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Smart cars need smart drivers. Or the cars need smart (and safety-witting) repair shops. Mike Ash replaced the windshield of his semi-self-driving Acura MDX SUV, and then plant the motorcar tugged him into the oncoming lane. It turns out the camera that peers alee through the windshield needs to be re-aligned when the windshield is replaced.

Owner's manuals are already chock full of warnings, so many that information technology's hard to know which are really important and which are the imagination of overly cautious lawyers, such equally not replacing windshield wipers while the motorcar is moving, or (this is in the Acura manual) not to put engine anti-freeze coolant in the windshield washer bottle because it makes the windshield greasy and difficult to see through. Although what'southward obvious to some owners may not exist to others.

The 2022 Acura MDX manual page on the Lane Keeping Assistance system. It doesn't specifically talk about recalibration after windshield replacement, bold yous really read the manual encompass to encompass.

The Possessor's Bizarre Experience

Acura MDX LKAS warning.

Mike Ash, of Conception Bay Southward in the Canadian province of Newfoundland has a nicely equipped 2022 Acura MDX in the company's signature Dark Cherry Pearl color. He got a crack in the windshield and went to get it repaired at an independent glass shop.

"I thought [the repair} was a pretty standard procedure," Ash told CBC News. But later the repair was completed, when he went to drive the machine, "It was actually pulling me into oncoming traffic. … it was a startling feeling to have the steering bicycle actually pulling you into traffic." Ash said he was able to command the car and become it back into lane.

According to Ash, a technician at the glass shop pointed at the photographic camera, simply Ash doesn't recall hearing that person suggesting having the camera re-calibrated, which would about likely be at the dealership. Ash told CBC there was fine print in the invoice that talked about having the camera re-calibrated — fine print being the thing virtually no one ever reads until there's a problem. And the transmission, which many people do read, says cipher most this.

Acura'due south Driver Aid Suite

Our ExtremeTech review of the 2022 MDX (2014-2016 are the same generation) called it the "best premium SUV y'all can buy" at the time, and described its advanced driver aid system (ADAS) features, which Acura calls AcuraWatch, as follows:

The suite of driver assist tools on the Acura MDX is enough to make the car most self-driving. More accurately, it maintains course on not-curvy roads and won't see the car in front if your attention wanders for a second or two… and possibly for a minute or more. Yes, engineering science is moving ahead.

Driver aids include blind spot detection, lane go on assist or lane departure warning, full-range adaptive cruise command, collision mitigation braking system, rear photographic camera, and available rear sonar.

Acura's version of lane divergence warning is called Lane Keeping Help System (LKAS) and it provides a mensurate of self-centering. The self-centering forcefulness (torque) can e'er be overridden by the driver, just it tin be off-putting, and perhaps scary, for a less technically inclined commuter to understand the car just made a mistake. It's likely when the glass shop reattached the mirror arrangement — which contains the forrard-vision camera — the alignment shifted.

On the MDX, as on many cars, the frontward camera handles forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, and lane keep assistance features. Some cameras also do traffic sign recognition and can sense rain (the view gets blurry). A fully featured MDX also has full-range adaptive cruise control using a radar sensor in the grille, and bullheaded spot detection using sensors in the rear fender. About automakers use the aforementioned array of sensors, although Subaru uses stereo cameras in the windshield for ACC.

A Honda spokesperson tool CBC, "We recommend that you replace the windshield with a genuine Acura replacement windshield," and said just certified techs at Acura dealerships should do the work.

AcuraWatch camera system is in the inside mirror cluster. Information technology's the trapezoidal area.

Are Acura Dealers Monopolizing Tech-Related Repair Work?

Some commenters take suggested that automakers are trying to lock out independent repair shops. Certainly, automakers and dealers get in hard for independents to compete on equal footing. On the increasing number of cars with onboard telematics, it'due south possible to schedule a routine service date from the car, also equally set warranty repairs on a failing component. Ideally, the dealership then can automatically requisition the parts from a regional warehouse and have them when yous come in. If you ask the automaker, or your dealer, if you can use the telematics arrangement (in the car y'all paid for) to ready up maintenance work with your favorite independent shop, yous'll be met with peals of laughter. It may be your car and your coin, merely information technology'south non your choice.

As for whether it'due south anti-competitive when you demand to align the vision camera in the mirror mountain after windshield replacement: legally, no, information technology'due south not. Automakers have to make repair data available, but alignment equipment may be too expensive. As a practical matter, any shop that wants to master the skills of camera alignment can practice it…but contained shops will want a single hardware device that tin prepare the camera alignment on all ADAS cars. In the meantime, y'all may discover yourself heading to the dealer if you know of the potential gaps when using a tertiary party.

Independent Shops Can However Do Repairs

Other commuter-assistance systems may besides need realignment after damage to the following:

  • Forepart grille, containing the car's radar(southward) for adaptive cruise control;
  • Rear bumper and mayhap rear fender panels, containing blind spot detection, rear cantankerous traffic warning, and rear parking sonar;
  • Front end bumper, containing front sonar;
  • Side mirrors, forepart grille, and back of car ordinarily above the license plate, all of which could incorporate environment view cameras; and
  • Front fenders, containing side-facing cameras for peering into traffic (mostly on high-end European cars).

Sometimes an contained shop can piece of work with a dealership on bodywork where tech components are in the panels. According to Juan Antonio Perez, possessor of Maaco Tinton Falls (NJ), when his shop does bodywork for, say, a bumper replacement, information technology will piece of work with the brand'southward local dealer. "Whenever the area around the sonar sensor is damaged, we tend to supplant the panel rather than repair the damaged one," Perez says. "Many times the sensor works okay, but if it needs to be calibrated we sublet the work to the dealership because it has the vehicle-specific equipment."

As long every bit the contained shop does the transfer to and from the dealership, for the car owner it'due south still ane-stop service. Just if the possessor has to make 2 stops, he or she volition probable settle on a single cease: the dealership.