Reasons for cracks on the windscreen of a Jaguar XJ

Impact Damage

Driving along (or close to) newly paved roads can put the windscreen in harm’s way. Road surfaces are usually a mixture of asphalt and rock.

Contractors test broken rock for its hardness and the rocks are damaging to a windscreen—especially if high speed is involved.

The impact of these small pieces of roadside debris can create a chip and eventual crack in the windscreen.

The angle and speed at which the rock hits the glass play a big role.

This kind of damage is frequently a fixable problem and typically the most common cause of all windscreen-related problems.

Stones are the most common reason for sudden chip damage to a windscreen. Trips along a freshly paved road or a lane with pebbles can cause instant ruin.

High-velocity stones can crack any of the three layers of a windscreen or even a side window.

Stress Fractures

The UK’s weather is not harsh, but seasonal change can cause temperature spikes. Temperature extremes due to icy winds and direct sunlight may affect a Jaguar XJ.

Its components (including the window frame and car glass) contract and expand.

Although these tolerances are small, the movement may produce a stress fracture — a good term, because both the windscreen and driver may suffer due to the resulting stress.

A random and sudden car glass crack in your Jaguar XJ might be due to fluctuating temperatures.

Weather Patterns

Besides potentially causing stress fractures due to hot and cold temperature fluctuations, stormy weather also goes together with airborne debris.

Hailstones and flying tree branches are but some of the damage a windscreen must endure.

Car accidents

A crash might be a slight fender-bender followed by some interaction with an insurance provider or, at worst, the Jaguar XJ’s total write-off.

Even a minor collision can lead to the complete replacement of multiple car glass panels, including all the required interconnecting parts.

Sub-standard materials, repairs, and installations

Poorly trained car glass technicians, worn-out equipment and non-OEM compliant materials may result in quality problems down the line.

Car glass parts and window frames that are not perfectly matched will generate friction, form stress fractures, and cause a windscreen to shatter suddenly.

What happens if I keep driving with cracks on the windscreen of my Jaguar XJ?

Cracks have formed on the windscreen, and you wonder whether you could delay the repairs.

What is the Jaguar XJ’s car glass made from?

A Jaguar XJ’s windscreen and side windows are fabricated from two types of glass: laminated and tempered.

The factory constructs the windscreen from laminated glass. It uses tempered type for all the other panels — door and back windows.

Laminated Glass

This type is more robust and durable than tempered glass. The factory fuses a synthetic interlayer (vinyl or a substitute) between two or more sheets of ordinary glass. 

They compress the layers using extremely high pressure. Bonding is done at high temperatures to produce durable glass. It can withstand massive pressure before cracking.

Laminated windscreens restrict the number of dangerous glass shards resulting from an accident (hazardous to a vehicle’s occupants).

It’s possible to repair small areas of damage to laminated windscreens, thereby saving the customer considerable money — windscreen replacement is costly.

Tempered Glass

Although more brittle, this type is still more durable than regular or annealed glass.

Factories manufacture tempered glass by baking sheets of glass at unbelievable high temperatures (600 + degrees Celsius) in an industrial oven. 

The glass sheet undergoes a cooling procedure known as quenching: it is pressurised first and then cooled rapidly with water.

This procedure results in tempered glass, which will break into small and relatively safe pieces when damaged, unlike regular panes of glass. 

Due to the good properties of tempered glass, we use it where human safety might be at risk, such as the side and rear windows in the Jaguar XJ. 

This type is, unfortunately, irreparable and requires full replacement every time it’s damaged.

Fun facts about Jaguar 

• The first car with the famous cat emblem was the 1935 SS Jaguar Saloon. William Lyons and William Walmsley founded the Swallow Sidecar company in 1922, which produced the car.
• The car’s feline grace, elegance and finely tuned balance of power and agility warranted a new name. They chose a big cat.
• Lyons loved motorcycles and, together with wartime aircraft design influences, the cars were low, sleek, and graceful.
• The XK120 was the first Jaguar with the typical vertically ribbed oval grille (the Jaguar signature).
• America’s Road & Track Magazine once called the Jaguar E-type the greatest crumpet collector known to man. The type is probably one of the most iconic designs in British car design history.
• The XK8 is the fastest-selling sports car in Jaguar’s history.