[dezrskb]

My first car - Zen Lx had a tiny piece 0.5 x 0.5 cms chipped off by a flying pebble from the road. I had replaced it once after somebody had thrown a stone at it and the OE windshield had a big crack. Now my heart sank as the second chipping off happened few months after the replacement. But thank god it was not on the edge of the windscreen and just sat there for next 4-5 yrs and was there when I sold the car after 75K kms / 7 yrs and explained the prospective buyer about the same. He never bothered and I just happened to bump into my old car few days back, and the glass damage is still there. It involves only the outer layer and didnt expand.
Now after a Maruti Dzire and 3.5 yrs (which I bought after Zen and sold) of event free period, I have a Laura. Just after 2 weeks, I have an expanding crack on the windshield (due to my own mistake, the wiper crashed hard on glass). Though it is not from a pebble (which is the title of this thread), I would like to ask something about Windshield experts-
1. How do they manage to get hold of windshield of any car?
2. They said they would give an imported windshield which is originally meant for Chevrolet make vehicles, but would definitely fit my vehicle. Any idea how is this possible?
3. I am waiting for replacement genuine Skoda Windshield. But if the dealer fails to get it, then I will be interested in WE. Some posts in this thread about them sound encouraging.

[drmohitg]

This is one of the most annoying things that can happen to your ride and really spoil the fun of driving on highways. I do a lot of highway driving and off late have found myself at the receiving end on a number of occasions. Each time I skipped a heart beat expecting a crack on the screen going by the loud noise that it produces specially on highway speeds.
What precautions can one really take to avoid a stone hit? The windshield is covered under 0% depreciation right? That is the only consolation perhaps.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

What precautions can one really take to avoid a stone hit?

IMHO, I try to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front when driving at highway speeds.
This minimises possibility of rear-ending in case he stops suddenly. The other benefit is -
Gravel/pebbles thrown up by the rear tyres of the vehicle in front, have less chance of hitting the windscreen.

safe distance = speed in kmph/10 * car-length.

So at 100 kmph, the safe distance is 10 car lengths, at 90 kmph - 9 car lengths. This is usually sufficient to avoid getting hit by a pebble.

[apachelongbow]

I will say contrary to popular advice that please change the windshield in case of a tiny hole, crack, spiderweb etc, and not to get it repaired. Reason being, apart from doing its duty to protect the occupants, the windshield also expands and contracts due to sunlight, heat inside a car, the cold effects of air conditioning, rain etc. With a crack or damage, there is more stress on a glass compared to a pristine one. Hence there is high risk of the glass getting shattered, suddenly during drives, which can be very dangerous to the occupants.
Also glass is fully covered in case of a zero dep insurance, so please make full use of it, and be conservative and replace the glass in interest of safety. Recently one of my pickup/drop cars (a Dezire) had a catastrophic glass failure, in which the entire windshield detonated at 80kmph on the highway on its own. The glass already had a small crack at the lower right corner, due to a flying stone. The driver got injured due to the flying shards, luckily the cab was empty apart from him, else someone innocent would be injured too.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

IMHO, I try to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front when driving at highway speeds.
This minimises possibility of rear-ending in case he stops suddenly. The other benefit is -
Gravel/pebbles thrown up by the rear tyres of the vehicle in front, have less chance of hitting the windscreen.

Even I do that but invariably either the stone comes when you are approaching a truck for overtaking or from the adjacent lane.

[sachinjoseph]

Bumping up this old thread to ask a slightly different solution. Anyone know of a product that can be installed on windshields to protect them from stones? Like a tempered glass on mobile phones. Im not sure if PPF itself can be used for this. I remember seeing someone talking about such a product but I am not able to find that post now. Any advice would be of great help.

Thank you.

[monish_m]

Hello All,

During the drive to Goa, encountered a treacherous stretch of broken roads, loose gravel / stones between Nelamangala and Tumkuru. Suffered a stone hit and small star marked crack on the windscreen. Drove on and returned safely.

Visited the workshop and the body shop team said we can safely drive on, unless the crack increases in size.

Planning for a slightly DIY fix and see many options.

Pls suggest if these work and can help + which of these options will work best.

1) Some kind of a filler liquid - https://www.amazon.in/ESY-Windscreen.../dp/B09KCC3DMH

2) Preyank Solar Resin Windshield Kits - https://www.amazon.in/Windshield-Win...dp/B079YT1LPG/

3) Permatex 16067 Bullseye Windshield Repair Kit - https://www.amazon.in/Permatex-09103...000ALJ4MY?th=1

4) Rain-X 600001 Windshield Repair Kit - https://www.amazon.in/Rain-X-600001-.../dp/B00IPS4APU

Thanks a lot.

Monish

[rrk]

Originally Posted by monish_m

Hello All,

During the drive to Goa, encountered a treacherous stretch of broken roads, loose gravel / stones between Nelamangala and Tumkuru. Suffered a stone hit and small star marked crack on the windscreen. Drove on and returned safely.

Visited the workshop and the body shop team said we can safely drive on, unless the crack increases in size.

Planning for a slightly DIY fix and see many options.

Pls suggest if these work and can help + which of these options will work best.

1) Some kind of a filler liquid - https://www.amazon.in/ESY-Windscreen.../dp/B09KCC3DMH

2) Preyank Solar Resin Windshield Kits - https://www.amazon.in/Windshield-Win...dp/B079YT1LPG/

3) Permatex 16067 Bullseye Windshield Repair Kit - https://www.amazon.in/Permatex-09103...000ALJ4MY?th=1

4) Rain-X 600001 Windshield Repair Kit - https://www.amazon.in/Rain-X-600001-.../dp/B00IPS4APU

Thanks a lot.

Monish

Few weeks ago my Figo took a stone and windscreen chipped. It was like a mosquito on the windscreen.

I used Preyank Solar Resin Windshield Kits after watching few videos. There is marginal improvement, part of it I have to blame for my mistake to use lot of muscle power. I will planning to post the details in few days though. Based on my experience I can tell
1. this DIY helps; Youtube and other media helps
2. useful if the chip/crack is small (about finger nail). The bigger cracks may be possible but I am not a pro
3. useful if chip/crack is not directly in line of sight.
4. Want peace of mind, just replace the windscreen. I consider this is stop gap arrangement, may be for few months if you are lucky