Today’s cars are pretty amazing: advanced driver assistance systems can help you brake sooner, change lanes, and even park your car! But the snazzy technology that does all of this sometimes needs repair, or it won’t work to keep you safe. That’s why you need to know when you should calibrate your ADAS.
Keep reading to learn more—so this important safety feature in your car stays working when you need it.
What Is ADAS?
ADAS—short for advanced driver assistance systems—are a technology that provides early warnings and automates certain systems in your vehicle. Their purpose is to help you navigate more safely and effectively on the road. (For a more thorough explanation of ADAS, read our previous post.)
These systems run the gamut, from offering the driver more information about the road to controlling the car for the driver. Common ADAS include things like adaptive cruise control, backup cameras, forward collision warnings, lane departure warnings, and parking assistance.
Why Do You Need ADAS Calibration?
In order for ADAS to work properly, they rely on cameras and sensors placed around your car. For example, sensors that help with lane changes are located on the side of your car. Sensors that help with cruise control and forward collision warnings are located around the windshield, at the front of the car.
ADAS cameras and sensors need to be precisely aimed to work properly. If they are off, even by just a couple of degrees, it can result in disaster. The ADAS might malfunction or fail completely, leaving you without the safety features you’ve come to rely on. The ADAS might cause the car to brake when it’s not supposed to, miss hazards in the road, drift out of your lane, or worse—causing an accident.
But when does this happen? How do you know when you should calibrate your ADAS?
When You Should Calibrate Your ADAS
ADAS need to be calibrated more often than you think.
Because ADAS sensors are so sensitive, even minor damage to your car can result in the need for calibration. You don’t have to be in a major accident or nearly total your car. Here are the most common scenarios when you should calibrate your ADAS:
- When the ADAS lights are on or blinking: If these lights are on or blinking, it’s a sign that something’s wrong with the system and calibration is necessary.
- When your windshield needs repair or replacement: If your windshield is cracked or so damaged it needs replacing, the ADAS sensors around the windshield will definitely need to be calibrated.
- When you get into a fender bender: After a fender bender, you should always calibrate the ADAS sensors located at the rear of the car around the bumper. Even minor fender benders can knock the sensors out of position.
- When your car gets side-swiped: If someone side-swipes your car or knocks your mirror off, you’ll need to get the sensors calibrated on the side of the car.
- When your car gets certain repairs: Certain auto body repairs—including wheel alignment, tire rotation, and replacing your tires with a change in ride height—trigger the need for calibration.
If you’re not sure whether or not you should calibrate your ADAS, we recommend erring on the side of caution. Better safe than sorry!
Call Us Today for a Free Quote
ADAS calibration is a precise science—and the pros at Jack’s Glass have mastered it. Our pro technicians use the two best windshield camera calibration tools available on the market: Opti-Aim and Autel’s MaxiSys ADAS.
Our team’s experience, plus our cutting-edge solutions, offer calibration accuracy down to the millimeter. You can trust that we’ll keep your car’s key safety systems working, whenever you need them.
Call us today to learn what we can do for you.
