixed it for 65 euro (~100 USD). It was also eye level. A BMW with winter tyres "fired" a small stone.

 

[melgish]

Next time you get a small crack or star, go to Walmart or an auto parts store and get a windshield crack repair kit for about $5 or less and fix it yourself. It's easy and the kit includes the same apoxy fixer the pros use and come with a suction cup tool to force the apoxy into the crack.
I have used these kits about 4 times now and they work just fine.

Does it come with a dremmel tool and bit to smooth out the 'divot' ?

 

[jflowerus]

Does it come with a dremmel tool and bit to smooth out the 'divot' ?

No dremmel. You will need a razor blade to finish it.

 

[melgish]

Actually I was referring to the tool used by the SafeLite guy before he applied the resin. He used it to smooth out what I guess you'd call the 'impact point' before sealing the crack.

 

[GreyMud]

I got lucky. The day I got my crack, there was a glass guy in the parking lot when I got to work. $25 cash, and I didn't miss any time at work. I'm not sure that second thing is a bonus or not, though.

 

[jflowerus]

Actually I was referring to the tool used by the SafeLite guy before he applied the resin. He used it to smooth out what I guess you'd call the 'impact point' before sealing the crack.

Hmm! I don't see any reason to smooth out anything. Seems to me the rougher it is the more there is for the resin to hang onto. The kit does include a little pin to remove any loose chips.

This is an example of one kind of do it yourself kit.

This is a guide to what type of damage you can fix with these kits.