If you find yourself driving around town where the roads meet and there’s a crack in your windshield, you may be tempted to call a random auto glass shop and schedule an appointment. Of course, you’ve probably heard that this can lead to higher costs or even worse service. If you feel like you’re being taken advantage of because of your situation, then it’s time to learn how to spot a bad windshield replacement.
Signs of an Bad Windshield Replacement
Here are 6 signs that can help you spot a bad windshield replacement and take the precautionary steps before it’s too late.
Sign 1. The Rattling Sound Inside The Car Cabin
The rattling sound inside the car cabin is very disturbing. It can be irritating at times. However, this rattling sound is not always a cause of concern. There are many reasons that are responsible for this rattling sound inside the car cabin. The most common is a poorly installed car windshield.
Rattling sound is produced if the car windscreen is not properly placed by your auto glass company. The misalignment of the car windshield causes a rattling sound that can be really annoying. It also compromises safety as a misplaced windshield has no strength or stability.
Sign 2: Water Seepage
Water seepage through glass corners or sunroof corners can be caused due to poor application of adhesive. It requires a skilled technician to apply glass adhesive to your car frame during an auto glass installation. If the adhesive bead is not even there is always a probability of water getting inside the car cabin under high-pressure wash or during continuous rain.
Sign 3. Bad Quality Glass
Another aspect of a poor auto glass replacement is the glass quality. Most reputed auto glass experts use OEM glass for replacement, but some may not prefer genuine glass due to higher costs. Low-grade car glass can be determined through its quality. If you have any issues regarding visibility, transparency, or light spreading during the night, you need to reconsider glass quality.
Sign 4. Gaps In A-Frame
Any auto glass installation having a gap in glass and its frame can cause a whooshing sound inside the car cabin. It also increases cabin noise level as you will hear more sounds from surrounding due to a hole or a gap between your car windshield glass and its body. One major reason behind this is the poor workmanship, where your auto glass technician doesn’t bother to clear the old adhesive and fitted a new windshield over the old bead. It creates porous gaps in old and new adhesive layers allowing air and noise inside the car cabin.
Sign 5: Rushing Off
A glass expert who is not giving proper time to the glass installation does more harm. Rushing through the auto glass installation process can result in poor adhesive application, wrong glass fitting, improper wiper installation, or in an extreme case it may lead to breakage of glass at the time of installation.
Sign 6: Under-staff In The Car Glass Workshop
One of the most important things to car glass store owners is to know how many people they need for a job. A car front glass replacement needs a team of at least 2 skilled technicians. This is to support the removal of the old windscreen, application of glass adhesive, fitting glass molding, and placing a new windshield correctly on the car frame. If the workshop doesn’t have enough staff to complete the glass installation process, it can lead to a poor replacement due to an unintentional human error.
What Causes A Poor Auto Glass Installation?
Let’s check out how you can avoid a poor auto glass replacement. To do so you need to know the reasons which cause a poor windshield installation.
1st Cause: Poor Quality Products
Use of poor quality products during auto glass replacement like glass, adhesive, molding, trims or sensor brackets can compromise installation. This is the major cause of poor installation. Quality compromise in case of glass or adhesive can lead to an unable windscreen that can go off the frame during a car crash resulting in poor passenger safety.
2nd Cause: Using Improper Tools
Auto glass replacement is a specialized field and needs special tools to complete the glass replacement job. Using improper tools like clutch wire for removing old windshields or not using glass lifters while placing new windshields on frames can cause improper windshield placement. Some glass experts don’t use industry-recommended windshield replacement tools to reduce cost which in turn compromises their service quality.
3rd Cause: Untrained Technicians
Poor windshield replacement can be caused due to improper technician training. To keep up with the latest updates regarding auto glass technology and car models it is necessary that glass stores impart proper and timely training to their technicians. These mid carrier trainings improve overall industry standard and service quality. It also avoids many human errors as technicians learn from their peers regarding different issues faced by them while handling new car windshields and sensors.
4th Cause: Driving Right After Installtion
All car glass experts suggest waiting for at least an hour before driving a car with a new windshield installation. This waiting period is called Safe Drive Away Time (SDAT). This ensures that the glass adhesive is cured enough that a small jerk while driving will not impact the glass position. Sometimes glass installers don’t bother to educate customer regarding SDAT and sometimes customer avoids waiting due to a busy schedule.
How to Select A Reputed Car Glass Expert?
Selecting a reputed car glass replacement company that uses genuine products and has years of experience in glass replacement is the right thing to do. A car glass expert like Windshield Store never compromises with the product quality and always tells you to give priority to genuine car glass. Timely staff training, using specialized tools, insurance tie-ups, and good customer reviews are a few things that you can look for while selecting a car glass installer for you.
Conclusion: Our article on how to spot a bad windshield replacement will arm you with the knowledge needed to choose a reputable company. Using the tips in this article, you can ensure that your windshield replacement is done right and you don’t end up paying hundreds of dollars for a botched job.