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If your car has autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist or adaptive cruise control, it relies on cameras and radar that have to be aimed with real precision. ADAS calibration is the process of re-aiming those sensors to the carmaker’s specification after something has moved them. The tricky part is knowing when that has happened. A new windscreen, a bumper repair or a set of lowered springs can all knock a sensor out of line, and your car will usually give you no sign that anything is wrong.
This guide explains what ADAS calibration is and which repairs trigger it. Rather than relying on rules of thumb, we’ve gone to the sources the industry works from: the repair documents carmakers publish for their own vehicles, and the protocols ANCAP uses to test the safety systems behind your car’s star rating.
ADAS stands for advanced driver assistance systems. These are the features that watch the road with you: autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and surround-view cameras. Since March 2025, every new passenger car, SUV and light commercial vehicle supplied in Australia has had to come with AEB under Australian Design Rule 98, so this is no longer a luxury-car topic.
Each feature depends on sensors mounted in specific places:
Our guide to the vehicle safety systems that need recalibration after an accident covers each one in detail.
Your car assumes every sensor is pointing exactly where the factory put it, and small errors grow with distance. A camera aimed one degree off is looking about 1.7 metres to the side at 100 metres, roughly half a lane. ADAS calibration uses manufacturer targets, measuring equipment and diagnostic software to bring each sensor’s aim back into line.
Static calibration happens in the workshop. The car sits on a level floor and targets are set up at exact distances and angles while a scan tool guides each sensor into alignment. Dynamic calibration happens on the road: the car is driven at set speeds while the system learns from real lane markings and traffic. The manufacturer decides which method your car needs, and many models need both.
The short answer is whenever something changes the position of a sensor, the glass or panel it looks through, or the way the car sits on the road. These are the common triggers.
Radars and parking sensors often sit in or behind the bumpers, so a low-speed hit can move them without visibly damaging the sensor. Honda’s service guidance, for example, calls for the front radar to be re-aimed after any front bumper repair within 300 mm of it, and for the radar and windscreen camera to be re-aimed after structural repairs. If your car is booked in for collision repair, raise calibration from the start.
The forward camera looks through the windscreen, so a new screen changes its view even if the camera is never touched. Subaru says calibration is required after a windscreen replacement on cars with its EyeSight system, and recommends genuine glass because distortion can stop the cameras measuring objects correctly. Honda goes further, warning that an aftermarket screen will cause the camera aiming to fail or the system to behave abnormally. If you need new glass, ask whether the glass replacement includes calibration.
An impact hard enough to set off the airbags can shift sensor mounts. Honda lists airbag deployment on its own as a trigger for re-aiming both its front radar and windscreen camera.
Cameras and radar are aimed relative to the road surface, so anything that changes how the car sits changes where they’re pointing. Lowered springs, lift kits, bigger tyres and crash-damaged suspension all do exactly that. Bent suspension parts are also a common hidden problem after a bump, as we explain in our guide to suspension damage after a crash.
Any time a camera or radar is unplugged and refitted, or the panel it’s mounted to is repaired or replaced, it needs checking. Some triggers are less obvious: on Honda models with a side-view camera, replacing the passenger mirror or adjusting the front passenger door means re-aiming that camera.
Lane keeping systems use the direction the wheels point as a reference, but a routine alignment doesn’t automatically mean calibration. Honda’s guidance says its sensors don’t need calibrating after an alignment unless the service manual calls for it. When a collision repair does need calibration, though, a four-wheel alignment check must come first, because calibrating a car that’s out of alignment locks the error in.
Signs your ADAS may be out of calibration include:
The catch is that a miscalibrated system often shows no warning at all, so the list of triggers matters more than how the car feels to drive.
Your car’s ANCAP star rating includes how well its safety technology performs. Up to 2025 this was assessed under ANCAP’s Safety Assist protocols. From 2026 it’s split across two stages, Safe Driving and Crash Avoidance, which test AEB, lane support, speed assistance and adaptive cruise control on the track and on public roads.
Those tests are run on a car in factory condition. Under ANCAP’s current testing and assessment protocols, the lab records the manufacturer’s wheel alignment before AEB testing. Before lane support testing, the manufacturer can have the car driven up to 100 km on urban and rural roads so its sensor system can calibrate. The stars were earned by a car whose sensors were aimed exactly as intended.
ANCAP is just as clear about what happens afterwards. Its answers to frequently asked questions state that it does not set requirements for, or assess, vehicle modifications, including repairs, and that a safety rating stays with the car for its lifetime. The rating follows your car through every repair, but nobody re-tests it afterwards. Calibration is what keeps the car you drive behaving like the one that was tested.
Carmakers fill that gap with their own repair documents. Two examples:
Both documents come from the brands’ US operations, but the principle carries across: the manufacturer, not the workshop, decides when calibration is needed and how it’s done. A good repairer looks up the requirements for your specific car rather than working from a generic checklist.
Whether your car is coming in after a crash or for a new windscreen, these questions show whether calibration is being handled properly:
At AMA Collision, calibration is built into the repair process rather than treated as an optional extra. Our ADAS calibration service follows OEM procedures in level calibration bays, covers both static and dynamic methods, and finishes with pre and post-scan reports and calibration certificates in your documentation pack. The work is carried out by I-CAR trained technicians and backed by a lifetime workmanship warranty.
A simple calibration on one system can often be done the same day. Multi-system jobs, windscreens and electric vehicles can take longer, especially if a dynamic road drive is needed. Your repairer should give you a timeframe once they know which systems are involved.
It depends on the make and model, how many sensors are involved and whether static, dynamic or both procedures are required. If your repair is going through insurance, calibration should be listed in the repair scope so it’s approved along with the rest of the work. For private repairs, ask for a quote that itemises each calibration. An online assessment is a quick way to get started.
Not always. Some manufacturers require a calibration or a steering angle sensor reset after an alignment, while others, such as Honda, don’t unless the service manual says so. If the alignment is part of a collision repair, treat the collision as the trigger and have the sensors checked.
In most cases, yes, if your car has a camera behind the windscreen. Even a perfectly fitted screen changes the camera’s view slightly, which is why manufacturers such as Subaru require calibration after every replacement.
The car will usually drive normally, which is exactly the problem. Its safety systems may be switched off or, worse, switched on and working from bad information. If your repairer has said calibration is needed, have it done before you rely on features like AEB or lane keep assist again.
ADAS calibration is the part of a repair you can’t see, but it decides whether your car’s safety systems still work the way they did when ANCAP tested them. If your car has been in a bump, had a new windscreen, or had suspension or panel work near a sensor, ask about calibration before you collect it.
AMA Collision has more than 130 repair centres across Australia and New Zealand. Start an online assessment or find your nearest centre to have your car checked.
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