Are you ever worried that your car windows will shatter into pieces? Whether if you’re involved in a road accident or someone with bad intentions tries to break your window, here we’ll let you know what to expect from your window.

What are car windows made of?

The windows on your car include the front windscreen, side and rear windows, and for some cars the sunroof. In contrast to the unshattering windshield covered in our last article, the other glass on your vehicle will shatter upon strong impact to it.

Other than the front windshield of your car which is made out of laminated tempered glass, the side and rear windows and the top panel glass of your car is made out of tempered glass, which is missing the laminate layer that prevents the glass from shattering. But tempered glass is still stronger than regular glass.

The same goes for the rear glass of your car, where most cars come with a heating coil to defrost it (something you will never use in Malaysia), where it is made out of tempered glass and not laminated tempered glass, which is the same as the windshield. As only the front windshield is more susceptible to getting damaged and having it not shatter is important for visibility.

Now you might be wondering, why don’t all the windows on your car use laminated tempered glass? Well it’s because laminated glass costs more and is heavier, and in the event or a real accident, when tempered glass shatters, it breaks into small round pieces and isn’t really as harmful as one might think, and it can provide an escape route for passengers so they don’t get confined inside the car.

Safe? Yes

Your windows are unlikely to break if you hit your head real hard on it, but if you take a sharp and hard object it will shatter, which is good to know if you are ever trapped in your car with no way of escape.

But this means that if your car’s windows were ever damaged, it would be almost impossible to repair, as they would not be able to withstand the force of closing your doors and also winding up and down your windows. So any damage to the window has to have it replaced.

So, trust the windows of your car, as they are an important part of your car that provides you protection from the elements while still providing a view of the surroundings.