By Tom Davis
Newport Beach, California — December 14, 2017 — The latest Guild 21 call centred around Honda’s ambitions for the future and the vehicle technology it is looking to implement over the next three years. Honda’s next step will be with its 2018 Accord, which will be the company’s first mass produced vehicle to feature advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) on all trim levels.
“The new ADAS systems for Honda are a first glimpse into the future. They are the first level two autonomous feature on a Honda vehicle,” commented presenter Scott Kaboos, Assistant Manager of Collision Marketing at American Honda Motor Company. The move is part of Honda’s target for the introduction of level four automation in its vehicles by 2025, as well as its vision to create a collision-free mobile society by 2030.
Speaking on the last Guild 21 conference call of the year, Kaboos said the 2018 Honda Accord will feature the HondaSensing and AcuraWatch ADAS suites. This will mean collision repairers will need to identify the vehicles that feature ADAS before they commit to repairs. Vehicles with ADAS systems will need to be calibrated, and the OEM recommendations carefully followed, or the system will not work. Failing to undertake the calibration would leave the customer with a vehicle that is not up to the same standard as when it came into the bodyshop.
Kaboos asked repairers attending the conference whether they had previously calibrated a vehicle with an ADAS system. Only 12 percent said they had, while some 88 percent of those attending said they hadn’t. As vehicles with ADAS technology become more frequent, this could be a problem for collision repairers.
Next year’s Honda Accord model will feature adaptive cruise control (ACC), a collision mitigation braking system (CMBS), forward collision warning (FCW), lane keeping assist system (LKAS) and road departure mitigation (RDM). Kaboos outlined the specific tools and requirements certified for bodyshops to calibrate these systems following a repair. “It’s not rocket science to use these tools, and most competent technicians will be able to calibrate these systems. However, it is tedious and technicians need to carefully follow instructions,” he explained
Perhaps the main problem for collision repairers is the space required to calibrate these systems. Including the car, some of the ADAS systems will need up to as much as 50 ft of space to calibrate and check they are working correctly. When asked, some 62 percent of the conference call listeners said they did not have enough space. Honda is currently looking at ways to limit this space requirement, said Kaboos, although no answers are expected in the short term.
Additional material can also cause an ADAS system to fail, meaning bodyshops need to be careful when repairing a vehicle. Even a thicker number plate could prevent an ADAS system from properly working, commented Kaboos. Following OEM guidelines, in this case, is essential.
ADAS systems are effective in cutting collisions, according to Kaboos. Research from Honda and State Farm found that the number of vehicles that were not driveable after an accident decreased 31.5 percent when a vehicle featured ADAS technology. The study also found that a vehicle with ADAS was 30 percent less likely to be involved in a collision, and that the amount of claims in US dollars fell 8 percent when a vehicle had ADAS.
Collision repairers are eager to embrace this new technology. When asked, 62 percent of listeners said they were excited about repairing vehicles with ADAS and that they were ready right away, while just 7 percent said they didn’t want to ever repair vehicles with the technology.
Farzam Afshar, CEO of VeriFacts Automotive, spoke on the conference call. He noted the inaugural Canadian VeriFacts meeting, which Collision Repair magazine attended. It looked at the importance increased dialogue among repairers, OEMs and insurers.
More information on the Guild 21 conference call is available at verifactsauto.com/guild-21.
