Teeny Tiny windshield chip

[SaraJayne]

I need some advice...we got a teeny, tiny chip in our windshield last night from a rock that was kicked up from the car in front of us. You can only see it by getting right down to the glass and running your finger over it.

Do we fix it or just leave it and watch it?

We've never had any glass issues with any of our cars, so I really don't know what to do. DH said to just keep an eye on it.

Thoughts?

 

[luvmy3]

I'd get it filled even if its small.

 

[mickeyboat]

I agree with your DH.

Your other option would be to call a winsdhield company and have them fill the little hole with a composite which will keep it from growing. It is usually not very expensive, and covered by your insurance with no deductible if you have comprehensive coverage.

Every car I have ever owned has gotten a chip in the windshield. We have a large one now that I have been ignoring, and it hasn't gotten any bigger.

Every car I have ever traded has had a chipped windshield. It's a way of life up here.

 

[AshleyW]

I need some advice...we got a teeny, tiny chip in our windshield last night from a rock that was kicked up from the car in front of us. You can only see it by getting right down to the glass and running your finger over it.

Do we fix it or just leave it and watch it?

We've never had any glass issues with any of our cars, so I really don't know what to do. DH said to just keep an eye on it.

Thoughts?

Fix it! I had one of those teeny tiny little chips and decided to just watch it... and now I have 2 huge cracks all the way across my windshield. I watched it for at least 6 months, and it never got worse, and then one day it just made a loud POP sound and I wound up with my 2 cracks. It should be around $50 or less to fix the chip (around here, anyway) ... much better than the $250+ I have to pay now to get my whole dang windshield replaced.

 

[smitch425]

I need some advice...we got a teeny, tiny chip in our windshield last night from a rock that was kicked up from the car in front of us. You can only see it by getting right down to the glass and running your finger over it.

Do we fix it or just leave it and watch it?

We've never had any glass issues with any of our cars, so I really don't know what to do. DH said to just keep an eye on it.

Thoughts?

You need to get it filled as soon as possible! This happend to us in the fall and when the weather turned cold I turned the heat on and the whole windshield cracked all the way across and up and down. I was driving with the kids in the car and my DD said, "Mom, what is that white line going across the window?" I shut the heat off as soon as I realized what it was, but it didn't matter. The whole window had to be replaced.

 

[Shutterbug]

Depends on how deep the chip is. It sounds like its not very deep at all if you can only feel it by running finger over it.
It sound like you just have a surface chip. I have one on my car too. I did take it to a glass/windshield place and told me it was too small to fix that it was just a surface chip and nothing could really be done. They said that if they did try a repair that it would be bigger than the chip.

 

[vicki_c]

It's really a crap shoot either way. I've had a largish (maybe a little smaller than a dime) chip in my windshield for just about 4 years. For whatever reason, it has never cracked, even through the winters.

Other cars, other times - got chips that cracked across the windshield within days or weeks.

If you have glass coverage on your insurance, even if it does crack, it could be covered. (It's been a very long time though since I had a windshield replaced, so that could be wrong.)

 

[SaraJayne]

Depends on how deep the chip is. It sounds like its not very deep at all if you can only feel it by running finger over it

I have one on my car too. I did take it to a glass/windshield place and told me it was too small to fix that it was just a surface chip and nothing could really be done. They said that if they did try a repair that it would be bigger than the chip.

This is definitely a surface chip.

 

[SandrA9810]

My aunt has a chip from a truck flinging a rock up. It hasn't changed in the past couple of years it's been there. Barely noticeable till it's pointed out.

Check with your insurance, if you have a low deductible, it should be covered under comprehensive coverage.

 

[MSLRAC]

I would get it fixed because we had a small chip turn into a huge crack from one end of the windshield to the other when we turned on the defroster. Our insurance would have paid 100% to fix the chip but we were responsible for our deductible for a whole windshield. We ended up replacing it OOP for under $200 but we were kicking ourselves when we wrote that check.

 

[SaraJayne]

I would get it fixed because we had a small chip turn into a huge crack from one end of the windshield to the other when we turned on the defroster. Our insurance would have paid 100% to fix the chip but we were responsible for our deductible for a whole windshield. We ended up replacing it OOP for under $200 but we were kicking ourselves when we wrote that check.

Our deductible is more than $200.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Well, I have broken 3 windshields in the past 3 yrs. Granted I live in a bluff area with tons of rock.

One of them was HUGE and I thought I was shot, seriously. I checked my body but then looked up and saw a major blast from a large rock.

You can either leave it or get it filled. My dh cannot stand chips and would have it filled.

Windshields run from 100-300 depending on the place and the car. Shop around, for sure if you decide to get it done.

We have Nationwide now and our policy covers windshields (YEA!). You may be able to get it done for free. Check your insurance.

 

[luvdamouse91]

Take the car to an auto glass shop and have it filled while the chip area is still rough and they have something to adhesive will stick to.

 

[yoopermom]

Definitely check with your insurance ASAP. I'm another one (like the poster above) who had an apt to have a small chip fixed in three days (which would have been covered in full by my comp policy) only to have it turn into a complete crack, which meant I had to pay the deductible ($250) towards having the whole thing replaced. I fought it with the glass shop, because they *knew* a terrible cold snap was coming through (we're talking below zero for days on end), and that's what caused the chip to crack. If they would have fit me in right away, it wouldn't have. We ended up splitting the cost of the deductible.

Terri

 

[SaraJayne]

Take the car to an auto glass shop and have it filled while the chip area is still rough and they have something to adhesive will stick to.

I don't think there is anything to adhere to as it is now. Seriously, it's about the size of a pepper flake or a bread crumb.

It really is teeny tiny.

 

[DVC-Don]

Get it filled at a glass shop. If you have glass coverage, it's usually no charge to you. Nowadays windshields are an important part of the vehicles unibody and you only want to replace the entire windshield as a last resort.

 

[kirstenb1]

You need to get it filled as soon as possible! This happend to us in the fall and when the weather turned cold I turned the heat on and the whole windshield cracked all the way across and up and down. I was driving with the kids in the car and my DD said, "Mom, what is that white line going across the window?" I shut the heat off as soon as I realized what it was, but it didn't matter. The whole window had to be replaced.

Yes, the same thing happened to me 2 yrs ago. Since then, I have any chips filled.

 

[Southernmiss]

Even if you pay out of pocket it's only about $35 around here to have a chip filled.

DS learned that lesson the hard way. He had a chip I told him to have it filled. He waited. He now has a crack in his windshield. It will be $200 for a new windshield. He could have saved some $ by filling it.

 

[LilyWDW]

Filling the chip now will be cheaper then replacing the windshield later.

While it is possible the chip will never expand, I just don't see it as worth it. For me, it's like tempting fate... and fate seems to hate me sometimes

 

[castmember19]

My first instinct would be to leave it. It's actually my second instinct too since you said it's tinier than a bread crumb, but the chips turning into cracks stories would freak me out.

I suppose it's possible to take it to a glass shop, and if they laugh at you and say nothing can be done, there's your answer.