If you’re reading this because you think your car’s windscreen might be cracked, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered! Fearing for your safety after seeing a small crack or chip on your windscreen and looking for the nearest windscreen crack repair centre is a natural reaction. However, with this article, you’ll have all there is to know about windscreen cracks and what you can do about it.

Firstly, is it safe to drive with a windscreen crack?

It might sound counterintuitive, but driving with a small crack on your car’s windscreen is generally not dangerous. However, it is advisable for any cars with damaged windscreens to be repaired or replaced entirely earliest possible. This is due to two important reasons:

1.  A cracked windscreen is definitely weakened and will provide much less protection than a fully functional windscreen
2.  A cracked windscreen might worsen and decrease your driving visibility gradually

While it might seem like it’s designed purely based on visibility, windscreens are actually tailor-made to protect the safety of drivers and passengers, especially in extreme situations such as heavy impacts.

In fact, such an impact might cause them to crack, chip or shatter – but that doesn’t mean the driver and passengers will be harmed! This is because windscreens are made from two glass layers laminated together – if one layer breaks, the laminated or the inside layer of the windscreen glass will still hold the windscreen together in one piece and prevent the pieces of glass from injuring people!

What are the types of windscreen cracks?

It’s important to know the different types of windscreen cracks before proceeding to find a windscreen crack repair centre. Let’s take a look at the 3 most common types of windscreen cracks:

1.  Chips

This is one of the most common causes of windscreen cracks, but it’s often ignored or goes unnoticed. While small and minute chips are harmless and stay that way, many chips do eventually turn into cracks.

Any windscreen that has been damaged will be weakened for future damage – anything from the pressure of high-speed driving to the contraction and expansion of changing temperatures might turn a chip into an all-out crack!

2.  Bull’s Eyes

While it’s a similar form of damage to a chip, a Bull’s Eyes damage on your windscreen is typically caused by a pebble or similarly circular objects, and will usually form a cone on the outer layer of the windscreen glass.

One important distinction is that chips might only cause damage within the windscreen itself, but a Bulls Eyes might have removed a tiny piece of glass from your windscreen itself.

3.  Edge Crack

An edge crack, as the name suggests, is a crack that has started within two inches of the edge of your windscreen, or is extended towards the edge of your windscreen.

As the length of edge cracks can cover between 10” and 12”, this is quite a significant issue and needs urgent windscreen repair or replacement work.

What are the different causes of windscreen cracks?

a)   Road or environmental debris

These are the most common origins of damages and cracks that will eventually result in windscreen crack repairs. It could be debris that’s thrown from the tires of the car in front. It could be a loose object that is thrown off from cargo in the front. It could even be an environmental accident where a small stone is dislodged high above your car!

Experts recommend keeping a safe distance from cars in front as a good way to steer clear of these damages as well as parking on covered lots when you have the choice!

b)  Installation mishaps or errors

While most windscreen installations are done by professionals who are trained to do so, some windscreens that crack might be due to a small number of windscreens installed poorly.

This can be due to loose glass rubber that causes extreme vibrations or enormous pressure on the glass’s corner that cases cracking and shattering.

c)   Temperature from direct sunlight

Many Malaysians might not know this, but glass is equally prone to rapid expansion when exposed to direct sunlight for long periods of time as metal.

When your car windscreen’s glass undergo a high level of temperatures (usually in the form of sunlight), it may crack if it has existing damages and weaknesses as mentioned above.

Looking for windscreen replacement or repair? Choose the provider you can trust – choose Windscreen2U

维信玻璃 is Malaysia’s leading automotive safety glass repair and replacement company with one of the first door-to-door windscreen replacement service in Malaysia!

We partner with a holistic range of Malaysia’s leading insurance providers to help our customers across all sectors. With a fleet of mobile technicians, we aim to provide superior service with value, safety and satisfaction at the heart of our business.

Contact us today at 1700-81-1022 or email windscreen2u@gmail.com 联系我们，预约挡风玻璃维修服务！