Some of the hottest days of the year occur during the summer months. While you might revel in the outdoor activities and BBQ dinners associated with summer, the extreme temperatures that accompany the summer months can wreak havoc on your car's windshield.
Learn more about the ways the summer heat can affect your windshield so that you will be better prepared to spot and repair temperature-related auto glass damage in the future.
1. Increases the Risk of Developing a Crack
The windshield is the primary source of visibility in your car. Cracks in the windshield have the potential to bend and refract any sunlight shining through them. This type of visual phenomenon can actually leave you blinded for a few seconds.
The hotter temperatures during the summer months can weaken the integrity of your windshield. Temperature fluctuations between day and night can cause the glass to become brittle.
All it takes is a single door slam to start a crack developing in your auto glass. You can help avoid this type of damage by using a windshield cover or parking your car in the shade to reduce temperature fluctuations.
2. Increases Exposure to Sudden Temperature Change
Most drivers associate a sudden temperature change with the shift from warm weather to freezing temperatures. While these dramatic shifts can certainly damage your auto glass, there is a more innocuous type of temperature change that can affect your vehicle in the summer.
The first thing you probably do after starting your car on a hot summer day is turn up the air conditioner.
Running the AC on full blast can cause your car's interior to cool very quickly. The sudden shift from hot to cold inside the cab of your vehicle could cause the windshield to crack. Gradually cool your car to help avoid this damage.
3. Causes Existing Damage to Worsen
If your windshield already has a crack or chip, the summer heat could cause these types of damage to become worse.
Shifts in temperature can cause cracks to spread. The vibrations generated on a long summer road trip can cause a chip to begin cracking outward.
Be sure that you monitor your windshield for damage closely, and invest in immediate repairs so that exposure to the summer heat doesn't cause your auto glass damage to become worse.
An experienced auto glass repair technician will be able to help you protect your windshield against the damages that can be caused by any summer heat wave.
