What You Need to Know About Car Back Glass Replacement

3 MIN READ | AUGUST 8, 2023

Many of us would be familiar with front windshield replacements. While replacing your car’s back glass may feel more unfamiliar, it’s actually more common than you may expect. Your rear windshield is still vulnerable to damage, but there are significant differences between the kind of glass used for the front and the rear.

Understanding these differences is important to fully comprehend the car back glass replacement process. To help you become more familiar with this process, here are the top things you need to know about car back glass replacement.

How Rear Window Damage Occurs

Before covering how a car’s back glass can become damaged, it’s important to reiterate that the glass used on the front and rear is different. There are different types of glass used throughout your vehicle.

The front windshield is made of laminated glass composed of two sheets of auto glass bonded with a layer of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) or other adhesive resin. Meanwhile, the rear window of an automobile is typically made from tempered glass. Tempered glass is traditional glass that has been treated with heat, pressure, or chemicals to strengthen it.

A few reasons your rear windshield can develop damage include:

Glass Stress Caused By Temperature Fluctuations:

Glass expands when heated and contracts when cool. Since the rear glass is tempered, it can usually withstand changes in temperature. But if the car’s back glass heats up or cools down too quickly, it can break due to thermal stress.

Impacts From Debris on or off the Road:

Many rear windshield damage occurs when hard objects impact them. This can include items such as stones, branches, hail, or even things like baseball strike them.

Auto Collisions:

Like all other automobile windows, a vehicle’s rear window can break due to an auto accident.

It generally takes more force and impact to break a rear window. Even though tempered glass tends to be stronger than laminated glass, it is still susceptible to glass hazards.

Why Damaged Rear Windows Should Always Be Replaced

One of the most important things to know about car back glass replacement is that it is the only solution for a damaged rear window. Because the rear windshield is made of tempered glass, it is designed to be broken through in the event of an emergency.

Small cracks or chips in a rear windshield made of tempered glass can jeopardize the entire glass panel’s structural integrity. Even if your car’s back glass is only minorly or mildly damaged, these windows have been known to “spontaneously” shatter when a vehicle is being driven. This happens because the vehicle’s vibration on the road shakes the rear windshield.

A damaged rear window is more likely to crack or shatter, therefore requiring a glass replacement in most cases. If your rear window shatters while driving, it poses a hazard to vehicle occupants and other drivers on the road.

Convenient Car Back Glass Replacement Services in Calgary

Whether you need your front windshield repair or a back glass replacement, we can help! We make every effort to provide you with reliable windshield repair and replacement so you can be back on the road safely.

Mobile Windshield Replacement prioritizes our customer’s time and convenience without compromising on quality and professional service. Call or text us at (403) 992-9222 or fill out our online request form for an instant quote.