ADAS, or Advanced Driver Assist Systems, is an aftermarket acronym that covers a variety of vehicle systems designed to assist the driver maintain control of the vehicle and to help avoid common accident scenarios, caused primarily by driver inattention. Included in this family are systems you are certainly familiar with, like Antilock Braking and Traction Control.
But some may be systems you haven’t been exposed to yet, like Collision Avoidance and Active Cruise Control. At least, not that you’ve been aware of.
I travel across the country talking to technicians and shop owners and one question I like to ask is, “Do you or your shop perform ADAS calibrations, or offer the diagnosis and repair of these systems to your customer?” Usually, the answer is "No". Then I ask them, as I ask you now, “Do you perform wheel alignments in your shop? How about front suspension and steering system service? Has anyone in your shop ever replaced a condenser that required the removal of the front fascia?”
In this case, the answer is always “Yes”, at least to one of the questions asked.
If you answered “Yes”, I’ll tell you the same thing I tell them – You are in the ADAS business whether you want to be or not.
Today’s cars have been equipped to “see” the world around them, using cameras and a variety of radar systems. And when they leave the factory, they are calibrated to look in a very specific direction. Anything you do to your customer’s vehicle that alters that direction – even a little bit – will impact how these ADAS systems function.
Take, for example, Front Collision Avoidance. This system is designed to monitor the traffic in front of the driver and to take preemptive action should the system detect that the driver is about to impact the vehicle in front.
What would happen if the sensor thought the car was farther away than it was? Wouldn’t it apply the brakes too late?
This is where every technician and shop owner should be paying attention.
It is only a matter of time before a tech or owner is sued for their liability for incorrectly servicing or calibrating one of these systems. And not knowing is not going to be an excuse.
The problem is that these systems are relatively still in their infancy stage, and information on these systems and how the everyday work you perform can affect them is hard to find. Calibration procedures vary, system operation varies, and even the names of the components have not yet been standardized.
And while some of the more popular service information systems are making it easier to identify what ADAS systems MAY be on the vehicle you are servicing, and pointing out when the repair you intend to make will require some form of calibration, Autel has made it even easier.
Autel is a leader in the automotive aftermarket when it comes to dealing with ADAS, offering a full spectrum of specialized equipment and technical support to shops wanting to calibrate in-house. For example, their newest solution is the new IA900WA—an all-in-one ADAS Calibration and Wheel Alignment system.
Want more info? Visit www.maxisysadas.com
And even for those who would rather send it to the local dealer or ADAS calibration specialist, the Autel MS919 makes it easy to identify exactly what systems are on the vehicle being serviced. Simply perform a full system prescan of the vehicle and open the report. Modules that are part of a related ADAS system are called out, and knowing what the car has on it makes it easier to identify what, if any, calibration steps you need to take prior to returning the vehicle to your customer.
Ignorance is no excuse, and failure to calibrate a system requiring calibration post-repair could open you and your shop to potential liability. To learn more about how Autel and its line of ADAS and diagnostic tooling can help, visit www.maxisysadas.com and www.autel.com.
