A cracked windshield used to be a cheap repair. On a modern vehicle the glass carries the sensors that run the driver assistance systems, and replacing it means recalibrating them.
Recalibration is a separate line on the bill and it is frequently more than the glass itself.
Three things about glass on a car built after about 2018.
Lane keeping, automatic braking and adaptive cruise control rely on a camera mounted to the windshield. Replace the glass and that camera must be recalibrated to the vehicle, often by a dealer with specific equipment. A job that was once a couple of hundred dollars can run well into four figures, and skipping the recalibration leaves safety systems reading the road wrongly.
Windshield damage is a comprehensive claim, and whether a separate glass deductible applies varies by carrier. Some offer full glass cover as an inexpensive endorsement, which on a modern vehicle is worth considerably more than it used to be.
Not all replacement glass supports the sensor package correctly. Whether your policy allows you to insist on manufacturer glass, or pays only for aftermarket, is a specific term worth knowing on a newer car.
Glass terms that mattered less five years ago.
Inexpensive, and far more valuable on a sensor-equipped vehicle.
It applies to glass unless a separate glass provision says otherwise.
Original equipment versus aftermarket decides whether calibration succeeds.
Tell us the year and model of each vehicle. Driver assistance changes the glass conversation.
We check the glass terms, which matter far more on a recent vehicle.
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