Done in-house, not sublet
ADAS camera calibration
If a camera looks through your windshield, your car uses it to decide where the lane is and when to brake for you. Move that camera a couple of millimetres and those decisions move with it. We calibrate here, static and dynamic, including on windshields other shops installed.
- Static and dynamic calibration, both in-house
- Documentation showing it passed
- Adds 45 to 90 minutes, not a second appointment
- We calibrate other shops' installs too
- Usually covered with the glass
- Lifetime warrantyTransfers with the vehicle
- All insurance acceptedWe file the claim
- Free mobile serviceNo travel charge
- Same-day appointmentsMost days
The details
What ADAS actually is
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems: the features that watch the road for you. Lane departure warning, lane keeping, automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, and on some vehicles rain sensing and automatic high beams.
Most of them depend on a camera mounted to the inside of the windshield, usually behind the mirror. Some also use radar behind the grille, but the camera is the part that comes off with your glass.
Why replacing the glass means recalibrating
The camera is aimed with very little tolerance. Windshields differ slightly in thickness and curvature, and the bracket goes back in a marginally different position. That is enough to change where the camera thinks the road is.
A camera that is off by a small angle does not fail obviously. It brakes slightly late, or reads the lane slightly wrong. That is exactly why the carmakers require calibration after a windshield replacement, and why we treat it as part of the job rather than an extra.
Static, dynamic, or both
Static calibration is done indoors with printed targets placed at measured distances in front of the vehicle, on level ground, with the vehicle at a specified ride height. The camera is taught what it should be seeing.
Dynamic calibration is done by driving the vehicle at a steady speed on well-marked roads while the system learns from real lane markings.
Which one your car needs depends on the manufacturer, and some require both. Static calibration cannot be done properly in a parking lot, whatever anyone tells you, which is why we have the shop in Fairfax set up for it.
What it costs
$299 to $399, depending on whether your vehicle needs a dynamic calibration, a static one, or both. We tell you which applies before you book, not afterwards.
When it accompanies a windshield replacement it is usually covered by the same insurance claim, and we include it on the claim for you.
We calibrate other shops' work
If another shop replaced your windshield and cannot calibrate, bring the vehicle to us. We will calibrate it and give you the documentation.
This is common. Plenty of shops fit glass and have nowhere to send the car afterwards, and a lot of customers only find out when a warning light stays on. If that is where you are, it is a straightforward job for us and no different from our own work.
How you know it was done right
You get documentation showing the calibration completed and passed. If a calibration does not pass, we tell you and find out why rather than handing the car back.
If anyone replaces a windshield on a camera-equipped vehicle and tells you calibration is not necessary, ask them to put that in writing. It usually means they cannot do it.
If you decline calibration
We will tell you plainly whether your vehicle needs it. If you decline, arranging it elsewhere becomes your responsibility, and we are not responsible for how those systems behave afterwards.
That is the same language on our work order, and we would rather say it up front than in small print.
How it works
Four steps, start to finish
We check your vehicle
Year, make, model and trim tell us whether there is a camera and which calibration the manufacturer requires.
Glass goes in first
Calibration only means something once the new windshield is set and cured.
Calibration
Static with targets in the shop, dynamic on the road, or both. Adds 45 to 90 minutes.
Documentation
You get a record showing it completed and passed, for your files or your insurer.
We come to you. No drop-off, no waiting room.
More services
Other glass we handle
Questions
Frequently asked
Does my car need ADAS calibration?
If there is a camera behind your mirror looking through the windshield, yes. Tell us the year, make and model and we will confirm before you book.
How much does calibration cost?
$299 to $399, depending on whether your vehicle needs dynamic calibration, static, or both. We tell you which applies before you book.
How long does it take?
It adds 45 to 90 minutes to the job, depending on the vehicle and which calibration is required. It is not a second appointment.
Does insurance cover it?
Usually, when it accompanies a covered windshield replacement. We include it on the claim for you.
Can you calibrate a windshield another shop installed?
Yes. Bring the vehicle to our Fairfax shop and we will calibrate it and give you the documentation. It is a common job and no different from calibrating our own work.
What if the calibration does not pass?
Then something is wrong and we find out what, rather than handing the car back. Sometimes it is the glass, sometimes a bracket, sometimes something unrelated that was already there.
Can calibration be done at my house?
Dynamic calibration is done on the road, so yes. Static calibration needs level ground indoors with targets at measured distances, so that one has to be done at our shop.
Camera on your windshield? Calibration is part of the job.
We calibrate in-house in Fairfax, including on glass other shops installed.