Side and door window glass replacement across Sydney
Side windows are toughened glass, the same as a rear windscreen, so they do not chip or crack in a way that can be repaired. They stay intact until something breaks them and then they go completely, into thousands of small blunt granules. Most of the side glass we replace has been broken in a break in rather than by a stone. We fit door glass, rear passenger windows and fixed quarter glass at your home or workplace across Sydney. Two things are worth knowing before you read further. How soon we can come depends on whether your pane is in stock rather than on how busy we are. We will tell you which it is when you call rather than after you have booked. The part that matters most, and gets skipped most often, is clearing the fragments out of the inside of the door. Glass left in there jams the window mechanism weeks or months later. What a pane costs depends on three things: which window it is, whether it is fixed or winds down, and how common the vehicle is. If the glass went in a break in, there is a good chance your comprehensive policy covers it.
Door glass replacement
Door windows sit in a channel and are raised and lowered by a regulator mechanism inside the door cavity. When the glass breaks, most of it falls straight down into that cavity. It lands on the regulator, in the runners, and along the bottom of the door where the drain holes are. Fitting new glass without clearing that out is what causes a window to start binding, slowing or jamming a few weeks later. By then it reads as a separate fault rather than as a consequence. So the door trim comes off, the cavity is cleared, and the new glass is set into the channel. The window is run all the way up and all the way down before we finish. What we do not do is mechanical work: we fit glass, not regulators. If the regulator or the runners were damaged when the glass went, we will tell you what we have found. We point you to a mechanical repairer or your dealership rather than reassembling the door over the problem.
- Door trim removed and cavity cleared
- Regulator and runners checked, not replaced
- Glass set into the channel correctly
- Window tested through full travel
- Mechanism damage reported and referred, not hidden
Quarter glass and fixed panes
Not every pane in a vehicle winds down. Most vehicles carry at least one fixed piece of glass. It is usually the small triangular or wedge shaped pane behind the rear door. Sometimes it is a vent pane at the front edge of a door. These are bonded or set into a frame rather than sitting in a channel. So replacing one is a different job from replacing a window that moves. It can involve adhesive and a curing period where a door window does not. Where a pane is bonded we stay with the vehicle through that cure, exactly as we do on a windscreen. That means the car is ready to drive when we finish. They are also the panes people most often cannot name over the phone. That is the main reason a photo is worth more than a description here.
- Fixed quarter and vent glass
- Bonded or frame set rather than channel run
- Bonded panes cured before we leave, so the car is ready when we finish
- A photo identifies the pane faster than a description
After a break in, and how long you will actually wait
If the vehicle has been broken into, do a few things before we arrive. Photograph the damage before anything is moved, since your insurer will usually want it. Report it to police and get an event number if you intend to claim, because many policies require one for malicious damage or theft. Do not sweep the loose glass down into the door, which is the instinctive thing to do and makes the cavity worse. Then the part most businesses will not tell you plainly. Side glass is specific to your exact vehicle, and the wait is decided by whether that pane is held in stock. On common vehicles we can usually attend the next business day. Where the glass has to be ordered, allow up to three days. We bring an open or unsecured vehicle forward wherever the glass allows, but we cannot conjure a pane that is not in the country. We also fit glass rather than temporary coverings, so we will not be boarding it up in the meantime. If the wait is going to be three days, you will hear that from us when you call rather than on the third day. The sensible move is to empty the vehicle and get it off the street. On the insurance side, glass broken in a break in is usually claimable where you hold comprehensive cover. It often falls under the theft or malicious damage part of the policy rather than under windscreen cover. Windscreen cover on many policies applies to the front windscreen alone. Whether an excess applies, and whether a claim touches your no claim discount, varies between insurers. Your product disclosure statement is the thing to read before you decide. We work with all major Australian insurers, though the claim is lodged by you as the vehicle owner rather than by us. That is why the police event number matters if you intend to claim.
- Photograph the damage before moving anything
- Police event number if you intend to claim
- Do not sweep glass down into the door
- Next business day where the glass is in stock, up to three days if ordered
- Open vehicles brought forward wherever the glass allows
- We fit glass, not temporary coverings
- Often claimable under theft or malicious damage, not windscreen cover
What the job involves
Toughened glass, so replacement only
Side windows cannot be repaired the way a front windscreen can.
Door cavity cleared out
Fragments left inside the door will jam the window mechanism later.
Window tested through its full travel
Raised and lowered fully before we leave, so a fault shows up now.
Availability checked before we book
Your exact pane decides the timing, and we tell you that upfront.
Often covered after a break in
Comprehensive policies commonly cover broken glass. Check your policy first.
Get a free quote
Tell us the make, model and build year, and which window it is. That means driver or passenger side, front or rear door, or the small fixed pane behind the rear door. A photo of the vehicle from the side, showing which glass is gone, removes any doubt. Window shapes vary between body styles of the same model. Those details are what let us check availability, which is the thing that decides how soon we can be there.
Service available across every Sydney region
Central and Inner Sydney
Sydney CBD, Circular Quay, The Rocks, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Kings Cross, Newtown, Marrickville, Enmore, Alexandria and Waterloo
The East and Northern Beaches
Bondi, Coogee, Maroubra, Manly, Dee Why and Narrabeen
North Shore and Northern Suburbs
Mosman, Chatswood, North Sydney and the Hills District including Baulkham Hills
South and West Sydney
Cronulla, Hurstville, Brighton Le Sands, Parramatta, Penrith, Campbelltown and Camden
Frequently asked questions
Can a cracked or chipped side window be repaired?
No, it has to be replaced. Side windows are toughened rather than laminated, so they are heat treated to break apart completely instead of cracking and holding together. Once that happens there is nothing left for resin to bond to. That is the opposite of a front windscreen, where a small chip usually can be repaired.
What does a side window replacement cost?
It depends on the pane rather than on the vehicle being in or out of warranty. Three things move the price, and the first is simply which window it is. A small fixed quarter pane and a front door window are different parts at different prices. The second is whether that pane is bonded into a frame or runs in a channel, which is a longer job. The third is how common the vehicle is, because glass for a high volume model is held locally rather than ordered in. Send the make, model, build year and a photo of the side of the car through the quote form. We will then price the actual pane rather than guess at a range.
Does insurance cover a broken side window?
Usually it is, where you hold comprehensive cover, and after a break in the claim is not a windscreen claim. It generally falls under the theft or malicious damage part of the policy instead. On many policies the windscreen section covers the front glass only. Whether an excess applies, and whether the claim affects your no claim discount, varies between insurers. It is worth checking your product disclosure statement before you pay anything. We work with all major Australian insurers. You lodge the claim as the vehicle owner, not us, so the insurer deals with you directly. A police event number is worth getting at the time for that reason.
My car has been broken into. What should I do before you arrive?
Photograph the damage before anything is moved, and get a police event number if you intend to claim. Do not sweep the loose glass down into the door, which makes the cavity harder to clear. Then empty the vehicle and move it off the street if you can, because it is not secure until the new glass is in. The section above sets out each of those in order.
How quickly can you replace a broken side window?
Next business day where we hold the glass, and up to three days where it has to be ordered. The deciding factor is stock rather than how busy we are, because side and quarter glass is specific to the exact model and body shape. A vehicle left open and unsecured is brought forward wherever the glass allows. Tell us the make, model and build year when you call and we will check availability on the spot. You will know which of the two you are dealing with before you plan around it.
Can you cover or board up the window until the glass arrives?
No, we fit glass rather than temporary coverings. If the pane has to be ordered in, the vehicle may be waiting a few days, and the practical advice is simple. Empty it completely, and park it off the street rather than at the kerb if you have that option. Anything taped over the opening keeps the weather out rather than making the car secure. We would rather tell you that than let you assume otherwise.
Can I drive with a broken side window?
You can, but it is worth thinking about first. The vehicle is not secure and cannot be left anywhere unattended, and wind noise at speed is considerable. Any covering taped over the opening can come away and become a hazard to other traffic. If it has to be driven, keep the trip short and the speed down.
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