When you take your car in for a state inspection, your focus is understandably on the wheels, brakes, and other parts that can cause your car to fail. However, there’s something else you need to think about: the auto glass. That includes your front and back windshields, windows, and side mirrors. Cracks and chips in the glass can impair the driver’s visibility or expand and cause the glass to shatter, so your car may fail inspection if your auto glass isn’t up to snuff. To ensure your car passes inspection, it’s best to take care of auto glass repair first.
How can damaged auto glass make your car fail a state inspection? Here are the most common reasons.
Cracks, Chips, or Distortion
The inspector will flag Anything that impairs the driver’s vision. Sometimes, small chips or cracks will not be a problem for the inspection if they are not in the driver’s line of vision and do not threaten the integrity of the windshield. However, small cracks can expand, so you should get them repaired even if your car passes inspection.
Auto glass can also be distorted, whether due to faulty manufacturing or damage. Distortion in auto glass usually looks like waves or an uneven surface. The only way to fix distorted glass is to replace the entire panel.
Improper Installation or Repair
If you recently had your windshield or other auto glass repaired or replaced, you could still fail inspection if it was done wrong. Poorly done repairs to a chip or crack can make a driver’s visibility even worse, and badly installed glass can crack or even shatter. These problems pose a problem to you and other drivers on the road, so it’s important to always use a reliable and experienced technician for auto glass repair.
Broken or Missing Glass
Broken or missing glass are the most obvious issues that will result in an inspection failure. Severely Broken glass will not protect the driver and will disrupt the integrity of the rest of the glass. Auto glass rarely only breaks in one place. Given time, cracks will spread and cause further damage, requiring more expensive repairs.
