While the most common reason to replace a windshield is cracked or broken glass, there are many other reasons that you may need windshield repair for your car. Leaks around the glass often require a technician to do a windshield replacement because taking the glass out of the car is sometimes the only way to fix what is causing the leak.

Seal Damage

The seal that keeps the water out from under the glass windshield in your car or truck may be a rubber seal that sits in the opening and then surrounds the glass. These rubber seals are typical on older cars, and while they are still found on some vehicles, most modern cars are using a different kind of seal to keep water out. 

Windshield replacement did not always require a new seal to be installed in the car, but the new urethane seals that are used in modern vehicles are not reusable, so every time the windshield glass comes out of the car, a new seal needs to be installed to hold the glass in place. 

If there is water leaking around the glass, it is a good indication that the seal, whichever type you have in your car, is damaged somewhere around the glass. To inspect the seal and determine where the leak is, the glass needs to be removed from the vehicle, and the sealing surface on the car, the seal itself, and the glass all need to be inspected for damage. 

Rust And Corrosion

One very common cause of water leaks that require windshield repair involves water leaks resulting from rust or corrosion around the windshield opening. The seal may still be in place, but the metal that supports the seal and glass may be rusted enough to cause a gap under the seal, and water can then run behind the seal and inside the car. 

The only way to get to the leak requires the windshield replacement tech to pull the glass out of the car to expose that area and repair it. Often, the tech will find an area around the windshield opening where the paint is bubbled and the sheet metal is rusted, allowing the seal to bubble or have a gap under it that the water can run through, 

The repair for an area like this typically involves sanding the rust off the metal, coating the metal with a rust converting paint, and then touching up the paint to match the car's base color. Once the repair is made, the windshield repair tech can reinstall the glass with a new seal, and when the windshield repair is done correctly, it will no longer leak, and the restoration can last for many years.