A windshield repair is needed when your front or rear windshield has a small crack or chip. Our technicians inject a special resin into the damaged area before polishing to restore the glass's close to its original form as possible.
A windshield replacement occurs when auto glass damage is too large to repair and the technician must replace the entire part using our true seal technology.
A recalibration follows a windshield replacement. Specialty trained technicians use advanced equipment and processes to recalibrate the camera connected to the front windshield. This ensures the advanced safety system features, like automatic emergency braking or lane keep assist, all work as the vehicle manufacturer intended following your service.
When it comes to auto glass, we have a repair first mindset. So if we can repair it, we will. However, there are instances when a replacement becomes necessary For example, if you have more than three chips or cracks, if the damage blocks your field of vision or the damage sits in the forward facing camera's line of sight, you'll likely need a replacement. Our expert technicians can confirm your exact service needs after they've inspected the damage.
We will repair cracks that are smaller than six inches.
No. In some cases, through no fault of the repair technician, the attempt to repair a windshield can result in the chip or crack becoming larger. However, we can guarantee that upon completion of a successful repair, the chip or crack will not crack further and that the repair will pass any state vehicle inspection, or we will credit the cost of the repair toward a replacement.
In the very rare event that this occurs, we will credit the cost of the repair either toward a new windshield or, in the event of insurance work, back to the insurance company. Read our windshield repair limited warranty for more details.
No. A windshield chip or crack repair is used to prevent further damage to your glass and to restore the structural integrity of the vehicle. While each incident of damage is unique, with most successful repairs, a slight blemish or imperfection where the impact occurred is normal. In most cases, you should expect the cosmetic appearance of the repair to show some improvement as compared to the damage prior to the repair.
It does occasionally happen that the technician will determine upon inspecting your vehicle, that the windshield damage calls for a full replacement instead of a repair. If that happens, we'll update your service order and determine if we have your vehicle's specific glass part on hand. And if we need more time to access your part, we'll help you with rescheduling too.
If your vehicle has advanced safety systems, things like automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, and forward collision warning use data from a camera connected to your front windshield to keep you safe. If your windshield is damaged and needs to be replaced, having this camera recalibrated is a must before heading back out on the road. Recalibration is the process of realigning the forward facing camera using precision technology in a controlled environment, so your advanced safety systems continue to work correctly. It's about safety. Which is why all vehicle manufacturers require camera recalibration after a windshield replacement.
Newer vehicles come equipped with advanced safety systems, things like automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, and forward collision warning that act as an extra set of eyes and ears to keep you safe while you're driving. These systems use data from a camera connected to your windshield. Most vehicle manufacturers require that this camera be recalibrated after a windshield replacement, so your safety features continue to work properly. Safelite's technicians are experts in recalibration and can usually perform both the replacement and the recalibration in a single appointment for your convenience.
Advanced safety system recalibrations can be performed as a mobile service and in shop service or some combination of the two. Depending on your vehicle and type of service needed, our technicians might have to perform either a static recalibration, otherwise known as an in-shop recalibration or dynamic recalibration, otherwise known as a mobile recalibration. An in-shop recalibration is needed when our techs require a controlled environment. A mobile recalibration requires driving the vehicle at a set speed on well marked roads. Again, which type you'll need depends on your specific vehicle and your built in safety systems.
The initial calibration of your safety systems is done in the auto manufacturer's facility in rooms designed to maximize the effectiveness of the systems. So when your systems need recalibrated, we need to replicate those conditions as much as possible using our recalibration base as a controlled environment.
We can often service multiple vehicles during a single visit depending on part and technician availability. You'll simply need to schedule a separate appointment for each vehicle.
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