The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is sharing details of its new study involving crash avoidance features. Researchers say it shows that while they have proven safety benefits, there may be some issues with technology following repairs, as reported by some vehicle owners.
IIHS Crash Avoidance Repairs Study
The IIHS says it surveyed owners of vehicles equipped with front crash prevention, blind spot detection or rearview or other visibility-enhancing cameras. Among those who reported that at least one of those systems had been repaired for any reason, about half said they had issues with the features after the job was completed.
“Most of the more than 3,000 owners we contacted said they had never needed to have their crash avoidance features repaired, but for the minority of owners who did, the problems weren’t always resolved easily,” said IIHS Senior Research Scientist Alexandra Mueller, who designed the survey. “Many had issues with the technology afterward, and some said they had to have the same feature repaired more than once. Still, the vast majority said they would buy a vehicle equipped with the technology again and most were satisfied with the out-of-pocket cost.”
The IIHS says that many new vehicles are equipped with crash avoidance features, and their presence in the vehicle fleet is growing rapidly. IIHS research has shown that front crash prevention (forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking), blind spot detection and rearview cameras all substantially reduce the types of crashes they are designed to address. Automatic emergency braking (AEB) slashes police-reported rear-end crashes by 50 percent, for instance.
Under normal circumstances, its researches say these features are also quite resilient. It cites an analysis conducted by the IIHS-affiliated Highway Loss Data Institute that shows that the reduction in insurance claims associated with Subaru and Honda crash avoidance systems remained essentially constant even in vehicles more than 5 years old.
Issues can occur however, they say, if those systems need to be repaired which can make it necessary to calibrate the cameras and sensors that the features rely on to ensure they work properly. The process can be both complicated and expensive. For example, replacing a simple vehicle windshield can cost as little as $250. But a separate HLDI study found that vehicles equipped with front crash prevention were much more likely to have glass claims of $1000 or more. Much of the higher cost is likely related to calibration.
New Study
In this new study, IIHS surveyed nearly 500 drivers about their most recent experiences with repairs to their front crash prevention, blind spot detection or driver-assistance cameras. Some of these owners had had more than one of these features repaired, either separately or as part of the same job. Around 40 percent of the involved vehicles were from model year 2019 or newer.
Repair Causes
Researcher say drivers often had more than one reason for having their features repaired. Most owners had received a vehicle recall or service bulletin about their feature, but that was rarely the sole reason that they brought their vehicle in for service or repair. Other common reasons — which were not mutually exclusive — included windshield replacement, crash damage, a recommendation from the dealership or repair shop, and a warning light or error message from the vehicle itself.
Post-Repair Issues
The IIHS says post-repair problems with the technology were substantially more common among people who had features repaired because of crash damage or in connection with a windshield replacement. Researchers say about two-thirds of owners whose crash avoidance feature repairs involved windshield replacement and nearly three-quarters of those whose repairs were required due to crash damage said they had issues with the technology after repair. In contrast, fewer than half of owners who had repairs done for other reasons faced problems afterward.
Windshields
Windshield repairs often make it necessary to calibrate crash avoidance sensors and cameras, though it’s a common step in many repairs. Automakers stipulate systems be calibrated anytime a sensor is removed and replaced or reinstalled. Likewise, calibration is typically an early step in addressing a malfunctioning feature. About two-thirds of respondents who had had repairs done said that calibration was included. Those respondents also reported a higher incidence of post-repair issues.
Repeat trips to the repair shop are not uncommon with other routine mechanical repairs, either, and most owners reported that their insurance or warranty covered the complete cost, minus any deductible.
Calibration Process
However, the higher incidence of post-repair issues for repairs that involved calibration suggests that repairers are struggling with the calibration process. Some calibrations are complicated and require large spaces, specialized training and expensive equipment. Calibration software is subject to frequent updates, making it difficult for shops to keep their tools up to date. This is further complicated by a lack of standardization of calibration processes. Institute researchers are tracking these problems to monitor whether they persist or diminish over time.
Tracking Repair Problems
The IIHS says repair problems are important to track because they have the potential to slow the spread of crash avoidance features that aren’t standard equipment. However, in the current study, only a little more than 5 percent of the owners said they would not buy another vehicle with the feature they’d had repaired. Repair hassles also might prompt drivers simply to switch off crash avoidance features, eliminating their safety benefits.
“These technologies have been proven to reduce crashes and related injuries,” said Mueller. “Our goal is that they continue to deliver those benefits after repairs and for owners to be confident that they’re working properly.”
Solutions
Self diagnosing systems
The IIHSa suggests that self-diagnosing systems that alert the driver or technician when something is wrong could be part of the solution. Some vehicles already have that capability, and such alerts were what prompted some of the surveyed owners to bring their vehicles in for repair.
Simplified, standardized calibration procedures
Researchers with the IIHS say that manufacturers should also work to simplify and standardize the calibration procedure and ensure that repair shops have adequate information about how to restore full functionality to affected features. An affordable, centralized database of repair and calibration specifications and instructions from all automakers should be made available to all technicians.
Source: IIHS Press Release.
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