well it finally happened. on my way to work today this truck kicked up a pebble and cracked my windshield right in front of my face. a pretty small crack, but it's right in my line of sight as I drive. ugh. anyone know how far they've come with fixing these? any way they can fuse it, or am I SCrewed?

any suggestions would be great,
thanks,
Wes

 

It's called comprehensive insurance. No deductible.

 

My insurance will cover it if it is smaller than a $1 bill for free. Call your insurance company and they might "fix" it.

Will

 

I had a small crack just above the driver side windshield wiper repaired about 2 months ago - no problems so far but it is visible. Insurance payed 100%.
Most insurance companies cover this for free as mentioned - but even if they didn't, it's only about $40.00.

The catch is that the crack cannot be directly in your in your line of site which you mention your crack is.

 

what exactly do they do to fix it? this crack couldn't be in a worse spot. :-(

Wes

 

No kidding! I'm sorry but this should be a no brainer!
pesos, do you not have this coverage? If you don't, your crazy not to have it. Don't mess around on getting it fixed, get the right coverage and get a new windshield!

Tony

 

It's some form of epoxy, an is supposed to be stronger than the glass itself once it's dried.

I watched as the repair was done. A very small hole is drilled into the point of impact and then the epoxy is pressed into the hole and subsequently out into any cracks.

This repair is great for small cracks around a 1/4 inch or so. But, if the crack is right in your line of sight insurance won't cover it. Acutally, I'm not 100% certain, but I think even the glass company won't do the repair if it is in the line of site.

 

i had one done about 18 mos. ago and no problems at all. covered 100% by ins.

 

in our area, these crack repair guys have popped up everywhere. As it is a repair, not a replacement, there should be no deductable. The repairs are very inexpensive (I think only $100 to $200) and much cheaper than a new windsheild ($1000)

 

I have had at least 8 windshield cracks and dings repaired in the past few years in 3 different vehicles. All with good results. No out of pocket cost. The worst crack was one I got from a gravel truck on my Ranger windshield when it was only 1 week old! It was a horizonal crack about 1 inch wide. The repair guy drilled two holes into that one because of the length and I was amazed at the result.

Five of the eight cracks were in my Ranger pickup, which I had before my Screw (no dings in the Screw yet--knock on wood). The aerodynamics of the trucks seem to be a rock magent. I am wondering if a plastic bug shield installed at the front of the hood would help deflect rocks as well as bugs. Anybody got any data on that?

By the way, I saw a TV special one night a couple of years back on windshield replacement on some invesigative show like 20-20. Very scary. An extremely tight seal is needed around the windshield for your airbags to function properly. Nearly every vehicle they had the windshield replaced on and then crashed at low speed, the airbags blew the windshield out because of faulty repair. Given the fact that it appears almost impossible to get a windshield replaced properly, in my humble opinion it makes sense to make your factory one last as long as possible. I'd definately go with the glass repair. You can still replace the windshield in the future if you really need too--but you pobably won't need to,

 

My last truck didn't have a shield for the first nine years and never got hit. Added a bugshield and windshield was hit 3 times in the next five years.

Haven't put a shield on current truck and have been hit once.
Data indicates I would have at least two hits with a shield.

The pertinent question here would be;
Does anyone have a cracked bugshield caused by moving object?

A positive response to this question indicates plastic bug shield does indeed deflect objects that would otherwise crack said windshield.

 

Regardless of the fact that the insurance co. pays for it or not, the key is to get that crack fixed ASAP! The longer you wait, the more chance the crack gets to spread and you wind up having to replace the entire windshield... Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, err, windshield. Good luck!

 

For those of us that are not required to have glass liability insurance coverage I paid $215 installed at my office for a replacement.

I am currently on my 3rd windshield, just a run of bad luck, 6 years in a big Bronco with a flat windsheild and never had a problem.

 

ARRRRRRRGGHHHHH! I don't know if you could call this karma, deja vu, bad luck, divine justice... who knows. But anyway, I get in my truck this evening after work and notice there's a small starfish-shaped crack in the top center of the windshield! It's a location I wouldn't look at in a million years, but just happened to glance up there... Probably subconsciously looking for cracks after reading this thread -- only to find one!!!

I don't know whether to laugh or cry!!!

 

I had situation where I was on the DC beltway when a rock bounced out from under a construction vehicle ... it was like slow motion watching this "boulder" bouncing towards me and I had no where to go with all that traffic. The rock hit the shield, obliterated it, but the rock was "deflected" over the roof ... I'm sure that without the shield I would have had a busted windshield as well as a gouged hood all the way up to it! Shields have come a long way and I think that also enhance the look of an already beautiful F150! Also, the clear ones are almost invisible (or can be color matched).