Windshield Replacement in Lexington, NC and Davidson County

Winston-Salem Auto Glass is Impex Auto Glass serving Winston-Salem and the towns around it, Lexington included. Impex has shops in Greensboro and Charlotte and none in Lexington, so the technician comes to your car: at home, at work, or wherever it is safely parked.

The roads that crack Lexington windshields

I-85. The interstate runs along Lexington’s south-east side, carrying long-distance freight between Charlotte and Greensboro. Fast traffic, heavy trucks and lane changes around the interchanges make it the most common source of chips for commuters heading either way.

I-285 and US 52. I-285 runs 23.49 miles from a partial interchange with I-85 on Lexington’s south-west side to I-40 in Winston-Salem, signed together with US 52 the whole way. The I-285 signs went up in 2018, so you will see both numbers on the same road. It is the daily route for anyone who works in Winston-Salem and lives in Lexington.

US 64, US 29 and US 70, NC 8 and NC 47. These cross in and around the city. Together they bring traffic in from every side of the county, and High Rock Lake lies about 11 miles south-west of the city.

North Carolina requires loads of rock, gravel and stone on trucks over 7,500 pounds to be kept six inches below the sides and covered with a tarp or similar (G.S. 20-116(g)). Loose stone is still common, from uncovered loads, from the shoulders and from tires. Most chips have no traceable source, and the windshield becomes your comprehensive claim, not the trucker’s.

Repair first, when it will hold

Searchers in Davidson County ask about windshield repair and auto glass repair as well as replacement, and for good reason: a chip caught early can often be filled instead of replaced. Impex’s test is that repair may be possible when the damage is small, shallow and away from the edges, and it calls a chip smaller than a quarter a small chip. The ROLAGS standard allows repair of stone breaks up to two inches across and single line cracks up to 14 inches, though most shops stay well inside those limits.

Repair matters more on newer cars, because it keeps the original windshield and with it the camera’s aim, so no calibration is needed. If you can, cover a fresh chip with clear tape to keep dirt and water out, and avoid blasting the defroster on it on a cold morning. Temperature swings are what turn a chip into a crack.

A Lexington windshield replacement, start to finish

1. Quote by VIN. Impex checks the glass against your vehicle identification number so the part has the right camera mount, sensors and tint band for your trim.
2. Time and place. You agree a time and a spot: a driveway, a garage, an employer’s lot. It needs room around the car, level ground and shelter if rain is likely.
3. Out with the old. Wipers, cowl and trim come off, the old urethane is cut and the damaged windshield lifted out.
4. In with the new. The frame is cleaned and prepared, a fresh bead of urethane laid, and the new windshield set and pressed in place.
5. Reassembly and calibration. Mirror, sensors, cowl and wipers go back on. If the car has a forward camera, Impex calibrates it on site after the glass is in.
6. Cure. You are told when it is safe to drive. Impex says most windshield replacements take about one hour plus a short cure, with most cars back on the road within two hours.

For 24 hours afterwards, skip the car wash and close the doors gently. The full detail of each step, and why the bond matters, is on the windshield replacement in Winston-Salem page.

Cameras on Lexington cars

If your car warns you when it drifts out of its lane or brakes on its own for a stopped car, the camera behind the mirror is part of the windshield job. I-CAR lists windshield removal as an event that may require the forward camera to be aimed again. Impex says it calibrates on site after replacement, static and dynamic in one visit, in 30 minutes to 2 hours. Dynamic calibration needs the car driven on suitable roads in dry weather, and the open stretches of I-285 and US 64 outside the busy hours often serve. More on the ADAS calibration page.

Commuting between Lexington and Winston-Salem

Many Lexington drivers spend an hour a day on I-285 and I-40. If that is you, the windshield can be replaced where the car sits all day: an employer’s car park in Winston-Salem works as well as a driveway in Lexington, and the car is ready to drive home once the technician says so. Tell Impex the address where the car will be, and whether the lot has covered parking, when you ask for the quote.

Pickups and vans that work out of Lexington, on construction sites or deliveries along I-85, pick up more chips than most. A windshield with several old chips in the driver’s view is a candidate for replacement even if no single chip is large, because each one scatters light at night and in low sun.

What to have ready

• The VIN, from the base of the windshield or the driver’s door frame.
• A photo of the damage, close up and from a step back.
• Whether the car has lane keeping, automatic braking or adaptive cruise.
• Your insurer and policy number, if you plan to claim.
• The address in Lexington or nearby where the car will be.

Insurance for a Lexington windshield

Glass breakage is covered under comprehensive in North Carolina, less your deductible: the NC Department of Insurance lists ‘Breakage of glass’ among comprehensive losses. North Carolina has no zero-deductible glass law, so what you pay depends on your policy. Some policies include full glass coverage.

You choose the shop. G.S. 58-3-180 requires a policy to let you select the repair service and requires the insurer to pay the same amount whichever you choose. Impex works with all major insurance providers, and a glass claim under comprehensive is not an at-fault accident, so it does not add Safe Driver Incentive Plan points, though insurers may consider how often you claim.

Around Lexington

Visits cover the city and the Davidson County roads around it, including the stretch toward Thomasville and the I-285 corridor north to Winston-Salem. Lexington calls itself the Barbecue Capital of the World and holds its barbecue festival every year; whatever brings you into town, the glass work can be done at home or at work rather than downtown.

If a door or rear window broke instead, see back and side glass replacement. For what a mobile visit needs from you, see mobile auto glass repair. Every other town this site covers is on the service areas page.

Questions people ask