What Should People Do Right After a Break-In Smashes Their Car Window?

Summary:

Mike's advice after a break-in is direct: do not touch the door glass. Specifically, he tells people not to try to roll the window up or down after it has been broken. Operating the window with shattered glass in the door can create more problems down the road. The main risk is breaking the regulator, the mechanism that raises and lowers the window, which adds more damage on top of what has already happened. So while it is natural to want to try the switch and see what still works, the best thing a driver can do is leave the window alone and have the broken glass and any damage handled properly.

Answer:

Right after someone has broken into a vehicle, I always tell people the same thing: do not touch the door glass itself. As far as trying to roll the window up or down, do not do it. Your first instinct is going to be to hit the switch and see if the window still moves, but when there is broken glass sitting inside that door, running the window up or down can create more issues down the road. The biggest one is breaking the actual regulator, which is the part that moves the window. So now instead of just replacing the glass, you are also replacing the regulator, and you have caused more damage than what had already happened. Leave the window where it is, do not operate the switch, and get it looked at so the broken glass can be cleaned out and the new glass put in without adding anything else to the repair.