31465 Pelican Auto Care
Windshield repair and replacement in Palm Harbor
Rock chips filled and full windshields replaced by our own technicians at 31465 US Highway 19 N. We bill your insurer directly and handle the claim paperwork.
A chip is a small job. A crack is a windshield.
Almost every windshield we replace started as a chip that could have been filled. A pebble off a truck on US 19, a hot parking lot, the air conditioning on cold against the inside of the glass, and the mark runs eight inches across the driver's side.
Both jobs are done by Pelican technicians at 31465 US Highway 19 N in Palm Harbor, with vehicles coming in from across the nearby North Pinellas communities. If 31425 is the driveway you know, leave it there and say it is in for glass. Everything Pelican Auto Care works on →
What decides repair or replacement
None of these settle over the phone.
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How big it is
Under a quarter for chips, under a dollar bill for cracks.
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Where it sits
A repair leaves a faint mark, and in the driver's sight line that shows.
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Whether it reaches the edge
The perimeter carries the load, so a crack that runs out to it means replacement.
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How deep it goes
The outer layer of the laminate is repairable. If you can feel it from inside, it is not.
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How many there are
One chip fills. A cluster across the wiper sweep is past patching.
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How old it is
A fresh chip is clean. Months of grime pack in dirt, and dirt stays visible.
What a rock chip repair involves
The break is cleaned out, the air is drawn from it, clear resin is pushed into the space it left, and the resin is cured hard and leveled flush with the glass.
That is structural before cosmetic: filling the break stops it traveling and puts strength back into the panel. The mark fades a long way, but a repair is not an erasure.
What a full replacement involves
A modern windshield is bonded to the body with urethane. Once cured it is part of how the car holds its shape in a roll, and part of what the passenger airbag pushes against.
The trim and the wiper arms come off, the old glass is cut out, and the pinch weld is cleaned back and primed. Bare metal left in that channel is where rust starts, and rust there is how a windshield leaks later. Salt air works on the same channel. What salt air does to a car on this coast →
A tinted visor strip on the old glass does not transfer with it. Our tint shop is on the same site.
Insurance, and what Florida law actually says
Section 627.7288 of the Florida Statutes says that the deductible on a motor vehicle policy issued in this state, where that policy carries comprehensive or combined additional coverage, shall not be applicable to damage to the windshield.
A liability-only policy has no glass cover for a deductible to be waived against, and the section reaches the windshield, not a door window or the back glass.
What we will never offer you for a claim
Nothing. Since 2023, Florida law has prohibited a repair shop, and anybody soliciting on its behalf, from offering a rebate, a gift card, cash, a coupon or any other thing of value in exchange for making a glass claim. The same law voided assignment of benefits for post-loss motor vehicle glass on policies issued or renewed on or after 1 July 2023.
We cannot say what a claim does to your premium; ask your insurer. If you would prefer to keep insurance out of it, say so on the form.
If there is a camera on your windshield
A housing bracketed to the glass behind your rear-view mirror means a camera is aiming through the windshield.
Replace the glass and the manufacturer may require that system to be recalibrated. Since 2023 Florida law has required a repair shop to give electronic or written notice of whether calibration is needed to make the system operable, and required that where the service is provided it meets or exceeds the vehicle manufacturer's specifications. The same law says no person may require you to use a particular company for the replacement, the repair or the calibration.
Frequently asked questions
Can my chip be repaired, or do I need a new windshield?
Usually yes if it is smaller than a quarter, clear of your sight line and not touching the edge. Send a photo through the form and we will tell you.
Does my deductible apply to a windshield in Florida?
Not if your policy carries comprehensive or combined additional coverage. Section 627.7288 waives it for windshield damage, and for the windshield only. Ask your insurer about your own policy.
Will you offer me something for making the claim, or ask me to sign my benefits over?
Neither. Florida law prohibits both. We bill your carrier directly and the claim stays yours.
My car has a camera mounted to the windshield. What happens to it?
It may need recalibrating. We tell you in writing before the work starts, and no one can make you use a particular company for it.
Who does the work?
Pelican technicians, in our own bays at 31465 US Highway 19 N. Not a subcontractor.
Can I drive it straight away after a replacement?
Not immediately. The urethane needs time to reach full strength, and how long depends on the product and the weather. Your technician will give you the number.
Do you do door glass or the back window?
This page covers windshields. For a side window or back glass, call (727) 787-9274.
Which address do I bring it to?
Pelican Auto Care, 31465 US Highway 19 N, Palm Harbor.
Send us the damage
Tell us what the glass is doing, add a photo if you can, and we will come back to you with what it needs.
Thank you for contacting us
We will review your request and contact you shortly.
If you would rather speak to someone now, call (727) 787-9274 .