ADAS: Recalibration vital in windshield replacement

The days of simply replacing a windshield are quickly ending.

With the advent of ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) technology, windshield replacement often requires perfectly precise recalibration to ensure that a vehicle’s windshield cameras are positioned correctly and functioning as they should.

So many ADAS components are integrated into, and rely on, that camera mounted in the windshield, that it’s become a very involved process, Thomas Patterson, director of new product development and technical training for Glass Doctor, said, adding that it will only become more complicated as sequential calibration becomes necessary.

“It’s a major impact on anyone in the collision industry. ... It just changed everything,” he said.

Glass Doctor, a franchised enterprise, specializes in window replacement and repair, including auto glass.

Subscribe to the monthly Aligning With ADAS newsletter to keep up with the latest news and information on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.

Recalibration — zeroing out the camera — is vital for driver safety, industry reps agree.

Systems such as lane-keep assist, which keep vehicles centered in the lane, won’t work correctly if the camera is off by even a small amount, he said.

An uncalibrated camera could send a vehicle veering out of the lane, Patterson said.

“We’ve had customers come to us and say they had their windshield replaced and now their car is trying to kill them because it’s driving them into oncoming traffic,” he said.

That change can push a simple windshield replacement — something that could be done quickly and inexpensively without needing to involve insurance — into a more expensive procedure.

Patterson said the industry — organizations including the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC) and the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) — is working together on a certification program applicable to the entire industry.

He sits on the ADAS committee for the AGSC.

The organizations agree that this topic is critically important as it involves people’s lives, he said.

“We’re just trying to make sure at the end of the day, people getting in the car are safe. That’s all.”

Glass Doctor and other companies on those committees are more focused on that mission than on competition, he said.

“It’s more how do we help everybody do it the right way. Not just Glass Doctor. Everybody. There’s plenty of work for everyone.”

In May, the ASE announced an Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Specialist Certification test (L4).

Setting that standard can be tricky because companies such as Glass Doctor often rely on aftermarket equipment, while technicians working on the collision side tend to use dealer-specific equipment, he said.

Each calibration system requires a different set of training protocols and equipment, he said.

“It’s created a lot of opportunity for people who want to do things correctly,” he said. “Because we’re one, that we want to make sure that we’re doing things right and we want to make sure our customers are safe, we spend a lot of time and research on making sure that what we’re doing is the very best we can do. It’s what we do.”

It can be difficult to explain to established technicians — who are used to just replacing a windshield — why recalibration is necessary, he said. ADAS systems are sensitive, and a windshield could look correct, and not throw up error codes, but still be off just enough to be unsafe.

New technicians also can get frustrated easily. The systems are all in metric. They’re all very precise, and small things like ambient light or the color of the car can present issues, he said.

“It’s a matter of how you develop your own internal training program and how you deal with it,” he said.

Another challenge, he said, is educating the consumer.

Some drivers don’t understand what they’ve purchased when they buy a new car, he said. They don’t understand, for example, why the car beeps or protests when they try to switch lanes without a turn signal.

“It forces people to drive more safely,” he said.