Modern vehicles are equipped with advanced safety systems like Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning, and Lane Keeping Assist, which utilize various sensors including cameras, radar, and occasionally lidar. However, the effectiveness of these systems is very much dependent on their accurate calibration. At our Concord ADAS calibration facility we can perform calibrations that fulfill both manufacture and insurance company requirements.
Misalignments, even minor ones, can create problems. Collision prevention Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) calibration is essential and involves realigning sensors to meet manufacturer specifications. This process requires precise angles, distances, and reference points to ensure accurate assessments of speed, distance, and object positioning. Situations such as windshield replacements, bumper repairs, suspension work, or minor collisions can lead to slight shifts in sensor alignment, which may not be visibly apparent but can significantly affect vehicle safety. This is especially important in the fast and heavy Bay Area traffic.
When calibration is done correctly, the vehicle can confidently “see” the road as intended. Pedestrians are detected at the right moment, vehicles ahead are measured accurately, and emergency braking activates only when it truly should. Proper calibration restores the system’s ability to react in fractions of a second, which often makes the difference between a near-miss and a serious collision.
What Happens When You Skip It?
Ignoring your ADAS calibration isn't just a maintenance oversight—it’s a safety gamble. When these sensors are even slightly off, your car's 'brain' starts getting bad data. This leads to the dreaded phantom braking, where your car slams on the brakes because it misinterpreted incoming data. It’s jarring, dangerous for the person behind you, and quickly leads to 'warning fatigue.' Even if it’s just frequent beeps at phantom problems, you’ll eventually start ignoring it, which is exactly when a real emergency could happen.
Beyond the road risks, there's the financial headache. If you’re in a wreck and your insurance finds out the safety systems weren’t calibrated after a previous repair, they have a perfect excuse to deny your claim. We’ve seen minor suspension tweaks throw these cameras off by degrees that aren't visible to the eye but are glaringly obvious to a computer at 70 mph. So if you've had a repair, get the calibration performed and properly documented by a professional ADAS calibration shop which has both the diagnostic tools and the experience to make it right – and is able to prove it to an insurance company should they question the quality of the calibration.
When calibration of collision prevention systems is neglected or performed incorrectly, it poses serious safety risks to drivers. Inaccurate calibration can cause forward collision systems to issue delayed or nonexistent warnings. In addition, poorly calibrated sensors may create undetected blind spots. The consequences of improper calibration encompass numerous safety hazards, including missed alerts, unpredictable system behavior, potential malfunctions, which can culminate in accidents by failing to detect dangers or activate essential features like emergency braking. Moreover, improper calibration might invalidate vehicle warranties and lead to insurance claim denials. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure calibration is performed by qualified technicians using the right specialized tools. At TechZone Auto we are calibration experts, with over 10,000 successful calibrations performed. Our calibration reports satisfy all the latest manufacturer and insurance company requirements. Call our Concord ADAS calibration shop to make an appointment.