How To Avoid 3 Most Common Causes of Auto Glass Damage?

Everyone is on the go these days and no one has the time to spare for auto glass repairs. But if your auto glass gets damaged you simply have to make time for it.

No matter if you have the option for a mobile auto glass repair or not, you still have to set aside a big part of your day to have it done. And let’s not forget all the other stuff you need to do like schedule an appointment, talk with your insurance company and rent a car that you can use while your auto glass damage is being repaired. As if your ‘to-do’ list isn’t long enough. So in order to minimize the hassle and potentially avoid auto glass repairs, here’s how to avoid the main 3 causes of auto glass damage.

Auto Glass Damage Caused by Accidents

Some of you live in neighborhoods where children play outside and some of you even have children that participate in various sports activities like basketball or baseball. Auto glass damage most frequently occurs due to flying objects that collide with your windshield or car window. In order to avoid this, we highly recommend that you park your car at a safe distance from sporting events.  And if your neighborhood has a lot of children playing outside, parking in a garage is your safest bet.

Tailgating as a Cause of Auto Glass Damage

While on the motorway, make sure that you don’t tailgate i.e. follow the car in front of you too closely. Vehicle tires can easily kick up road debris and launch it at your windshield. You might think that you can avoid this. Well in some situations you can, but if you cruising at a higher speed, there’s no chance that you can see the debris on time, not to mention avoid it safely. So the damage is imminent.

Instead, try to follow the three-second rule (we’ve all heard about it once or twice). When you have three seconds of time (at least) between your car and the car in front of you, it’s safe to assume that you’re at a safe distance. You have enough time to avoid collision In case you need to and you can stop your car in time.

Outdoor Parking

A lot of people have a garage where they can park their car but they use it to store unnecessary stuff and use it as a storage shed. No matter if you’re forced to the part outside or you decide to park outside because your garage is full, you’re putting your auto glass at risk. But in what way?

Well, the first risk of auto glass damage is direct sunlight. Direct sunlight causes the outer edges of the windows to expand more rapidly than the inner parts. And if the heat is extreme, this can even cause auto glass damage. So instead of parking your car in direct sunlight, why not park it in a shaded area?

The second thing that can cause auto glass damage is falling debris like branches, sticks, etc. that can fall when you park under a tree. Parking in the shade is a good idea, but see if you can park under a covered structure like a car tent, parking garage, or carport. Avoid parking under trees.

Hail is yet another culprit of auto glass damage and this can cause some serious damage on your auto glass. Of course, this depends on how big the hail is, but still. During a hail storm, your auto glass won’t get hit by one chunk of ice. It will be repeatedly hit by hail and many of those pieces will cause more than just a crack.

And finally, we come to temperature fluctuations. When the auto glass experiences sudden and rapid temperature shifts, it expands / contracts (depending on whether the temperature is hot or cold) very fast. If the switch between hot and cold is rapid enough, the auto glass can’t cope with it and it cracks. So if you park your car outside during cold weather, warm up your car gradually. And if you park outside during hot weather, instead of cracking up the AC, crack open a few windows, let the interior of the car cool down while you drive, and then gradually increase the AC.

We hope that these tips will help you avoid unnecessary auto glass damage. In case you do get auto glass damage, feel free to contact Auto Glass Express and schedule an appointment.