Before you leave Houston via I-45 or I-10 this holiday, remember this unfortunate truth: auto glass damage is often triggered by the smallest issue, making it the fastest way to ruin your holiday travels. Regardless of how minor the existing damage to your windshield may be, the reality is that long road trips can turn even a minor crack into a ticking time bomb. Even the slightest jostle or a stray piece of debris can turn an inexpensive repair into an expensive windshield replacement that derails your travel plans. Holiday travel is already stressful and chaotic as it is, from traffic to kids misbehaving, to dealing with extended family, don’t let auto glass damage turn your holiday into a nightmare. At Affordable Auto Glass, we provide the most reliable services, from windshield repairs to replacements, to keep you and your family safe on the road, wherever it takes you.
Many Houston road-trippers might think that a small chip in their car’s windshield is merely a cosmetic flaw; the truth is that it can easily turn into a significant, costly, and expensive fix in the blink of an eye. Use this blog as your guide to learning about why auto glass repair is necessary before a road trip if you want to keep your holiday plans running smoothly.
Why Windshield Damage Is Vital For Road Trip Safety
Although a chip might look like more of an aesthetic nuisance than a serious defect, the reality is that oftentimes these small bullseye chips are actually just the eye of the oncoming storm. Laminated glass is what makes modern car windshields safer. The structure of laminated glass is what gives it its strength and safety features. They design this by sandwiching a thick layer of plastic laminate, such as PVB, between two panes of glass. While this feat increases structural integrity, airbag support, and damage resistance, laminated glass relies on a smooth surface to work.
This is because high-strength glass, like laminated glass or tempered glass, is designed to optimize something called internal tension or stress within the glass pane. Once a physical defect has occurred on an outer layer of laminated glass, the tension moves to the inner plastic layer – creating a less rigid, more flexible surface that is significantly less safe for you and your passengers.
What makes a compromised windshield so unsafe? Many Houston drivers don’t realize the importance of a windshield, but the truth is that it plays two critical roles during accidents that can make a huge difference in the outcome:
- Roof Support: During a serious accident, like a rollover event, the windshield actually plays a large role in preventing your car’s roof from collapsing in on you. When the glass is compromised by chips and cracks, it becomes weaker and less efficient at protecting you from worse injuries.
- Airbag Deployment: When your vehicle’s airbags deploy, they rely on forceful forward motion to protect you from life-threatening impacts. The windshield acts like a powerful backstop during the deployment, so if the pane is weakened, the airbag may not be able to fully protect you from the force of the accident.
The Road Trip Triggers That Worsen Auto Glass Damage
Road trips can trigger anything, even your auto glass. They are oftentimes long, stressful, and filled with constant questions such as “Are we there yet?”. However, the one thing that can take a stressful holiday road trip across Houston from bad to worse is a windshield catastrophe that ends with your entire family waiting hours for unexpected auto glass repair, dampening spirits and delaying your holiday plans.
The three biggest auto glass stressors that happen during a road trip are temperature changes, vibrations, and sunlight. Temperature can take a small chip and turn it into a deep, long crack because of thermal expansion. This primarily takes place when you turn the defroster or AC on full blast. The immediate and jarring shift in temperature can make the pane instantly expand internally, cause chips to spread into cracks, and crack turn into longer, more severe damage.
Next, another huge factor in long holiday road trips is the inevitable jostling and potholes that your vehicle will encounter on the way to your final destination. When your car hits a bump in the road, it causes the entire windshield to flex with the frame of the vehicle. If there are long cracks in your pane, this flexing can cause it to widen greatly, turning into more significant damage.
Lastly, road trips from Houston are usually an all-day affair. Because of this, the intense sunlight during peak driving hours can heat the windshield glass unevenly, which increases thermal tension and increases the existing breakage and its severity.
The True Price of Windshield Glass Repair Procrastination
Nothing can take a long holiday road trip from bad to worse faster than that all-too-familiar sound of a loud crack stretching across your windshield. Not only can this unexpected emergency auto glass repair add hours onto your already extended road trip plan, but it can also be significantly more expensive than a typical, standard upkeep repair would have been.
The biggest benefit of repairing a damaged windshield before it worsens (or you embark on a long holiday road trip) is that a simple chip repair is much less expensive than a full windshield replacement. In most cases, a windshield chip repair will never cost more than $100, while a full emergency windshield replacement on the road could cost upwards of $80, depending on what small town you have to reroute to in order to receive the service. Because of this reason alone, investing in proactive windshield maintenance from a trusted, Houston-based auto glass company like Affordable Auto Glass is worth the time and effort before leaving on your road trip.
The Simple Solution: Prevention with Local Auto Glass Experts
If you want to set your family up for holiday road trip success this season, then it is essential to invest in proactive auto glass repair before hitting the Houston roads bright and early. At Affordable Auto Glass, our windshield repair services are fast, affordable, and highly durable. We understand that holiday travels can be immensely stressful, so let us help you have the safest and smoothest road trip yet with our auto glass repair services.
Before you hit the road this holiday season, remember these four essential tips for road trip windshield glass safety:
- Do: Get any chips or cracks repaired before you leave Houston. Don’t get stuck relying on the service stations on the way; see us at Affordable Auto Glass for top-tier service and prices.
- Don’t: Use any high-pressure car washes before a holiday road trip. Drive-through car washes can cause severe auto glass damage or worsen existing cracks.
- Don’t: Blast your defroster or AC if you have any windshield damage.
- Don’t: Try to opt for a DIY fix, such as nail polish or kits from the internet. These are typically the fastest ways to worsen damage and waste your time. Let the professionals help you ensure your windshield is safe and sound.
Don’t like auto glass repair ruining your holiday road trip plans. Our team at Affordable Auto Glass in Houston can help make sure your car’s windshield is road trip-ready in minutes. Contact us today for a free auto glass repair estimate.