I just found a crack in my windshield recently along the bottom part of it. It's not in my line of site and is really only a problem as far as looks go, but I was wondering if I could cause any further damage by waiting till the weather got warmer? The crack dead ends on the bottom of the windshield at both ends so I don't think there is any chance of the crack growing. My deductible is $500 so this is going to hurt no matter what.

-Greg

 

Definitely a weak point...I'd get it replaced if you have the money.

 

If there is no evidence of an impact causing the crack, take the car to a dealer and request a replacement under your warranty. This would not be the first case of cracked windshields. Search the forum for threads related to this "problem".

 

Definitely give the run at the warranty replacement at bash, and if that doesn't work out, well, wait until it is warmer then. It's not a safety hazard - the windshield is two pieces of hardened glass glued together on a sticky optically-clear laminate that protects against penetration. Your outer layer is cracked.

 

Also check with your insurance company. Windshields come under the comprehensive portion of your policy which usually has a much lower or no deductable. It also doesn't count against you. I have had 5 replaced fro free and 3 fixed at no charge with State Farm.

 

thanks for all the advice...

and yes, there's the SLIGHTEST impact point on the crack so I know warranty won't cover it...

Also, there are so many of these cases with the 8's that such a fragile windshield should be on Mazda to fix, not us, atleast that's what I think. I wonder if there is a precedent for normal road wear causing damage to a part that was of bad quality to begin with....I guess I'm just annoyed with the quality. I think I'm going to have to go with PPG glass I've been reading about on the forum.

-Greg

 

I think the problem may be that the low profile of the front end makes the windshield more likely to be hit from rocks or gravel coming off the tires of other vehicles (SUVs etc.). I had one crack too and what started out as a small star near the rearview mirror quickly developed into cracks running to each border of the windshield. I don't think this will happen here though since the cracks are already ending at the border on either end.

 

I lowered my colision deductable to $100 from $500 just because the small increase in premium justified it in Houston. I have two cracks in my company car and this is the second windshield in 3 years.