Whether you drive a car, truck, or SUV, broken glass is broken glass....

Small star cracks, chips, bullseyes, half moons, and other small fractures are examples of damage that can lead to larger breakage and and more dangerous windshield conditions. With a simple 30 minute appointment, these types of damage can oftentimes be repaired and are generally covered 100% by most major insurance companies - and most likely won't affect your deductable.

Major damage includes shattered glass (tempered glass), large cracks, and laminate separation. These are conditions that generally cannot be repaired and require total windshield replacement. Although many insurance companies will cover replacement, policies will vary. Check with your insurance agent for details.

History of Auto Glass - courtesy of National Windshield Repair Association

As motorized vehicles grew more common and their speed increased, the wind and debris thrown into the faces of drivers became a more serious matter. To alleviate this concern, manufacturers included glass as, literally, a wind shield. While the new windshields made the drive more comfortable, they did not adequately protect from flying debris. These first windshields were hand cut from plate glass. The problem with these plate glass windshields was they easily shattered into large, dangerously sharp pieces upon impact.

In 1919 Henry Ford addressed the problem by using a new technology, developed in France, called glass laminating (see an example of what separating laminate looks like). Windshields made using this process were actually two layers of glass with a cellulose inner layer that held the glass together. Between 1919 and 1929 Ford ordered the use of laminated glass on all of his vehicles.

Today, windshields are no longer held together with cellulose, but with a high-strength vinyl called polyvinyl butyral (PVB). This type of glass is ideal for automobile windshields because of it's strength and reliability.

The glass in the rest of the car is different. Around the 1950's the door glass and the back glass changed to a tempered glass. It is just one piece of glass that is sent into an atmospheric oven that heats and quenches the glass to harden it. This tempered or “toughened” glass is also considered safety glass. It is strengthened through the application of heat and pressure. Upon impact it crumbles into rounded glass pebbles instead of shattering into large dangerous pieces

In either case of minor or major damage, your windshield's integrity is compromised. Even though the windshield won't cave in on you, it isn't exactly safe. If you have a cracked, or 'dinged' windshield you are compromising the structural integrity of your vehicle.

View the entire glass installation process.