Chip vs. Crack: When Can Your Windshield Be Repaired?
By Chip Away Auto Glass Repair · 4 min read
A lot of people use chip and crack interchangeably, but when it comes to windshield repair, they are very different things. One is usually fixable in about 30 minutes. The other may mean you are shopping for a new windshield. Knowing which you have can save you a lot of money.
What Is a Chip?
A chip is damage where a small piece of glass has been displaced from the outer layer of your windshield. It is usually caused by a rock or piece of road debris hitting the glass directly. The damage is contained to one spot and has not spread outward into a line.
Chips come in a few different shapes. A bullseye is a circular impact point that looks like a target. A star break has short cracks radiating outward from a center point, kind of like a starburst. A combination break is both at once. A half-moon is a partial bullseye. All of these can usually be repaired, as long as they are caught before they spread.
What Is a Crack?
A crack is a line in the glass. It can start at a chip and grow outward, or it can appear on its own from stress on the glass. Cracks spread. That is the main problem. A crack that is three inches long today can be eight inches long after a week of Florida heat.
The Size Rules
Here is the general guide for what is repairable. These are not hard laws, but they are the standard the industry works from.
- Chips up to the size of a quarter are almost always repairable.
- Cracks up to about 6 inches can often be repaired, depending on location.
- Cracks longer than 6 inches are usually not repairable and require full replacement.
- Damage at the very edge of the windshield is harder to repair because of structural stress on that area.
- Anything in the driver's direct line of sight may still technically be repairable but can affect visibility after the repair.
Location Matters Too
A chip sitting right in front of the driver is trickier than one off to the side. Even a good repair can leave a slight mark, and if it is right where your eye falls while driving, that can be distracting or affect your ability to pass a state inspection.
Chips on the edge of the glass are also harder to work with. The edge is where a lot of flex stress concentrates, and a repair in that area is less likely to hold long-term.
The Bottom Line
If you have a chip that is roughly quarter-sized or smaller and it has not started spreading, you are likely in good shape for a repair. If you have a crack that is growing or already longer than a few inches, you need to act fast. The window for repair closes quickly, especially in Florida where the heat and sun put constant stress on your glass.
Give us a call and describe what you are seeing. Patrick can usually tell you over the phone whether the damage sounds repairable, and if it does, he can come to you the same day.