I'm afraid to drive....
 

...recently as in today and yesterday, where I live in the Northwest, we got what I suspect is one of the final slight blows of winter. A little ice, a little snow.

Being an suburbs/city that really doesn't experience a whole lot of winter conditions, IMO the city often overreacts dumping TONS of gravel on the streets, to aide in a snow and ice pack, that usually is fully melted off in 24 hours or less.

Which brings me to today.
I hate to drive my vehicle. Last winter, after a snow storm, once it had melted off, a piece of gravel flew up and cracked my windshield. It was PIA to get replaced. I went through insurance but still had to pay my deductible, so it wasn't cheap. Not to mention the hassle of getting it done. Since this evidently happens to SO many cars at this time, places were backed up and booked for weeks. When I called the place I chose to do the replacement the woman talking to me, I think in an effort to reassure me, told me that it was great that I had chosen them, because they do "a lot of Honda Fit windshields" so it made them experts on them.
Hearing this was so common for this vehicle really didn't cheer me up.
Also come spring I found some pretty severe chips in the paint I suspect happened around the same time. They were forward on the painted metal part of the window frame.

What do I do? Take public transportation for a week or two until most of the gravel is cleaned up?
Rent a car for 2 weeks?
Continue to venture out, continually waiting to hear the horrible sound of a rock flying up and the windshield cracking?

I really like The Fit, but having such a Huge Windshield coupled with being relatively low to the ground makes it IMO a huge target possibility for flying gravel Then you just hope the damage isn't so bad you need full replacement.

I hear ya...chipped or cracked windshields are expensive.
Increase your distance when following trucks. Avoid any truck that enters the road from a dirt or gravel road. When meeting trucks, hug the shoulder as much as possible.
The Fit windshield has such an angle that I would guess it would resist a lot of hits by small stones.

The Fit's windshield isn't 'low to the ground.'

Drive it.
Don't worry about it.

Unless you can take public transportation easily & get where you need to get, in which case I don't even know why you'd bother with owning a car.

I hate that sound!

I'd be tempted to take public transportation if it's not too painful. The front of our Fit looks worse than any vehicle I've ever owned. Body shop suggested it would be easier to start over with a new bumper cover than to try to repair the factory one.

These cars are definitely like a magnet for chips and broken windshields.

Agree that it's not low. I think the issue is that the hood is like a ramp to the windshield.

I started seeing rock marks in the hood and we got a chip in the windshield early on. I installed a zeta hood deflector in the first couple months of ownership and that stopped the hood marks and windshield chips.

Didn't do anything for the front bumper and fog lights though.

i remember driving through colorado 2 decades ago in April in a snow storm in my civic and yah, not nice hearing gravel hitting the glass. :mad:

i suppose id consider uber or lyft if such service is available readily in ur area. or just rent a car or something.

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. There is no try - its DO or DO NOT.

On a happier note, I saved hundreds on Geico. LOL

How melodramatic... It's a cheap car. Just drive it. It's not a collectable to worry about...

The women probably used that same line for Corollas, civics, Malibus etc.

Uh, you haven't taken public transportation much have you?

As far as The Fit's windshield being low to the ground?

Yes it is...compared to the majority vehicles in North America which are large SUV's or Big Trucks.

In any driving scenario, when I look around, I'm usually in one of the smallest, lowest to the ground vehicles in the pack.

Americans love the "Big Rigs".

Really?
I hate it when people justify things with The Fit by saying "It's a Cheap Car".

I paid around $18,000 for mine. That IMO is a lot of money, any way you slice it.

And regardless, I don't care if it's a Honda Fit or a Lexus, does anyone want a cracked windshield?

If the standard for caring has to be the car must be "expensive" or a collectable car? I disagree...

The Fit is MY car, and I care.

I can't agree more!

Our Fit is the least valuable vehicle I own, but that doesn't mean I want it damaged any less than the others.

Truth be told, when I had a $500 beater, I took good care of it also because I liked the car. If I don't like a car, it goes away regardless of value. If I like the car, I care about it and do what I can to take care of it.

i sure as hell dont. i dont care if the GK is cheap, i dont want the hassle of getting the glass repaired.. cause chances are, it wont turn out the way it should the first time and need to redo it. i dont have time for that.

The melodrama is strong in this one...

Sure no one wants a cracked windshield. I'm also not afraid to drive my car in fear of what may happen. There are nails in the road, but I'll still drive it without fear. There are other cars that at any point may smash into it, doesn't stop me from hopping into it for a trip to the store. Stop living in fear and enjoy your time with your precious.

I think you're reading more melodrama into my post than actually exists.
Basically everything I said happened...happened.

Sure it's NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. But this is an automotive website. You could say that about 99.9% of everything posted here.

Plus...the hassle of having the windshield replaced really was a PIA.

I take care of my things. I like things to last and I hate having to pay for crap that I shouldn't need to pay for. I understand where you're coming from.

But in the end, it's just a thing. It won't last forever. Neither will any of us. Can't live in fear. Just drive and keep your distance from the vehicle in front of you.

I have more applicable platitudes if you want. Some more useful than others.

I've had -0- Deductible on Comp forever! Also Rental Car and Trip Interruption are worth the pennies every month if you Biff the car. Yea and replacement cost collision isn't really that much either! I usually need a stone chip repair once a year and a new windshield every 2-3 years. Let your insurance company pay when you have a problem.

I had a '05 wrx wagon that went through no less than 5 windshields between my ownership and the previous owner. The Fit isn't the worst as far as windshield angle/height.

Nope. There's a reason I have him on my ignore list.

Guy has contributed zero to this site in his entire time here.

How am I being misogynistic? Is being melodramatic strictly for the female group? If so, that seems a bit sexist don't you think?

If you meant that line, it was autocorrect and I meant the woman referring the sales woman on the phone. Sure she'd say we're experts on repairing (insert car model) here to get you to do business with them.