How Hail Damage Affects Your Vehicle’s Structural Integrity

Where your car's strength actually comes from

A modern car body is built around a structure of pillars, roof rails, floor, rocker panels and reinforcements, much of it made of high-strength steel. The roof skin, hood and trunk lid that hail hits hardest are outer panels attached to that structure. They matter for looks, aerodynamics and keeping weather out, but they are not what holds the cabin together in a crash.

That is why we will not tell you a hood full of dimples makes your car dangerous to drive. In the ordinary hail claim, it does not. What it does do is cost you money at trade-in, which is a good reason to repair it, but a different reason.

Where hail can affect safety

Glass

On many modern vehicles the windshield is bonded into the body and is part of how the cabin is designed to hold its shape. It also often carries cameras for driver-assistance features. A cracked windshield or sunroof is the hail damage most worth treating as a safety issue. Glass is not our trade, but we flag it when we see it so it goes on the claim. Our article on hail damage beyond the body covers glass, trim and sensors in more detail.

Sensors and cameras

Hail can damage or knock out sensors in bumpers, grilles and mirrors. If a warning light comes on or a driver-assist feature stops working after a storm, get it checked. Those systems are part of how your car avoids a crash in the first place.

Very large hail

Occasionally, very large hail does heavy damage: deep, stretched dents across the roof, or damage along the roof rails and pillars. Those vehicles need a careful assessment, and some of that damage may be beyond paintless dent repair. We will tell you if we see it.

The slow problem: cracked paint and corrosion

This is where hail can affect the long-term condition of the body. Most hail dents leave the paint intact. But when hail cracks or chips the paint, bare metal is exposed. Colorado road chemicals and freeze-thaw cycles give corrosion what it needs, and rust that starts under paint can spread before you see it.

Unrepaired dents with intact paint will not rust. Dents with broken paint can, and those are the ones we point out first.

Why the repair method matters

Here is the part that surprises people. The most invasive thing that can happen to your car's body after a hailstorm is often not the hail. It is the repair.

Paintless dent repair works the existing panel back to its original shape from behind. Nothing is cut, welded, filled or repainted. The factory panel, factory paint, factory seals and factory corrosion protection stay where they were.

Conventional repair of heavy hail can mean filling and repainting panels, and in severe cases replacing the roof skin. Replacing a roof panel means removing a panel that was attached at the factory and attaching a new one, which has to be done to the manufacturer's repair procedures. Done well, that is a proper repair. But it is a much bigger intervention in the body than PDR, which is one more reason to use PDR wherever the metal allows.

An honest estimate tells you panel by panel which method fits and why. You can read how we approach it on our auto hail repair page.

Common questions

Is it safe to drive a car with hail dents?

Dents in the outer panels generally are not a safety problem. Cracked glass, dashboard warnings or driver-assist faults are different, so get those checked.

Should I repair small dents if they are only cosmetic?

If the paint is cracked, yes, and sooner. If the paint is intact, it is a value decision. Unrepaired hail shows up at trade-in and in appraisals.

Will insurance cover it?

Hail is typically covered under comprehensive coverage, subject to your deductible and your policy. Our Colorado hail claim guide walks through it.

Related reading

Hail Damage Beyond the Body: Glass, Trim, and Hidden Problems

Glass, trim, seals, sensors and cracked paint: the hail damage that is easy to miss.

Why “Waiving Your Deductible” Could Cost You More Than You Think

What deductible waivers really mean, and what Colorado regulators said about them.

All resources