Winter is the season that puts the harshest tests not only on the driver's nerves, but also on the physical endurance of his car. One of the most unpleasant and expensive "gifts" that the cold can bring us is a suddenly blooming crack on the windshield. It turns out that in 90% of cases the fault lies not in the quality of the glass itself, but in a series of strategic mistakes that we make in our attempts to warm up faster.
The main enemy of triplex is not the cold itself, but thermal shock
Imagine the glass as a living organism that literally shrinks from the icy embrace of January. When you get into the car and immediately direct the powerful jet of the heater to the maximum at the window, you create a deadly temperature difference. While the inside of the glass expands under the influence of hot air, the outside remains frozen in ice. The result? Physical tension, which easily turns into a “spider web“, especially if the glass already has microscopic defects that are even invisible to the eye. The correct approach is to gradually warm up the cabin – first heat the air in the space itself to 10-15°C and only then smoothly direct the jet to the glass.
Another critical mistake is neglecting the small “cavities” of pebbles collected in the summer
In winter, every small hole becomes a moisture trap. When the water inside freezes, it expands with enormous force, acting like a wedge that splits the glass from the inside out. Ignoring such defects before the first sub-zero temperatures is an almost certain recipe for replacing the entire glass in February.
Last but not least, there is the issue of “barbaric” cleaning. There are still crazy videos circulating on the Internet of pouring hot water on the windshield - a method that is the shortest route to the service station. Using metal objects, credit cards or old wipers on a layer of ice creates micro-grooves that weaken the structure of the glass. Also, do not forget that the windshield is a structural element of the body. During a cold start, engine vibrations and the twisting of the metal in bends transfer a huge load to it. If it is already weakened by temperature shock or rough bumps, it will simply give way under the pressure of physics.