Road trips · 5 min read
The South Bay Road-Trip Auto Glass Checklist
Heading up PCH, over the Grapevine or out the 15 to Vegas? Check your glass before you leave the coast, not in Baker.
By the South Bay Auto Glass Co. team ·
A South Bay road trip usually starts in cool, damp coastal air and ends somewhere very different: 110° in Baker on the way to Vegas, the long grades of the Grapevine, or the curves of PCH past Malibu and up toward Big Sur. Those changes are hard on glass that already has a chip. Run through this checklist in your driveway before you leave.
The pre-trip auto glass checklist
- Look for chips and cracks. Check the windshield from outside in good light. Any chip bigger than a pencil eraser is worth repairing before you go.
- Replace your wiper blades if they streak, chatter or leave haze. Sand and salt near the beach wear them out quickly.
- Top off washer fluid with a bug-remover formula. Desert highways leave the glass covered in bugs.
- Check your mirrors. Cracked mirror glass or a loose housing will only get worse at 75 mph. We replace side mirror glass on site.
- Test the door windows. A window that's slow or off its track can drop or break on a long drive.
- Inspect the sunroof seal if you have one. A tired seal will whistle at freeway speed and leak in a storm.
- Clean the camera area behind the rearview mirror. Driver-assist cameras need a clear view to work well on long highway stretches.
- Pack a sunshade. It keeps the glass (and the cabin) cooler at every stop.
Why trips from the coast are hard on glass
A car that spends its life in the South Bay's mild weather hasn't been tested by extremes. Drive it from a 65° morning in Torrance to 105° at a gas stop in Barstow, then blast the AC, and a small chip gets a big temperature swing in a very short time. Add heavy truck traffic on the 15 and the 5, plus gravel on mountain grades, and road trips are when most small chips turn into cracks.
If you get a chip on the road
- Put clear tape over it at your next stop to keep it clean and dry.
- Point AC vents away from the glass, and use a sunshade whenever you park.
- Leave extra distance behind trucks and gravel haulers for the rest of the trip.
- Call us when you get home. We can come to your driveway the day after you unpack.
Repairs worth doing before you leave
A chip repair takes about 30 minutes in your driveway, and many insurers cover it at no cost to you. It's the cheapest insurance you can buy for a long drive. If your windshield is already cracked, replace it before the trip. Long drives with heat swings are exactly the conditions that make a crack spread across the glass.
