Did you know that more than 90% of new vehicles are equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)? These amazing technologies help us to stay in our lanes, monitor blindspots, avoid skidding and sliding, and parallel park like a pro. 

ADAS components fall into three main categories—sensors, radars, and cameras—and you may be surprised to learn just how many of these gadgets your car has on board:

Front

• Automatic Emergency Braking helps prevent collisions
• Adaptive Cruise Control keeps you a safe distance from a vehicle ahead
• Forward Collision Warning alerts you of potential impacts
• Pedestrian Protection tracks pedestrians with your car’s radius
• Cross Traffic Alert flags approaching vehicles when you are backing up

Inside

• Lane Keep Assist and Lane Departure Warning lets you know if you are drifting out of a lane
• Windscreen-Mounted Camera provides lane-related visual and audio cues 
• LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) ensures you maintain a safe distance from other cars
• 360-Degree View Cameras provides a comprehensive view of your vehicle’s surroundings

Rear

• Blind Spot Radar double-checks your blind spots
• Ultrasonic Parking Sensors detect and alert you to objects close to your car

It goes without saying that the components that make up an ADAS have to be properly adjusted and in good repair in order to effectively do what they were designed to. Even a slight misalignment or malfunction can result in false lane warnings, delayed emergency braking, and other scary scenarios. For example, a camera that’s misaligned by just 0.6 degrees can reduce braking reaction times by 60%, allowing a driver just 0.9 seconds to react instead of 1.5 seconds.

When your car’s been damaged in an accident, by a weather event, or otherwise, chances are that one or more of these delicate pieces of equipment may also have been damaged. Even if they escaped harm during the collision itself, the collision repair process can impact their performance. That’s why it’s imperative for your ADAS system to be checked, calibrated, and thoroughly tested after every repair. 

Collision Repairs Most Likely to Impact Your ADAS

When sensors, cameras, and radar systems experience an impact, their “perception” can become skewed. They may no longer be able to track which way is up, down or left or right. They need to be realigned and reconfigured so that they can once again accurately sense the position of external objects in relation to their position within your vehicle.  

This is especially true when the following types of collision repairs have been completed:

• Windshield Replacement: The ADAS cameras that were mounted on your damaged windshield need to be recalibrated and aligned to the new windshield.

• Sensor or camera replacement: Newly-installed cameras or sensors needs to be calibrated in order to function seamlessly with your car’s existing ADAS. It’s also common for sensors to be located behind bumpers, which need to be recalibrated whenever bumpers are repaired or replaced.

• Suspension or alignment work: Not surprisingly, this kind of repair can throw off your sensors and cameras, so they must be reset according to manufacturer specifications.

Comprehensive ADAS Calibration Process

Curious to know how our techs make sure your ADAS is restored to perfect working order after collision repairs?

Step 1: As a shop that’s certified by all the major manufacturers, we’re able to instantly access the ADAS calibration guidelines—setting, measurements, and specifications—for your specific make and model.

Step 2: After positioning your vehicle on a flat surface and ensuring there are no items or obstacles in the immediate vicinity, we set out calibration targets and tools in accordance with manufacturer specifications.

Step 3: Static ADAS Calibration – Targets and patterns are placed in front of your vehicle, and then used as reference points to help us make precise adjustments to your car’s cameras and sensors to ensure they are perfectly aligned.

Step 4: Dynamic ADAS Calibration – After attaching specialized diagnostic equipment to your car, we take it for a drive. This allows us to make real-time adjustments to the system in response to cars, lane lines, road signs etc. This process is easiest with two technicians … one to drive and another to operate the alignment tools and systems.

The whole process can take anywhere from a half hour to a few hours, depending on the complexity of your ADAS. Only highly trained technicians should be trusted to carry out this painstaking process, because your safety depends on it.

Another Good Reason to Trust Mitek

As this article shows, it is vital for your Advanced Driver Assistance System to be well maintained and precisely adjusted in order to do what it was mean to do: help you drive, park, and maneuver, and keep you safe while you do it. No matter what shop you take your car to, if you’ve had any of the following done, make sure you confirm that your ADAS has been calibrated:

1. Windshield Replacement
2. Suspension or Alignment Work
3. General Collision Repairs
4. ADAS Parts Replacement

Better yet, safe yourself the worry and bring your car to Mitek. That way, you never have to wonder if the work has been done thoroughly, professionally, and properly … but you can still feel free to ask and confirm!