Yeah that's gonna need a body shop to get that pillar massaged back straight. You really want that bare spot taken care of or if will rust through and cause all sorts of problems.
Damage to A pillar (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Bajaknot
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
50/50 as to whether you can leave the dent and just replace the windshield or will need to fix the dent. The black plastic is flexible and easily replaced. What I can't quite tell from the photo is whether the crack was because the baseball impacted the edge of the windshield, or because the metal A-pillar bent into it and made contact. I *think* it's from the baseball, in which case yes you can just replace the windshield; however note that you're getting rust in that spot already and it's going to get worse, so at the least you need a shop to sand, treat (with a zinc-based anti-rust inhibitor), prime, paint, and clearcoat that spot. If the metal is contacting the windshield they'll need to straighten it as best they can as well.
Note don't take it to a fly-by-night place that wants to just drill a hole, pull the metal semi-straight, and fill it. Not only is that a cheap but future rust-prone solution, there's an airbag in that pillar and if you drill you can tear the bag.
That said I'm not a body or windshield repair expert so take my reply with a grain of salt.
As @linuxgod said it depend on what's under the windshield edge. You'll know when you take it off.
But you can see already that the new trim (can't reuse the existing one as it is not supposed to and this is already damaged) is not going to sit properly due to the metal bent (see last pic).
I see that you (or a previous owner) have been driving it like that at least one year now. I do not know what your budget is or how likely you want to spend the money to fix it well. Well it means doing it like the OP did.
But you can see already that the new trim (can't reuse the existing one as it is not supposed to and this is already damaged) is not going to sit properly due to the metal bent (see last pic).
I see that you (or a previous owner) have been driving it like that at least one year now. I do not know what your budget is or how likely you want to spend the money to fix it well. Well it means doing it like the OP did.
