I hear this all the time, the glass guy says it’s not necessary, this information is wrong. It frustrates me that people don’t educate themselves about their profession. These cameras are looking 100’s of feet down the road, even a slight misalignment of the camera will have drastic affects on what it sees 300 to 500 feet from the vehicle. Even aftermarket glass can have a negative affect on camera performance, this can be caused by misalignment or clarity issues. Many of the vehicle manufacturers want OE glass used if the vehicle has a camera. This is what my company does, we have all the factory scan tools and proper equipment to do calibrations of cameras and sensors when things are damaged or a procedure is required due to a collision, we work directly with Body and glass shops. Your insurance company will cover all required procedures.

This is straight from the factory ford website for a 2018 Ford F-150

The IPMA camera alignment procedure should be performed when any of the following occur:
 Windshield replacement
 Change in tire size
 Suspension repair or alignment
 Front air bag deployment
 Interior mirror replacement

If you have any questions or need any more info, feel free to PM me

Gary T

I’m not trying to twist anyone’s words. What is “done correctly”? Ford says if the windshield is replaced, camera alignment should be done. I understand if you’re paying out of pocket, then you have the right to do what you want, it’s your truck, your saftey, or is it?

The windshield camera is used for, Lane Keep Assist, Pre Collision Assist, and Pedestrian Warning. How will you know if everything was done correctly? What will happen if not done correctly? Let’s say you’re driving along city streets and a child darts out in front of you, you fail to react in time and you run the child over in your 5000 pound truck. Did the system work as intended? If it were my truck, and I was the one who made the decision not to calibrate the camera because I didn’t want to spend $300 and it seemed like everything was working as intended, I’d be beating myself up over the fact that I was too cheep to do the right thing after spending 60-70k on a vehicle. I have several friends that are in the windshield business. Many of them were under the impression that if they simply removed the camera from the old windshield, never unplugged it, and reinstalled it on the new windshield, a calibration wasn’t necessary. No warning lights on, no codes stored, everything must be ok, WRONG! If something bad happens after the windshield was replaced, and a lawsuit ensues, the blame will fall on the glass shop for NOT calibrating the camera when the manufacturer stated it was required after windshield replacement. You can do what you want when it only involves you, but these saftey systems also protect other when you are not paying attention, and when something fails, some innocent person may be severely injured, or worse.

I know the examples I’ve used seem extreme, but the fact of the matter is, I own and operate a business in the United States, particularly in California. I need to think like a lawyer in everything I do, but more importantly, I have an obligation to the customer to do the “right” thing. If you came to me and wanted me to replace your windshield without calibration, I would turn down the entire job, plain and simple.

Gary T

Sound like you totally missed my point. Maybe 9 times out of 10 everything will be fine, but the one time it doesn’t work, you might not get a chance to say, I guess I should get that calibration done.

A shop hop we do work for unknowingly replaced the emblem in front of the precollision sensor with the wrong one. While driving and rounding sharp corners the vehicle would occasionally apply the brakes. Luckily no one was injured, but let’s say a semi was following too close and all of a sudden the vehicle abruptly applied the brakes, someone could have been injured. There were no warning lights, no fault codes, and a calibration was required because the shop removed the sensor. Had the shop done the required calibration after the repairs were completed, the problem would have been caught before the customer was put in harms way. We recently had another shop that removed the windshield (same windshield was reinstalled) to replace the headliner in an Acura MDX after curtain airbag deployment. After repairs were completed they asked us to calibrate the windshield camera as required by Acura. The vehicle did not have any fault codes and no warning lamps on. The vehicle failed the drive cycle calibration 4 times and now had warning lamps on as well as fault codes stored for failed calibration. When I informed the shop that it failed and now has a dash lit up like a christmas tree, they proceeded to say “you must have done something wrong, it didn’t have any issues before you tried to calibrate it”. The problem was an aftermarket windshield that was installed prior to the collision (Honda/Acura says you must use OE if the vehicle has a camera). Because the glass shop never calibrated the camera after windshield replacement, no one was aware of a problem, including the customer. We informed the shop that they would need to install a $1200 factory windshield, they did and the camera passed calibration the first time.

Maybe i do turn down a lot of business, but at least I can sleep at night knowing I did the right thing. I will never let money drive my decisionsq. As a business professional, it’s my job to look out for my customers and protect them from uneducated (on this topic) people like you.

Sorry, I’m not a confrontational person, but I’m very passionate about what I do.

Gary T