[ariesonu]

Originally Posted by sachinjoseph

Hello everyone. I am new to this platform and so, please excuse if this topic has already been discussed. I did do a search here to find if anyone has spoken about it but couldn't find any.
I travel a bit on highways and some times, there would be a flying stone that would hit the windshield.Thank you.

There indeed is an thread on that since 2012

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...indscreen.html (Flying pebbles damaging the Windscreen!)

You may ask MODS to merge your thread.

Regards

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Anything that is a sheath can break and could potentially cause contents from reaching the other side when least expected! Some of us probably know this.

On the contrary, a PPF film will offer a great deal of protection from common road chips. Yes if someone flings a huge granite on the windshield it may eventually break, but in such a scenario also PPF will act as an additional layer of protection, similar to how lamination works in the glass. Laminated glass doesn't fall off coz it has an in-between layer that holds it together (layman explanation).

[Kosfactor]

Stone Shield for a windshield.

We use a glass cleaner to remove even the slightest bit of oil \ grease \ dirt and dust from
the windshield before heading out, especially in the night. The last thing you want is a
plastic film over an already laminated glass.

Consider the crack as a one off incident, replace and move on. It is a good practice to keep distance from the vehicle ahead of you however stones that get ejected from a truck etc can still bounce around and hit your windshield, no matter what vehicle it is.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

There are protection films for windshields that can be added. Recently was shared by fellow Mod Vidyut. Don't know how effective it would be or how long it would last in our Indian conditions, but definitely worth a try for expensive cars.

Link: https://madico.com/dealers/automotiv...tion/clearplex

Attachment 2120378

Have seen several sportscars getting this fitted before track days. 4sauto at Tardeo is doing the fitments for most of his clients.

[rajesh1868]

Well, not really about protection but in the unfortunate event of getting a crack, I have a Windshield cover added in my insurance. It is about Rs 200.

Added this after a pebble cracked my windshield and I had to replace it.

[2000rpm]

I got a small scratch on my windscreen due to small pebble flying from the other side of the road.

You cant really avoid this, unless you seal all the windows and install cameras for 360 virtual view! #SciFi

[Bibendum90949]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

In my experience, if you are driving at legal speeds, flying pebbles rarely damage your windscreen. The more aggressive/fast you are driving, the more chances of the windshield cracking. I have never had a cracked windshield in any of our cars right from 1989. However, my 2013 BMW 3 series has suffered 3 cracks due to the same.

i've had my windshield cracked thrice in last 10 years, twice by a flying stone on a highway and and the third time a falling small dry tree branch caused the crack. On highways it's luck most of the times, as keeping large distance from the truck/bus in the front isn't always possible though one tries their best. Even the smallest of stones can crack your windshield especially when the cabin is pressurized with ac on and windows up. Yes higher the speed, larger the impact and more possibility of a crack. Another reason to drive sedately on our highways.

[vikred]

AFAIK, there's no fix to this. Smaller debris chips the windshield, which is easier to fix (even as a DIY). Bigger debris cracks the windshield, needing replacement. Depending on where you live, it could be illegal to drive a vehicle with a cracked windshield.

I wouldn't apply any plastic film on the outside. Not only it is illegal, it may get scratched much more easily than glass, impairing frontal visibility.

Not just in India, even in the US, chips are very common. When I bought my used Toyota RAV4 in 2018, there were a few chips on the windshield, all of them were as small as a rice grain. Even with my limited and careful driving in the last three years, I wasn't able to avoid adding more microscopic chips to it. When you're doing 80mph on a freeway, you can't avoid them.

[landcruiser123]

Don't drive behind a truck/larger vehicles for too long. That's it.

Any film on the outer side will affect visibility as it'll degrade in a few months.

[TrackDay]

Besides that large metal mosquito cage like setup on the exterior, I don't think any other options exist. Anything on the windshield impairs visibility. Fact.

On a lighter note this might be a good opportunity to convince your loved ones why you need to go for a Jeep

[pareekvirendra]

Hello guys,

I had a slightly off topic question. If I have asked the question on the wrong thread, I apologise and request the mods to collapse my question. A few days ago, whe driving, my car's windshield was hit by a pebble and it has left a small chip in the glass on the passenger side. The glass has not cracked, but there is a chip or crater, whatever you might call it.

So can I claim insurance if I replace my windshield glass on account of the chip?

It's on the passenger side, so it is not affecting my vision, but I find that chip irritating.

I live in a non metro city(Aurangabad), so we don't have windshield experts near here, who I can approach to fix the glass.

[2himanshu]

Came across this video on YouTube some time back, I have not tried it, maybe useful for some small chip damage on windshield.

Fix chip damage on windshield

The product is available on Amazon and I am in no way associated with it or Amazon

Regards

[hummer]

In my 20+ years of driving, I had two instances of windshield crack:

1. Coconut fell on my ZEN windshield, got replaced by Windshield Experts claiming the insurance.
Lesson learnt: Never park under coconut tree.

2. I was tailing a Fortuner in my Duster at good speed on a highway. Small stone hit made a minute crack on the Windshield. Crack expanded a little and stopped. Yet to replace the Windshield.
Lessons learnt: Never tail speeding vehicles having high ground clearance. After getting hit, drive slow so that crack doesn't expand and probably can be repaired.

[Bsimhan]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Jokes apart, how many times an event like this can happen during say few years of driving? I think it is an extreme rare case - that a flying debris capable of cracking the windshield actually hitting the windshield. May be maintaining distance from vehicles that poses such a risk is the best solution.

It does happen believe me. There was one small pebble which flew from the opposite lane right in front of the driver side windscreen. It flew in at eye level and chipped the glass slightly. This small notch grew 2 cracks on the windscreen and overall it diameter of the crack was the size of a small coin. Had to replace the windscreen. Loved your idea of the shield by the way!!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Jokes apart, how many times an event like this can happen during say few years of driving? I think it is an extreme rare case - that a flying debris capable of cracking the windshield actually hitting the windshield. May be maintaining distance from vehicles that poses such a risk is the best solution.

I am with you there .

Both my cars have experienced considerable highways and have clocked more than 200K each. Highways included both single carriageways and dual. In these many years, it was just once that my Ertiga's windscreen developed a web crack when a flying object hit the windscreen, that too from a truck coming from the opposite direction . This happened on the same day I renewed my insurance for the 2nd year and my car wasn't even a year old.

Today, its more than 7 years old and not a single instance of something flying from and damaging the windscreen and yes, in its 6th year I replaced the windscreen more so because there was a linear crack on one of the mornings due to whatever reasons and totally unrelated to the web crack that neither expanded further nor deteriorated in the next 6 years.