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Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) is the name given to modern vehicle technologies that work to improve vehicle safety, if you have a newer vehicle you may be aware of functions such as autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning or adaptive cruise control, these are just some of the new features that make up ADAS.
ADAS calibration is a requirement following the completion of basic maintenance such as wheel alignment, the replacement of any parts likely to effect the operation of the ADAS sensors (which can include the removal and refitting of body panels and bumpers) and certain repairs such as replacement suspension or new windscreens, for vehicle repairers, ADAS calibration forms part of the Repair Industry Requirements (RIR) and as such, where a vehicle has ADAS, evidence is required to prove the system has been properly inspected and calibrated, Ystrad Service Centre is an accredited ADAS calibration centre and is able to fulfil this requirement.
You'll find more information about our ADAS sensor calibration service (including pricing) further down this page, please contact us if you have any questions about ADAS calibration or would like to make a booking, trade enquiries are welcome.
Autel MaxiSYS ADAS Calibration
ADAS calibration requires a vehicles wheel alignment to be within the manufacturers specification prior to calibration, a charge of £59 inc VAT shall become due if our calibration service is abandoned at either the customers discretion or due to a fault being identified with the vehicle which makes calibration unsuitable.
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ADAS (which stands for Advanced Driver Assistance System) is a vehicle safety system that brings together data from an array of sensors, these sensors are typically a combination of LiDAR (light detection and ranging), RADAR (radio detection and ranging) and cameras that are fitted to a vehicle with intelligent software working behind the scenes to detect and monitor hazards around the vehicle.
These hazards can be anything from a pedestrian to other stationary or moving vehicles, if an obstacle is detected, the assistance system will act to try and prevent an incident, for example, if your vehicle has ADAS with autonomous emergency braking and you're driving along a residential road when a car in front of you stops unexpectedly, the system will identify the obstacle, warn you of the hazard and then, if you've not acted quickly enough, apply emergency braking which will bring your vehicle to a stop.
These systems sound complicated and behind the scenes they are, but from a drivers point of view most of these systems are easy to use and make driving safer but as with any new technology, if you have a vehicle with ADAS fitted, it's important you understand what the system is and what that means for you in terms of vehicle maintenance.
Broadly speaking there are two different types of ADAS sensor calibration, dynamic and static, static calibrations are completed within our workshop and begin with one of our technicians checking the vehicles wheel alignment, special aiming targets are then placed in strategic positions around the vehicle, the onboard sensors are calibrated using a diagnostic tool and finally, a short test drive is completed to ensure the assistance systems are functioning correctly.
Dynamic ADAS calibrations are completed by a technician activating the vehicles calibration mode using a diagnostic tool and then driving the vehicle at an average speed until the calibration is complete.
ADAS relies on the data it receives from the vehicles sensors in order to function, we gave the example of autonomous emergency braking above, that system relies on the vehicle being able to see what's in the road ahead and importantly, understand the position of any potential hazards in relation to the vehicle itself.
If your ADAS sensors aren't calibrated properly you may notice minor issues such as automatic headlights no longer dipping when they should or automatic wipers not detecting rain, at the more serious end of the scale if a vehicle stops unexpectedly in front you or a pedestrian steps into the road, your ADAS system may fail to react at all.
ADAS calibration is required following the completion of certain maintenance functions or repairs, these include but are not limited to;
If you've had any of this type of work carried out on your vehicle and it has ADAS, it's incredibly important that you check with the garage to ensure they've had the ADAS calibrated, don't assume it will have been done, ADAS is a relatively new technology which requires specialist calibration equipment and accredited training.
If you've had any of the work listed in the prior Q&A completed then your vehicles ADAS will need to be calibrated, there's no question about that, some vehicles display a warning message such as 'front radar not working' or 'collision prevention inoperative', these are pretty obvious indications that your vehicles ADAS needs attention.
There are more subtle indications your vehicle may have an issue, if you notice your vehicles ADAS features don't work as expected, that's likely a sign the vehicle needs calibration (whether or not you've had any work done), this could be something as simple as the rain sensing wipers not working properly, or it could be a more intrusive issue such as the adaptive cruise control slowing the vehicle when the road ahead is clear.
Knowing your vehicle requires calibration can be challenging especially if you've bought a used vehicle, you should be particular cautious about driving a vehicle on the road with any of these red flags, if you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact us.
Knowingly driving a vehicle with defective ADAS is both unsafe and highly irresponsible, you're essentially driving a vehicle with it's safety systems compromised, that can bring about serious unintended consequences with the vehicles ADAS systems not working as expected.
Legislation surrounding ADAS is constantly evolving, for insurance approved vehicle repairers, ADAS calibration falls under Repair Industry Requirements (RIR), this compels businesses to identify the presence of ADAS and provide fully verifiable and auditable records proving the system has been inspected and calibrated as part of the repair process.
It's not just vehicle body shops that have to be mindful of ADAS, all garages owe their customers a duty of care, completing a simple repair such as replacing a radiator where a vehicles bumper has to be removed could easily compromise ADAS (as many sensors are fitted in the bumper). If that vehicle is later involved in a collision and it's determined its ADAS wasn't working correctly, the garage that completed that repair could easily find itself exposed to litigation if it's unable to provide evidence that the vehicles ADAS was calibrated post repair.
The time it takes to calibrate a vehicles ADAS varies from vehicle to vehicle, that's based primarily on the type and number of ADAS features your vehicle has, if your vehicle only requires front camera calibration then the price will be close to (if not exactly) our starting price, if your vehicle has additional sensors that require calibration and as such requires more time, the price will be higher, please contact us if you'd like a model specific estimate.
The Institute of the Motor Industry
There are many different systems which collectively form a vehicles ADAS, different manufacturers have slightly different names but the most common types of ADAS features are as follows.
Adaptive Cruise Control (also known as ACC) has become increasing popular on newer vehicles, like conventional cruise control, adaptive cruise control allows you to set the vehicles cruise speed with the added benefit of the vehicle being able to autonomously accelerate or decelerate the vehicle based on the speed of other traffic ahead of you.
This system is sometimes referred to as lane keep assist, as the name suggests it alerts you if the vehicle drifts towards the white lines whilst being driven on a motorway or dual carriageway, in some vehicles the system will 'nudge' the steering wheel to maintain the vehicles position.
This system functions by scanning the road ahead and identifying any hazards (such as stationary or slow moving traffic) before displaying a warning, if you react by braking, the system further assists you by boosting your braking input helping to stop the vehicle sooner.
Autonomous Emergency Braking functions in a manner somewhat similar to forward collision warning with one key difference, this system will warn you about a hazard ahead before automatically applying maximum braking force should you fail to react.
This system has been available for many years, there are two different types, one is a passive system which displays a warning light when another vehicle is detected in your blind spot, the other type active which applies steering force should you attempt to turn into a vehicle that's in your blind spot.
This system uses a forward facing camera to read road signs and identify speed limits, if your vehicle has adaptive cruise control, the system typically reduces the set speed without any input from you, for example, if you're driving along a road with a speed limit of 60mph and approach a 40mph zone, your vehicle will automatically lower the cruise speed and may even apply braking force if necessary to slow the vehicle.
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