Somebody on the 401 threw a stone at you, and now there’s a chip staring back at you from the windshield. The question you actually care about is simple: is this a $100 fix or a new windshield?
Most of the time we can tell you over the phone. Here are the same three checks our techs run, so you can size it up yourself before you call anyone.
Test 1: Size
Hold a toonie over the chip. If the coin covers the whole thing, the impact point and any little legs running off it, it’s almost certainly repairable.
Once damage grows past that, resin has a harder job. Cracks longer than about 8 cm are replacement territory, and a crack that has “run” (a line wandering across the glass) can’t be repaired at all in any way we’d put our name on. Some shops will inject a long crack anyway. We don’t, because it fails, usually within the season.
Test 2: Location
Two spots on the glass change the answer regardless of size.
The first is the driver’s direct sightline, roughly the area your wipers sweep in front of the steering wheel. A repair stops the damage from spreading, but it leaves a faint blemish, like a small water droplet frozen in the glass. In your sightline, that blemish catches sunlight and oncoming headlights. Most techs, us included, will steer you to replacement for anything dead-centre in your view. It’s not upselling; it’s the difference between glass you forget about and glass that annoys you every night drive.
The second is the edge. A chip within about 5 cm of the windshield’s edge sits in the zone that carries the glass’s structural load. Damage there spreads fast and weakens the whole panel, so edge chips usually mean replacement even when they’re tiny.
Test 3: Depth
Your windshield is a sandwich: two layers of glass with a plastic layer bonded between them. Chip repair only works when the damage is in the outer layer.
Run a fingernail across the inside of the glass. If you can feel the damage from inside the car, or the chip looks white and crushed rather than clean-edged, the break has gone through to the middle layer. Resin can’t fix that.
The classic repairable breaks, bullseyes, stars, half-moons, all live in the outer layer. If you’re not sure what you’re looking at, send us a photo through the estimate form and we’ll tell you straight.
What a repair actually involves
The repair takes about half an hour. The tech pulls the air and moisture out of the break under vacuum, injects a clear resin, cures it with UV light, and polishes it flush. Done properly, it restores most of the glass’s strength and the chip stops growing. Done badly, the resin traps air or moisture and the chip cracks anyway, which is why the “do it soon” advice matters more than people think.
One thing worth knowing: repair is not cosmetic magic. Expect the chip to become 80-95% less visible, not invisible. If a shop promises it’ll disappear completely, they’re overselling.
What it costs in Ontario
A single chip repair typically runs $60, $150 around here, and additional chips on the same visit cost less. Replacement is a different bracket: mainstream vehicles usually land somewhere between $300 and $700, and windshields with rain sensors, heating elements, or a camera behind the mirror run higher, partly because cars with a camera need ADAS recalibration after the glass is swapped. We do that calibration in-house, which is worth asking about wherever you go, because a shop that subs it out is adding a second appointment to your week.
The other number that matters: if you carry comprehensive coverage, many Ontario insurers waive the deductible entirely for a chip repair. They’d rather pay for a $100 repair now than a $600 replacement later, so a repair often costs you nothing out of pocket. Check your policy or ask us, we deal with the insurers daily and can usually tell you where you stand in one call.
Until you get it fixed
Two things, today. Put a piece of clear packing tape over the chip, it keeps dirt and water out of the break, which keeps the repair clean. And go easy on temperature swings: don’t aim a full-blast defroster at it in winter or pour hot water near it. Sudden heat on cold glass is how a two-week-old chip becomes a crack on a Tuesday morning.
Chips don’t heal and they don’t stay put. Every cold night and every pothole is a chance for it to run, and once it runs, the cheap fix is off the table.
Frequently asked questions
How much does windshield chip repair cost in Ontario?
Usually $60, $150 for a single chip, and often $0 out of pocket if you have comprehensive insurance, because many insurers waive the deductible for repairs. An exact quote takes about two minutes through our estimate form.
How long can I drive with a chipped windshield?
There’s no safe fixed number, a chip can sit unchanged for months or run into a crack overnight, and temperature swings are usually what decide it. Tape over it, avoid blasting the defroster at it, and get it assessed within a few days rather than a few weeks.
Will a repaired chip be invisible?
No. A good repair makes the chip 80-95% less visible and stops it from spreading, but a faint mark stays in the glass. That’s normal, and it’s why damage in the driver’s direct sightline is usually better handled with replacement.
Are DIY chip repair kits worth it?
For a small bullseye on an older vehicle you’re not fussy about, a careful DIY job can hold. The catch is that kit resin cures permanently, if the DIY attempt fails, a professional repair is no longer possible and you’re into replacement. If your insurer covers repairs with no deductible, the kit saves you nothing.
Do I need camera recalibration after a chip repair?
No. Recalibration only comes into play when the windshield is replaced on a vehicle with driver-assist cameras or sensors. A resin repair doesn’t disturb the camera’s view, so there’s nothing to recalibrate.