It happens all the time. You notice a little chip on Monday, figure you'll deal with it eventually, and on Thursday morning there's a crack running halfway across the windshield. Here's what's going on, and why it happens so much more in Colorado Springs than in a lot of places.
It's the temperature swings
Glass expands when it warms up and shrinks when it cools off. Normally that's no big deal. But a chip is a weak spot, and every time the glass moves, the stress piles up right at the edge of that chip.
The Springs is pretty much built for this. We're over 6,000 feet up, the air's dry, and it's normal for a fall or winter day to start in the 20s and hit the 50s by the afternoon. That's a lot of expanding and shrinking every single day. Up in Monument, Palmer Lake and Woodland Park it's even worse.
The defroster is the big one
If we had to pick the number one way a chip turns into a crack, it's this: a cold morning, a frozen windshield, and the defroster cranked all the way up.
The inside of the glass heats up fast while the outside is still frozen. That difference puts a ton of stress right where the chip is. Sometimes you can actually watch the crack start to run.
Instead, start the car, put the defroster on low, and give it a few minutes. Scrape the outside while it warms up. And please don't pour hot water on a frozen windshield. We've replaced plenty of windshields because of that one.
Water gets in and freezes
A chip is basically a tiny opening into the glass. Rain, snowmelt and car wash water all get in there. When the temperature drops overnight, that water freezes, expands, and pushes the chip open a little more. Do that a few dozen times over a winter and you've got a crack.
That's why we tell people to put a piece of clear tape over a fresh chip. It's not a fix, but it keeps the water and dirt out until you can get it repaired.
Other stuff that pushes it over the edge
- Potholes and speed bumps. (Basically every road in town in March.)
- Slamming the doors, especially with all the windows up.
- Car washes, especially the high-pressure ones with the hot rinse.
- Hard afternoon sun on a dark dashboard, followed by a cold evening.
So how fast do you need to deal with it?
Faster than you'd think. If the chip is smaller than a quarter and you get to it within a few days, it can almost always be repaired. That's usually $60 to $110, a lot of insurance policies cover it, and it takes about half an hour in your driveway.
Wait until it turns into a crack and you're usually looking at a new windshield instead. That starts around $250 and goes up quickly if your car has a camera behind the glass.
Got a chip? Call us at (719) 467-3190 and we'll get it filled before the next cold snap gets to it.