Windshield Crack Repair in Winston-Salem, NC

Auto Glass Winston-Salem is Impex Auto Glass serving Winston-Salem and the towns around it. The crack is looked at, and repaired or replaced, at your vehicle. If yours is still a chip with no line running from it, the windshield repair in Winston-Salem page is the one to read.

How a crack differs from a chip

A chip is a small break around one impact point. A crack is a line, and a line behaves differently: it carries stress along its length and grows from its tip. Most cracks start as chips, when one leg of a star break runs out after a hot afternoon, a cold morning or a hard bump. Others start at the edge of the glass, where the windshield meets the body of the car, with no visible impact at all.

The windshield repair standard, ROLAGS (the Repair of Laminated Automotive Glass Standard, administered by the National Windshield Repair Division), sorts cracks by length and by where they end:

ROLAGS term	Definition	What it usually means for you
Short crack	Six inches (150 mm) or less	Often repairable, if it is a single line and away from the edge
Long crack	More than six inches	Sometimes repairable, up to the 14-inch limit; position and age decide
Edge crack	A crack that extends to an edge of the glass	Usually a new windshield

ROLAGS states that ‘single line cracks up to 14-inches are repairable.’ That is the outer limit of the standard, not a promise that every 14-inch crack will repair well. Impex’s working rule is plainer: a repair may be possible when the damage is small, shallow and away from the edges.

Cracks that can usually be repaired

• A single short line from a chip, with the chip still visible at one end.
• A crack that has not reached the edge of the glass, with clear glass between its tip and the frame.
• A crack outside the driver’s direct view and outside the area the forward camera looks through.
• A fresh crack, before dirt and water have worked into it and before it has branched.

Cracks that usually mean a new windshield

• Edge cracks. A crack that runs into the edge sits where the windshield is bonded to the car. The bond is part of what holds the glass in place, so these are a replacement job.
• Cracks in front of the driver. Even a good repair can leave a line in your view. A new windshield is usually the right answer here.
• Cracks in the camera’s view. A forward facing camera behind the glass needs a clear view; a repaired line in that area is a poor idea.
• Branching or several cracks. More than one line, or a line that has split, is past what resin can hold well.
• Cracks through more than the outer layer. If the break reaches the plastic layer or the inner glass, repair is not possible.

How a crack repair is done

Crack repair uses the same kind of resin as a chip repair, but the work is slower because the resin has to reach the full length of the line.

1. Measure and mark. The technician checks the crack’s length, its tip and its distance from the edge, and confirms it can be repaired.
2. Stop the tip. The end of the crack is where it grows, so the tip is dealt with first, to stop the line running while the repair goes on.
3. Open and fill. Resin is fed into the crack from the impact point and along the line, so it runs into the full length of the break.
4. Cure and finish. The resin is hardened, then the surface is scraped level and polished.

A repaired crack is stabilized, not erased. You will still see a faint line. If the technician finds the crack is past repair once at the car, you will hear that before any work starts, and the job becomes a windshield replacement.

Why a crack is more urgent than a chip

The windshield is more than a window. The Auto Glass Safety Council says the windshield and side glass are part of the vehicle’s passenger restraint system and must be installed properly for airbags to deploy safely and effectively, and that the windshield aids occupant retention. A long crack weakens that sheet of glass. It also grows: a crack a few inches long in the morning can cross the windshield by evening after a run down I-40 with the sun on the glass and the air conditioning blowing on the inside.

Until it is fixed

• Keep the defroster and the air conditioning off the glass at full blast; let the cabin change temperature gradually.
• Avoid slamming doors and rough roads where you can.
• Skip the car wash.
• Mark the tip of the crack with a piece of tape so you can tell if it grows, and send a photo with the quote form.

Describing a crack on the quote form

Three details let Impex judge a crack from the form: its length in inches, whether either end touches the edge of the glass, and where it sits relative to the driver and the mirror. A photo taken from inside the car, with the crack against the sky, shows its full length better than one taken from outside.

Cracks, the law and the NC inspection

North Carolina has no statute or inspection rule that sets a crack size. The annual safety inspection under G.S. 20-183.3 checks the windshield wipers, as required by G.S. 20-127(a), not the glass itself. The plain advice: NC’s inspection checks your wipers, not the glass, but a crack in your line of sight is still a safety problem, and the longer it gets, the fewer options you have.

Crack repair, replacement and insurance

In North Carolina a cracked windshield normally goes under comprehensive coverage, which the NC Department of Insurance says pays for ‘breakage of glass’ less any deductible. There is no NC law that removes the deductible for glass; some policies include full glass coverage. A crack repair usually costs far less than a new windshield, which can make the difference between paying out of pocket and making a claim.

If you do claim, G.S. 58-3-180 lets you choose who repairs your vehicle, and the insurer must pay the same whichever repair service you pick. A comprehensive glass claim is not an at-fault accident, so it adds no Safe Driver Incentive Plan points, though your insurer may look at how often you file claims. Impex works with all major insurance providers and can deal with your insurer on the claim.

When the crack wins

If the crack is past repair, Impex replaces the windshield at your vehicle. The glass is checked against your VIN before it is ordered, the new windshield is set in urethane, and Impex says most cars are back on the road within two hours. Many newer cars then need the forward camera calibrated: I-CAR lists removing the windshield among the events that may require it, and Impex states it performs ADAS calibration on site after replacement. See windshield replacement in Kernersville, NC or windshield replacement in High Point, NC for the full job, and the areas page for the Winston-Salem side.

Questions people ask