How to Cover a Broken Car Window So You Can Drive to the Repair Shop

Your side window shatters. Now the cabin is open to weather, noise, and prying eyes. You need a broken car window cover that sticks, stays clear, and gets you to a real repair.

How to Make a Broken Car Window Cover

Build a small trunk kit: work gloves, masking tape, clear packing tape, scissors (or a small knife), and a way to pull grit out of the door. Glass Doctor’s guide walks through the cleanup first, then the cover, and it’s worth a quick read before you ever need it. Here’s their step-by-step method.

When it happens, put on gloves. Pull out the big chunks. Vacuum what you can reach. Wipe the frame dry. Then run a border of masking tape on the painted edge around the opening. That border protects the finish and gives the clear tape something clean to bite.

For a driver or passenger window, build a clear tape grid from the inside: overlapping vertical strips, then horizontal strips over the top. Repeat the same grid on the outside. The double layer resists wind lift and keeps the “window” transparent so mirrors still work.

For a rear window, use crash wrap. It’s a wide, sticky sheet on a roll. Cut a piece, press it onto the frame, and smooth it down. It seals better than a bag and flaps less on the highway.

What not to do: don’t drive with a trash bag over any opening you need to see through. Glass Doctor warns it can block vision. Also don’t drive with windshield damage until it’s replaced.

There’s even a purpose-built idea meant to replace the trash bag entirely. A new concept called TEMPRA GLASS was announced as a clear temporary cover for broken or malfunctioning vehicle windows, positioned to keep a full driver view while blocking rain and debris. It’s pitched as an invention and licensing concept, but it reinforces the right principle. See the InventHelp TEMPRA GLASS announcement.

If you have to park before you get real glass, assume someone will look in. The simplest deterrent is “nothing to see.” Men’s Journal has made that point after break-ins: hide valuables and cover gear so it doesn’t advertise itself. Here’s MJ on keeping valuables out of sight.

My Verdict

Keep a broken car window cover kit in the trunk: gloves, masking tape, clear packing tape, and a roll of crash wrap. When glass goes, clean it, tape the paint, seal the hole with clear material, and go straight to a shop. Skip the trash bag on anything you plan to drive. Stay dry, stay visible.