THE CORRECT WAY FOR GLASS FITMENT AND ADAS CALIBRATION
Ever more vehicles are now available in South Africa complete with a raft of Euro 5 level mandated ADAS camera packages.
Automotive Refinisher took time out to look at the complex procedure to eliminate post-accident repair faults with windscreen replacements and to keep pace with dynamic static calibration efforts. Autoboys assisted in showing the correct way to fit and calibrate windscreens.
Having been on the receiving end of late of horrific stories about badly fitted windscreens and the complete neglect to reset or take care of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) within the windscreen, it appears that this has become hazardous territory for repairers, as well as consumers and insurers.
The windscreen forms part of the structure of any vehicle and is a safety critical component of the car. If you don’t use the correct glass, it weakens the structure and compromises safety for the occupants as well as pedestrians in the event of an accident. There appears to be very little management of this sector of repair, if any, at present.
Even with insurance approved fitment, there has been reports of highly questionable practises by some outsourced fitment providers. One such story showed that the ADAS sensor had been glued into place on the new glass, and the service providers had painted black around it so no one would notice this. Warning lights showed up on the cluster straight away and these thankfully can’t be cleared by diagnostics but must be recalibrated.
Most windscreens, if manufacturer supplied, already have sensors fitted and calibrated. It appears that the lack of training is very questionable indeed.
