As vehicles get more complex, collision repair centres need to be ready
As consumers, we don’t spend much time thinking about where our vehicle gets repaired after we’ve been in an accident.
After all, why should we? Isn’t one collision repair facility the same as the next?
When I contact my insurer, I’m told where I can go to get my vehicle repaired. Surely wherever I take it I should be confident that the collision repairs are being done properly. One would hope so, but this isn’t necessarily the case.
Collision repairs, like so many other areas of the automotive industry, have been significantly transformed by the advent advanced technology incorporated into the modern automobile.
This advanced technology is comprised not only of the sensors and cameras that are components of modern Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) on vehicles, but also the materials that comprise the unibody construction of vehicle, as well as its panels.
Multiple types of steel are currently used in vehicles, each with different properties for different applications, and all designed to decrease weight and increase the strength and rigidity of the vehicle.
In addition to steel, other materials such as aluminum, magnesium, carbon fibre and carbon fibre reinforced plastic are all finding their way into modern vehicles to greater or lesser degrees. This is generally for the purpose of reducing vehicle weight — as weight is the enemy of fuel efficiency.
The automotive industry is currently in the middle of two tranches of greenhouse gas emissions regulations that will see both fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions decrease by 50 per cent for a model year 2025 vehicle compared to a 2008 model year vehicle. These greenhouse gas emission regulations are the drivers behind the use and application of increasingly esoteric materials to build modern motor vehicles.
Obviously all of these different materials have different properties, and require different techniques to properly repair these components after the vehicle has been in an accident.
If a collision repair shop is unaware of the composition of the different materials it is repairing, then the technician repairing the vehicle may not only be using the wrong techniques, but also the wrong equipment and replacement parts.
The consequence of such a repair may compromise the safety and integrity of the vehicle in the event of a subsequent accident, rather than restore it.
Consider the modern rear bumper fascia may have four or more ultrasonic sensors embedded in the bumper to assist with rear object detection, along with two shorter range ultrasonic sensors on the sides of the bumper for park assist functionality. There could also be another two longer range ultrasonic sensors in the rear fascia of the vehicle for blind spot monitoring and rear cross-path detection.
That’s a lot of sensors that need to be examined, potentially replaced, and re-calibrated on special equipment in the event of what might appear to be a relatively minor rear end collision.
Let’s not forget about the rear camera that is usually fitted in the proximity of the rear license plate. That’s one more component to replace and then properly calibrate when the vehicle is in a rear end collision.
Once again, however, not all collision repair facilities have the tools, equipment and training to know that calibration scans need to be performed on vehicles, even for what appears to be the most minor of fender benders.
It’s true the purpose of much of the ADAS technology built into today’s vehicles is to facilitate enhanced safety. But if these systems are not properly repaired/replaced and calibrated after an accident, the driver could be provided with inaccurate information from these sensors, cameras and systems having just the opposite impact on vehicle safety.
Consider the front windshield, which in the case of most luxury automobiles, now has a complex camera affixed to it. When this windshield is cracked and in need of replacement, there are many considerations. The attached camera is responsible for providing accurate data to facilitate lane assist, adaptive cruise control, pedestrian warning, pedestrian braking and traffic sign recognition, among other features.
The same windshield may also include a laminate embedded in the windshield to facilitate a “heads up” display. The technician needs to ensure they obtain the right windshield and properly calibrates the camera to ensure its proper functionality once the windshield is replaced.
For the reasons noted, a number of vehicle manufacturers have pursued their own certification of collision repair facilities to ensure vehicles are repaired to factory specification, by factory trained technicians using the proper tools, equipment and OEM parts.
The ultimate goal is to ensure these repaired vehicles provide the same level of safety to the occupants as a new vehicle in the event of a subsequent accident.
The complexity of modern vehicles means that the equipment, tools and training required to become “certified” are not without significant investment, which creates a fiscal challenge for smaller shops that may wish to become manufacturer certified.
Automated vehicle technology will eventually get us to the point where the vast majority of accidents will be avoided, but there remains a long period of transition between now and then. In the interim we need to find a way to ensure that consumers are receiving safe, cost-effective repairs to their collision damaged vehicles.
