ADAS Calibration After a Collision Repair
The cameras, radar, and sensors that brake for you, keep you in your lane, and watch your blind spots have to be aimed exactly where the manufacturer intended. After a collision repair they often aren't, even when nothing looks wrong. We recalibrate them to manufacturer specification as part of your repair, on every make and model.
The Safety Systems You Can't See
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are the cameras, radar units, and sensors built into your bumpers, grille, windshield, and mirrors. They run automatic emergency braking, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, parking assistance, and, on a Tesla, Autopilot. Each one reads the road from a fixed position and angle. Move that position by a fraction of a degree and the system still works, it just works from the wrong picture of the road.
Forward Camera
Usually mounted at the top of the windshield. Reads lane lines, signs, and the vehicles ahead for lane keeping and emergency braking.
Radar
Behind the front bumper or grille, and often the rear corners. Measures distance and closing speed for adaptive cruise, emergency braking, and blind-spot warning.
Parking Sensors & Cameras
Set into the bumper covers, mirrors, and tailgate. Power parking alerts, surround-view cameras, and rear cross-traffic warning.
Repairs That Call for Recalibration
Any repair that removes, replaces, or shifts a part a sensor is mounted to can change where that sensor points. Manufacturers' repair procedures spell out when calibration is required, and we follow them for your specific vehicle. Common triggers include:
Bodywork Near a Sensor
Bumper repair or replacement, grille and radar bracket work, side mirror replacement, and structural repair to the areas sensors mount to.
Glass, Suspension & Alignment
Windshield replacement on cars with a forward camera, and suspension or wheel alignment work that changes the angle the vehicle sits at on the road.
How Calibration Fits Into Your Repair
Scan & Repair Plan
We scan the vehicle's systems and check the manufacturer's repair procedures to see which sensors the damage and the repair will affect, so calibration is on the estimate from the start.
Collision Repair
Structural, body, and paint work are completed first, because a sensor has to be aimed from the finished position of the parts it mounts to.
Calibration
Cameras, radar, and sensors are calibrated to manufacturer specification, using the static, dynamic, or combined method the manufacturer calls for.
Final Scan & Records
A final scan confirms the systems are working with no faults, and the calibration is documented with your repair before the vehicle goes home.
Calibration Done to the Manufacturer's Procedure
Every manufacturer has its own calibration requirements, targets, and methods, and they change from one model year to the next. As a Tesla Approved Collision Center, our Des Moines shop repairs Teslas to Tesla's own procedures, including the cameras behind Autopilot. Every other make and model is repaired at our Burien facility to that manufacturer's OEM-approved procedures. Either way, calibration is part of the repair we hand back to you, not a separate errand left for you to arrange, and the work is backed by our limited lifetime warranty.
ADAS Calibration FAQ
ADAS stands for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems: the cameras, radar, and sensors behind features like automatic emergency braking, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot warning, parking sensors, and Tesla's Autopilot. They read the road for the car, so they only work as well as they are aimed.
Because calibration is about aim, not damage. A camera or radar unit can be in perfect working order and still point a fraction of a degree off after the bumper, windshield, or bracket it mounts to is removed, replaced, or knocked. At highway distances that small angle becomes a large error in where the system thinks the lane or the car ahead is.
You usually can't tell from the driver's seat, which is why it's part of the repair plan rather than something you're asked to notice. Repairs to the bumpers, grille, windshield, side mirrors, or the structure around them, along with suspension and alignment work, are the common triggers. We scan the vehicle and follow the manufacturer's repair procedures for your specific vehicle to decide what has to be calibrated.
Static calibration is done with the vehicle stationary, aiming each camera or radar at targets placed at exact distances and heights the manufacturer specifies. Dynamic calibration is done by driving the vehicle under set conditions so the system can relearn its view of the road. Some vehicles need one, some need the other, and some need both, depending on the manufacturer and the sensor.
Not reliably. Some systems set a fault code or switch themselves off when they can't calibrate, but a sensor that is working and simply aimed wrong may give no warning at all. That's why calibration is confirmed with a scan and documented, not assumed because the dashboard is quiet.
When the calibration is needed because of the covered damage, it's part of the repair and belongs on the estimate like any other repair step. We work with all insurance companies, write calibration into the estimate when the repair calls for it, and bill your insurer directly. See our insurance page for how the claims process works.
Yes. As a Tesla Approved Collision Center, our Des Moines shop repairs Teslas to Tesla's own repair procedures, which include recalibrating the cameras and sensors behind Autopilot and the active safety features. See our Tesla repair page for more.
Teslas are repaired at our Des Moines shop. Every other make and model is repaired at our Burien facility at 243 SW 150th St, Burien, WA 98166, operated by Murray's Collision Group, to the same OEM-approved standards. Your free estimate is written at Des Moines either way, so walk in during business hours or call ahead and schedule, whichever is easier. Burien isn't set up for walk-ins, so we'll arrange that drop-off with you over the phone.