AirPro Diagnostics will be conducting a study on diagnostics and advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) calibrations, Michael Quinn, AirPro chief global development officer, announced during a Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meeting Tuesday in Las Vegas. 

“Recently, we’ve all been exposed to a significant amount of misinformation about diagnostics and ADAS services in our industry,” Quinn said. “This has included solutions that allegedly simplify the processes but do not account for the complexities of properly diagnosing and repairing a vehicle equipped with ADAS systems.” 

Quinn said repairers are being told that necessary steps such as pre or in-process scans are not needed. He said repairers are also told automaker recommendations and software are irrelevant. 

“We are seeking to provide clarity,” Quinn said. “This type of misinformation jeopardizes both vehicle safety and the integrity of repair practices and we believe it’s crucial to provide clarity. We’ll be seeking collaboration from all industry stakeholders, everyone, including this body [CIC], in an effort to benefit motorists and public safety.” 

Quinn said anyone seeking more information can contact study@airprodiag.com. 

During the same open mic, Aaron Schulenburg, executive director for the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), said he was glad to hear about AirPro’s research. 

“I think the struggle that you’re talking about that collision repairers are facing with pressure against known necessary tasks is something we’re hearing more and more and more from our members today,” Schulenburg said. “So I think research is incredibly important.” 

Schulenburg also said that CIC is the place to discuss these issues. 

“I’m a big believer that CIC is the place where we should be talking about the issues that matter,” Schulenburg said. “I’m also a big believer that we should be inviting more participants into the room but the participants who come in this room have to be willing to talk about the issues that matter and the challenges we’re having in the industry. We had a big issue that came up around scanning and diagnostics at the last meeting, and it wasn’t addressed by the companies who were involved.” 

During CIC’s July meeting in Denver, CIC members crowded an open mic expressing concerns about a recently announced agreement AsTech made with GEICO for standardized pricing of its repair scans and calibrations. 

While representatives with asTech answered questions during the July meeting, they’ve avoided answering many questions from Repairer Driven News and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) about the agreement in the months following. 

Schulenburg, who did not specifically mention asTech, said CIC had an opportunity to address the scanning and diagnostic discussion during its meeting Tuesday. 

“We have an industry relations committee that could have absolutely had those companies on the stage, but I don’t think they’re on the agenda,” Schulenburg said. “It’s really important that everybody in this audience starts to look at that and go, ‘How do I bring the resolutions, the real conversation, the meat of it, to this stage?’ I think it’s really important that we remain professional. But I also don’t think the industry should look at professionalism and take that as a passive agreement.” 

Schulenburg also mentioned there was a podcast conversation over the weekend, again not specifically mentioning the name. 

A Repairify official interviewed on C&C Auto Show Saturday said that, in some cases, customers have to pick up the gap between cost and insurance coverage when he was asked about how an agreement the company made with GEICO is changing the perception of what the actual cost of a calibration is for repair shops. 

“There were some pretty disturbing remarks made on it that I think everybody should pay attention to and listen to around the whole conversation, around agreed pricing on scanning and things along those lines,” Schulenburg said. “But I’ve seen other comments that say the industry is being too professional and people assume that’s acceptance, and it’s not. Professionalism is okay. We don’t have to kick over tables to make a point. But I think it’s also important to understand, like, these issues need to be addressed and they should be addressed in front of the industry, and this is the room to do it.”

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Featured image provided by Car ADAS Solutions