A bill that would require repairers and glass shops to satisfy or exceed OEM specifications when calibrating advanced driver assistance system components, but would seemingly also enable the utilization of aftermarket tools, glass and parts, is under consideration within the Illinois legislature.
House Bill 5409, known as the Advanced Driver Assistance System Repair Act, would apply to any repair facility or glass company that conducts or approves glass repair, replacement or ADAS calibration.
The bill was filed on Jan. 28, one day after HB4719, that also contains provisions about ADAS calibrations and glass repair.
HB5409, filed by Democratic state Rep. La Shawn K. Ford , defines ADAS as “a digital safety system made to offer the driver and vehicle while operating on roads and highways that's intended to increase vehicle safety and lower losses related to automobile crashes.” It does not show specific components.
The bill would need a repairer to inform the customer if a calibration is required, and if it will likely be performed. If conducting a calibration, the repairer must “meet or exceed the manufacturer’s specifications,” the balance states.
The glass company or repairer would have to supply the customer by having an itemized description of the work to be achieved around the vehicle, and would need to notify the client “the total amount the insurer has agreed to purchase the work.”
Any glass or repair shop performing a scan or calibration for glass repair or replacement with an ADAS-equipped vehicle could be “not restricted to vehicle glass, tooling, or equipment dictated or recommended by the manufacturer’s procedures or specifications.”
One complication this language could open up is in the area of technology such as cameras and behind-the-windshield lidar, which Vehicle intends to introduce with its Ultra Cruise hands-free driving technology. The designer from the lidar units has said that the specially-designed windshield must be used in order for the unit to operate.
In addition, some shops have reported that several car dealerships have refused to calibrate an ADAS system when a windshield has been substituted for aftermarket glass. Ford, Subaru and Volvo are some of the OEMs that have instructed repairers to use only OEM glass when replacing a windshield.
How a repairer would be able to meet or exceed OEM specifications while ignoring the OEM’s specific instructions on replacement glass is not explained within the bill.
Under HB5409, insurance companies would not be necessary to pay “more than a fair and competitive price for the local market area,” the balance states. It does not spell out how that competitive price would be determined, or by whom.
Repairers would be forbidden from representing to a customer that the repair, replacement or calibration work could be taken care of by insurance unless the price is “fully covered and approved by the insurer.”
According to some “Who Pays for What?” survey conducted by Collision Advice and the CRASH Network in October 2022, insurers pay for calibrations 88% of the time.
Glass companies and repair shops would simply be allowed to bill for repair or recalibration services that are performed and “necessary” – presumably as based on OEM specifications, though that’s not stated in the balance.
Anyone who knowingly provides a car on the market with an ADAS system that is inoperable or is not calibrated to OEM specifications would have to provide written notice to the buyer. The bill allows buyers to pursue civil claims if the information hasn’t been disclosed, and imposes a $500 civil penalty.
The bill is comparable to provisions of legislation enacted in 2022 in Utah around ADAS calibrations and glass repair. That bill, which amended Section 41-1a-1004 from the Utah Code, also mandates that calibrations “meet or exceed the manufacturer’s procedures or specifications,” and allows repairers to use non-OEM tools, glass and repair parts in calibration work.
Brian Wojcicki, executive director from the Alliance of Automotive Service Professionals-Illinois , said HB5409 “will need further review by industry stakeholders.”
“During legislative negotiations this past year in Illinois, Section 41-6a-1645 of the Utah legislation was referenced by Safelite as ADAS language they supported, including mention of the a manufacturer’s repair specification but contains some exceptions,” Wojcicki said.
Illinois HB5409 overlaps to some degree with HB4719, filed using the Illinois legislature by Democratic state Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez on Jan. 27. That bill would require OEM specifications that must be followed in all collision repairs, glass replacement and advanced driver assistance system calibration covered with insurance.
