As the automotive world edges closer to creating autonomous vehicles, more advanced driver assist systems capabilities are being introduced, and with drivers relying more on these capabilities, the importance of properly calibrating them is crucial. One improperly calibrated sensor could lead to the endangerment of not only the owner of the vehicle, but others on the road.
Shop owners such as Brian Levander, owner of Levander’s Autmotive & Body Shop with seven locations across Nebraska, are doing their best to stay ahead of the new technology and be an all-in-one service shop for their customers.
“We are a strong believer that ADAS is not a fad or going away. It is a stepping-stone to full autonomous driving vehicles,” Levander says of his shops. “These calibration practices are not going away; they’re just going to expand, and we want to be that go to place in our markets.”
In order to become that one-shop-stop for their customers, Levander purchased the Autel MaxiSYS ADAS Calibration Tool Package for his Grand Island and North Platte shops and plans on adding it in multiple of his other locations.
Levander is very pleased with the system, saying that, “There’s nothing else out there right now that’s at this level that will cover the cars and do the job and get it done [like this system.]”
As part of the pilot program for the ADAS system, Autel came to Levander’s shop to assist with set-up and training. Though Levander notes, there is little set-up, and “if you can put together an office desk, you should be able to put this system together.”
Levander and his team received two days of training from Autel, and he notes the system is “very user-friendly.” Autel offers multiple training options including in-person training, user manuals and quick start guides (available in print or digitally through the tablet software), and a library of set-up and training videos on their YouTube channel.
Aside from the usability of the system, Levander appreciates the amount of coverage the system provides.
“We’ve had very few cars we absolutely were not able to service [while] using the Autel system,” Levander says. For the more exotic vehicles the system didn’t cover, Levander explains that they couple the system with some remote scanners to fill those holes.
The ADAS system is put to use on just about every vehicle that comes in. Whether the vehicle has been in a wreck or simply needs the tires rotated or wind shield replaced, it must be calibrated before going back on the road.
Levander recalls having a customer come in with the issue of their car shutting off cruise control on the interstate and applying the brakes every time it came up on a car that was 50-60 feet away. One of the driver assist sensors was improperly calibrated, therefore activating the ADAS prematurely. The car had no outside indication that there was a problem, but the calibration issues could have caused an accident.
“You have to calibrate these cars,” Levander says. “It’s so important.” He sees ADAS calibrations as an opportunity for growth in his shop, and though some shops are weary of adding ADAS calibration as a service, Levander believes “the more we know, the more comfortable [we] are.”
“Having fear of [the technology] and avoiding it, to me, is a bigger risk than just embracing it. It’s not going away. The risk of not knowing about it, like those repairs that were improper, that’s scarier to me than embracing it.”
With its usability, flexibility, coverage, and efficiency, Levander finds Autel’s system to be unmatched by any other. He’s happy to be able to provide his customers this service and keep them safe out on the road.
