With Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) being fitted on many vehicles as standard equipment, there is an increasing need to properly repair and calibrate these systems to the manufacturer's specifications and standards. It has been reported that over 140 million vehicles in the United States have ADAS features, with a projected growth of over 655 million by 2030. Since the greatest successes in a business always begin with proper planning and preparation, now is the time to make sure your shop is ready to service ADAS systems.
For this installment of Ask the Expert, we spoke with Autel’s Stewart Peregrine, Senior Executive of ADAS Sales, and Eric Sponhaltz, Director of Sales. They both offer extensive industry experience and a strong understanding of ADAS technology. With their guidance, shops will be better equipped to prepare their businesses for ADAS service. This preparation will ensure compliance with manufacturer specifications and guidelines, ultimately contributing to higher profits and the shop’s overall success.
Stewart, an ASE Master Technician, has more than 30 years of industry experience focusing on solutions for increasing shop efficiency and emerging automotive technologies like diagnostics and ADAS calibration. Eric Sponhaltz has over 20 years of experience in the automotive aftermarket leading sales and marketing efforts. His role at Autel is to drive solutions with wheel alignment and ADAS calibration for automotive repair facilities.
Shop owners are increasingly concerned about proper vehicle repair and calibrations, and they also want to retain the vehicle and maximize profits in-house. If a collision shop decides to perform ADAS calibrations, what are the first steps to make this happen?
Analyzing the business is one of the most important — if not the most important — things to do. Are you currently equipped with the necessary space and education? If not, how do you accomplish these goals as an owner? What does the ROI of this investment look like? This can be easily researched by talking to other shops. Autel can provide most of this information and refer them to other customers to help during this research period. Many shops say they wish they could have done it better and expanded their business to accommodate the added services.
You also must ensure you have ambitious and driven people willing to learn. Calibrations are relatively easy; these employees do not need to be seasoned technicians to perform calibrations. Diagnostics is a separate skill set and is not required with all ADAS calibrations. Collision shops tend to have more space requirements than glass and auto repair due to servicing all ADAS systems, including AVM (around view monitoring).
How much shop space is required to perform ADAS calibrations?
Space requirements are set by the manufacturer and vary from vehicle to vehicle. Collision shops tend to see more AVM and BSM (blind spot monitoring) compared to front-facing camera damage and calibrations. Eighty-eight percent of ADAS systems can be calibrated in a 16-foot-wide by 30-foot-deep unobstructed bay. However, some systems, such as Ford AVM, may require as much as 30 feet by 40 feet, while others may have targets right in front of the bumper. This can be researched through Autel’s free online reverse lookup guide.
The most time-consuming part of an ADAS calibration is the target-to-vehicle positioning. How does the Autel system make that process more efficient?
Our MA600 does not stray from the OEMs as there is no alignment verification or optical intelligence to check your work, leaving more chances for human error with a completely manual setup. It is up to the technician to make sure it is right. Our IA800 and IA900 can use cameras and technology that checks the vehicle before setup, which is also simplified and does not allow the technician to proceed unless it meets requirements. The advanced equipment improves repeatability and speed; all data goes into the report. Factory scan tools will not ensure it's within specifications; they will merely command calibrations. IA900 uses automated robotic arms, setting correct height requirements according to OEM specifications, and will not go forward unless it is in the specification, enabling the next step. IA900 goes as far as to consider pitch, roll, etc.
Every OE has different instructions and specifications for their vehicle calibrations. Where can I get the information to calibrate the various brands my shop services?
There is more than one way to do this. You can use the reverse lookup guide on our website, which allows shops to search through OEM or aftermarket service information to understand the requirements before the vehicle even shows up. If you are getting into ADAS, having repair information is a must. Our ADAS-ready tablets are paired with step-by-step instructions, visual guides, and indicators to show how to set up and save time.
How do Autel calibrations and instructions differ from OE?
One big difference in our calibrations is our optical system, which has a “go/no-go” parameter built into the software. To proceed, the vehicle must satisfy the pre-conditioning specifications; OE only provides measurement specifications. Standard frame procedures are similar to OE but implement the use of lasers. Our optical system uses cameras to set the targets without the need for physical measurements using technology, not tape measures and chalk. Cameras verify our work and reflect how close to perfect the calibration is compared to OE, which has no report to show precision.
Autel’s comprehensive website is a click away, offering access to shop and vehicle information, downloadable content, and videos to help your shop be confident and prepared for ADAS.
