We’re into the new year and, again the automotive world is getting more and more entangled with the sensor fusion of advanced driver assist systems (ADAS). It’s not going away. Approximately 100 million vehicles – worldwide – have some type of ADAS capability. This includes proximity sensors relaying that annoying “beep-beep-beep” sound through the speaker system of that 1998 Ford Windstar, letting the driver know how close to the parking lot light post before it “sounds expensive.” And all those convenient back-up visuals to show the impact of the bumper to the light post – because you were ignoring the audible cue to get in a little closer – is considered an ADAS component as well. It all adds up.
Now we have stereoscopic cameras, lidar, radar, variations of these sensors in sync with each other are becoming more and more common as vehicles will start to “communicate” openly (they are doing it now; machine learning and reporting back to the OEM via that antenna on the back of your car or truck) at V2V/V2x (vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-“everything”) are introduced into our daily driving routine. But, first, there’s a lot of machine learning to do before we go all-out artificial intelligence (AI) with autonomous driving. These vehicles’ manufacturers need the technician’s help to keep everything in line. But technicians are carbon-based and make mistakes based on their developed, autonomous repair techniques and find “shortcuts” to make the repair go a little quicker and easier. This is where both technologies collide and put on the brakes due to a conflict in “programming.”
Homemade targets
I can’t say enough about this practice…stop!
I was called over to a shop that was having difficulty recalibrating the front radar on a Toyota. As I tried to guide them over the phone, the caller was telling me that “it just wasn’t happening.” I walked into a shop and immediately understood why they were having an issue: using a homemade stand with the OEM cone. Evidently the stand was damaged, and they thought PVC pipe could take its place.
As a concept, "homemade" works well with chocolate chip cookies, but when it comes to saving shop monies on ADAS calibration/recalibration equipment, making your own in-house replicas has the high potential to take the profit right out of the repair facility in the form of wasted time. And the potential is there to shut down the business indefinitely if someone gets into an accident and it’s revealed that a homemade target was used in the process.
You would think that purchasing the items from qualified sources would be easy enough. But it’s the cost that gets in the way. A lot of mom-and-pop auto centers say the local stores charge too much and the pricing is out of their shop budget. So, what’s a person to do? Go to the source of “all knowledge”: YouTube “university.” Dozens of videos show how to create targets, cones, and stands. It’s an inventive, but not professional solution to cutting costs. We need to measure in millimeters, so the business can very well end up taking those saved monies and moving them over to attorney fees on their P&L. Bite the bullet. Buy the OEM-approved equipment.
Not reading directions
Gone are the days when manufacturers – more-or-less – mirrored each other’s base-tech. For the past 25 –or so years, each manufacturer –- and each model within –- has a unique process when it comes to diagnosis and repair. For example: One year, the engine may have a PFI with a rail pressure sensor. The next? A pressure sensor supporting GDI. Everything is in flux and moving forward – fast! We need to research and look-up information to confirm what we are working on. And most of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) information on independent shops’ management systems has the information to support the technician in the bay. If something is missing, well, there’s always OEM1Stop.com to link the tech to the “horses’ mouths.” It’s all about following directions…including the ADAS calibration/recalibration process.
I was called to a shop having an issue with recalibration. The process would only go so far, then the reprogramming would come to a halt. They were following all of the tablet’s directions. Well…almost. The exception was just one: there was no battery maintainer being used. The technician thought that since this recalibration was a quick process, there was no need to attach a power source to keep the battery level sustained at 12.4VDC to complete the job. True, it was a quick recalibration. But reality kicked in and he got called away from the job. You know, one of those, “I just need to borrow you for a minute?” Well, the 60 seconds turned into 60 minutes. The planets were aligned just right, and stored volts dropped below 12. Not enough juice. It was an easy solution going forward to the problem at hand: read – and follow – the tablet’s directions. Don’t skip a step thinking you know more than the manufacturer.
Skipping the visual inspection before calibration/recalibration
We are all guilty of it: Jumping in a vehicle, parking it in the bay, and going straight to the “repair,” getting the job done and going onto the next car or truck. Not performing a visual inspection is a dangerous step to skip, especially when it comes to ADAS calibration/recalibration.
This is one of my favorite adventures: I was called to a body shop that had a very cranky customer. The vehicle was initially brought into the business to repair right front fender cosmetic damage and a subsequent bumper cover blemish. The vehicle was repaired, aligned, and ADAS-recalibrated. But it the crossover BMW came back twice for an ADAS issue. There were no codes stored; it was a clean post-scan. So, the repair facility was beginning to think the issue was more along the lines of the classic “loose nut behind the wheel” problem.
I called the customer to play the 20-questions game we are all familiar with: “When does it happen? How fast were you going?” She told me that the lane departure warning chimed, haptics happened on her trip to and from work, every day, and on the same road, a rural road. The speed didn’t matter, and it started to occur about a month after the original repair. So, I performed a visual inspection of the road, and I found nothing out of the ordinary. It was a four-lane with a median, a common thoroughfare not unlike other roads the vehicle traveled on during its daily journey. Replicating her journey, I, too, found the lane departure warning activated. What’s the difference between this stretch of roadway and the others? It traveled east and west; east going to work, west coming home from work. Sunrise, sunset. The sun was aligned with the roadway that time of year. But she didn’t have this issue until after the repair. (Boy, we’ve all heard that one, before…)
So, I performed my visual inspection on the vehicle, thinking, “What’s on front of this vehicle that was moved and removed during the repair?” Of course, the bumper cover! And what’s embedded in the bumper cover? The forward-facing camera. And upon close inspection (confirming with talcum), the lens was scratched! The camera lens was picking up the light rays and “bending” them via the flaw. The sensor was then replaced and the repair was verified.
That is one of many – bent brackets, missing sensors – that I have come across this year in my travels, and it could have been caught with a visual inspection, saving time and money (profits) for the shop.
Not checking for alignment, steering-suspension issues and tire condition
Alignments and tires are the base of the successful ADAS calibration/recalibration, and not all alignments are alike. ADAS requires a clean thrust alignment with no “movable” steering or suspension parts; everything must be within specs. It’s the vehicle’s ability to navigate straight down the road. Remember; we have less than one degree (under one-foot deviation within 60-feet traveled; more than 45 mph measures up to less than one second of driving forward). Therefore, when you do not perform a thrust alignment, which ensures the rear and front wheels are in sync, it’s almost certain the vehicle will not track properly.
The majority of these-types of ADAS calls in 2022 actually rested on where the rubber meets the road. Tires are a critical factor to complete an accurate alignment. Severely worn, steel belts exposed on the outside/inside edge, or tread separation…these nuances can corrupt a post-alignment point – the x, y, z contact – on the roadbed. And if the ADAS calibration/recalibration is performed directly after the alignment while the vehicle is still in position on the alignment rack with one of these issues, you have created a false negative (a “type 2 error,” in engineering jargon). There’s nothing wrong and nothing to see here. When will the customer realize something is wrong? Driving around town or on the highway, of course! They know how their vehicle responds. And they will let you know that the vehicle is not “driving right.”
An empty fuel tank is a common problem, but a more right-in-the-tech’s-face issue is the air pressure, or lack of checking the pressure before going forward with a calibration/recalibration. Some techs like to scroll on the infotainment (or human interface module, HIM) to see if the tire pressures are correct. Take it one step further and perform a physical verification. Who knows? You may find extra work if a TPMS sensor is not reading correctly.
Scan tool updates – OEM updates (TSBs)
Today, it seems like everything needs an update: phones, laptops, etc. Shop equipment needs updates as well. These are usually the calls that keep me in place, and I don’t have to travel and perform a visual inspection.
One of the first things I ask a shop is, “Does your tablet require updating?” The answer is invariably, “I don’t know.”
Your tablet, your aligner, or anything that has embedded software needs to be updated. What’s the best time? Right after you put the shop door keys in the office. Update every one at the same time while you are making coffee! Make sure that you have the proper programming to provide your customer. Today you may not have a download. Tomorrow there may be 11 updates. It’s hit or miss for programming.
And sometimes the tablet updates are not up to date with the OEM changes. Therefore, it’s always best practice to verify via your shop management system – or through the manufacturer’s site – for any TSBs before any ADAS calibration/recalibration. This is a developing science and those who design-assemble our cars and trucks are constantly fine-tuning the software, the same software that may intertwine with ADAS functionality.
L4 certification
Last but not least: certification. There are a lot of people out there who do not believe in certification. Their stance? “Anyone can take a test if they study!” True. There are individuals, whom we call “paper-hangers,” who have the talent to pass any exam. But when it comes time to show off those credentials, well, they fall flat. The shop owner knows; the techs working alongside know. But for those who can perform the hands-on aspect of the job, certification shows the rest of the world they understand the “why” to turning the wrench; understand how to research, collect the right data to perform the job “one-and-done.”
Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), the non-profit agency that provides certification via automotive-based testing has released another exam that focuses on ADAS: ASE-L4. This 40-question test asks the more common questions regarding ADAS calibration/recalibration. But they take it one step further. The exam has a “replica” vehicle with specs. ASE wants to know if the test-taker can understand the question and research to find the best, possible answer. It’s looking for the technician’s skills to comprehend, research and repair. It’s not just with the L4, but all their exams are based on this concept. Passing the exam proves this proficiency and lets the public know that you qualify as an ASE certified technician. And to maintain that status, professional training never stops. The hands-on applications go on. Therefore, grasp at any instruction opportunity – via a qualified organization like Worldpac, Delphi Technologies, OEMs, etc. – and learn; not the "YouTube University” way.
These are lessons learned by a multitude of shops in 2022…and not to be forgotten. May you take a lesson – or two – from these mishaps and move forward with your shop’s ADAS process.
