Side Windows and Rear Glass
How to Temporarily Cover a Broken Side Window
When a side window is broken and a replacement cannot be completed immediately, a temporary cover protects your vehicle from weather, debris, and opportunistic theft until service is scheduled. The quality of the cover matters. A poorly installed covering can come loose at highway speed, admit water at the edges, or damage the surrounding trim. Here is how to do it correctly.
The Goal of a Temporary Cover
A temporary window cover has four jobs. It keeps rain and moisture out of the interior. It provides a basic physical barrier against casual theft or additional vandalism. It reduces wind noise and turbulence while driving. And it stays in place until you can get to a shop.
No temporary cover performs these functions as well as real glass. The goal is adequate protection for a short period, not a permanent solution.
Option 1: Plastic Sheeting and Tape (Best for Short Waits)
Heavy-duty plastic sheeting, sold in hardware stores as painter's drop cloth or construction poly sheeting, is the most commonly available temporary cover material. Use the thickest poly you can find; thin sheeting tears easily and does not hold tape well.
Cut the plastic larger than the window opening on all sides, providing at least two to three inches of overlap onto the door surface around the full perimeter. Use a strong tape designed for exterior or automotive use. Masking tape, painter's tape, and household adhesives are not adequate. Look for automotive body tape, duck tape, or a similar product with aggressive adhesion.
Start with the top edge, applying the tape in a continuous run from one end to the other without gaps. Then tape the sides, then the bottom. Pull the plastic taut before taping each section so it does not sag into the opening. A loose section of plastic flapping against the door at highway speed will abrade the paint and come loose.
For better durability, fold the edge of the plastic over itself before taping. This double-layer edge is stronger and gives the tape more material to adhere to.
Limitation: tape adhesion to automotive paint is imperfect, particularly in wet or cold conditions. A plastic sheeting cover is adequate for overnight parking and short-distance driving but may not hold reliably in heavy rain, at highway speed for extended periods, or in very cold weather where tape adhesive stiffens and loses tack.
Option 2: Pre-Cut Temporary Window Covers
Auto parts stores, particularly larger retailers, carry pre-cut temporary window cover kits designed specifically for this purpose. These typically include a sheet of durable film or plastic sized for common window dimensions, with pre-applied adhesive edges or installation instructions. They are more durable than improvised plastic sheeting and easier to install correctly.
If you know your vehicle's window dimensions, check availability at a local auto parts store before resorting to improvised materials. The additional cost over raw plastic sheeting is usually modest and the result is meaningfully better.
Option 3: Magnetic Window Covers
Magnetic window covers use a sheet of rigid or semi-rigid magnetic material that adheres to the door's metal surface. They are reusable, install without tape, and leave no adhesive residue. Their limitation is that they require sufficient unobstructed metal around the window opening to create a secure magnetic contact, which is not always available depending on the door design and the amount of glass remaining.
Magnetic covers also provide less weather resistance than tape-secured plastic in heavy rain because they can lift at the edges from wind pressure. They are best suited for vehicles that will be garaged or in mild weather conditions.
What to Avoid
Several improvised approaches are commonly attempted and are not recommended:
- Cardboard. Cardboard absorbs moisture rapidly in rain and loses all structural integrity when wet. It also does not prevent theft. Use plastic, not paper-based materials.
- Thin garbage bags. Thin garbage bags tear easily, especially at corners, and the texture of the bag creates adhesion problems for tape. Heavier poly sheeting is significantly more reliable.
- Duct tape directly on paint. Duct tape has very aggressive adhesive that can damage paint, particularly in warm weather or when left in place for more than a day or two. Use a gentler-adhesive tape where the tape contacts bare paint, and use automotive masking tape as a sacrificial layer between duct tape and the paint surface if strong adhesion is needed.
- Tape only, without sheeting. Applying tape across the window opening without sheeting behind it may reduce the opening size but provides minimal weather protection and no security benefit.
Driving With a Temporary Cover
A well-installed plastic cover can withstand normal city and suburban driving speeds. At highway speeds above 60 mph, wind pressure increases significantly and any cover that is not very securely attached may lift or partially peel. If you need to drive on a highway before the window is replaced, check the cover installation carefully beforehand, reinforce any edges that seem loose, and drive with awareness that the cover may not hold indefinitely at sustained highway speed.
Never drive with a cover that impairs your rearward visibility. If the broken window is a rear or side window critical to your view in traffic, ensure the cover is clear enough to see through or that your mirrors compensate adequately for the reduced visibility.