# Wheel alignment makes the front assist go out. Not covered by warranty?



## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

So we are on a 500 mile trip this weekend and got stuck in some very slow moving traffic after about 3 miles the front assist not available warning lights come on. The atlas has 25,000 miles on it… We have never hit any road hazard and the tires and wheels are in good shape . It has has never had a wheel alignment. It was not pulling bad and tires were not wearing.


The dealer charged us $579 to align all four wheels and re-calibrate the front assist . Not covered by warranty. He says that even if we did not have the warning light and you take the vehicle to the wheel alignment shop and have the wheels aligned you will get a warning light have to pay them to do calibrations. He also says if you change out the front windshield due to broken glass crack rock chip then the front assist needs to be calibrated. He says this is just the price of owning a car with leading edge technology… Has anyone else experienced this? Is this true? Or is this BS?


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

sayemthree said:


> So we are on a 500 mile trip this weekend and got stuck in some very slow moving traffic after about 3 miles the front assist not available warning lights come on. The atlas has 25,000 miles on it… We have never hit any road hazard and the tires and wheels are in good shape . It has has never had a wheel alignment. It was not pulling bad and tires were not wearing.
> 
> 
> The dealer charged us $579 to align all four wheels and re-calibrate the front assist . Not covered by warranty. He says that even if we did not have the warning light and you take the vehicle to the wheel alignment shop and have the wheels aligned you will get a warning light have to pay them to do calibrations. He also says if you change out the front windshield due to broken glass crack rock chip then the front assist needs to be calibrated. He says this is just the price of owning a car with leading edge technology… Has anyone else experienced this? Is this true? Or is this BS?


In my opinion it is BS 


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## 2018 SoCal Atlas Owner (Oct 4, 2018)

sayemthree said:


> He also says if you change out the front windshield due to broken glass crack rock chip then the front assist needs to be calibrated. He says this is just the price of owning a car with leading edge technology… Has anyone else experienced this? Is this true? Or is this BS?


Yep . . . within the first week after upgrading(?) from a 2018 to a 2019 Atlas a truck passing the other direction on a two lane highway tossed up a small rock that struck the very edge of the left side of the windshield. Didn't realize it had happened as nothing was visible 'til we opened and then shut the front door after driving up the hill and stopping to check the mailbox and the pressure from inside the car caused a 9" crack in the glass right where the rock hit. (Couldn't find it until that happened.) Had everything done at the dealership and the re-calibration charges came to $750.00 on top of the price for the new windshield, camera, etc. Everything was covered by the insurance 'cept for the $250.00 deductible.

Don't cha' just luv all those new technological advancements!


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## shijmus (Oct 8, 2018)

I’m about to do a wheel alignment, my car is pulling to one side after tire change 
So it can only be done at dealership otherwise if they mess up the front assist sensors, you have to pay extra for realignment?



sayemthree said:


> So we are on a 500 mile trip this weekend and got stuck in some very slow moving traffic after about 3 miles the front assist not available warning lights come on. The atlas has 25,000 miles on it… We have never hit any road hazard and the tires and wheels are in good shape . It has has never had a wheel alignment. It was not pulling bad and tires were not wearing.
> 
> 
> The dealer charged us $579 to align all four wheels and re-calibrate the front assist . Not covered by warranty. He says that even if we did not have the warning light and you take the vehicle to the wheel alignment shop and have the wheels aligned you will get a warning light have to pay them to do calibrations. He also says if you change out the front windshield due to broken glass crack rock chip then the front assist needs to be calibrated. He says this is just the price of owning a car with leading edge technology… Has anyone else experienced this? Is this true? Or is this BS?


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Cost of ownership is how I look at this - all modern cars with the passive/assist systems can require re-calibration of those systems.


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## knedrgr (Jun 6, 2011)

KarstGeo said:


> Cost of ownership is how I look at this - all modern cars with the passive/assist systems can require re-calibration of those systems.


Yup! And this is why base model FTW. More features, more problems = more money.


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## vbrad26 (Oct 18, 2009)

Sort of seems like BS to me.
Not arguing that these systems require extra work from time to time but that seems like quite a lot of $.
But I'm also not surprised that the warranty does not cover it.


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## Tim K (Jan 31, 2001)

I believe it is just a recalibration of the camera to make sure the vehicle drives where the camera thinks it should. But $500 is absurd.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

vbrad26 said:


> ...But I'm also not surprised that the warranty does not cover it.


A warranty is to cover the cost of defective things, not owner cause things.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Tim K said:


> ...But $500 is absurd.


Based on what? What is the shop hours required? What is the shop rate?


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## jcbaile1 (Nov 13, 2017)

This is complete crap. I have two Atlas's. One with SE tech and one SEL P. Ive had multiple alignments done at other shops and on the 18 had the dealer redo the calibration at no charge. They rarely need adjustment. It is not a normal thing to do. Be careful though some Firestone Complete Auto Cares will not do it on the 2019 but will on the 2018. Its odd but its shop to shop. I have the unlimted lifetime on both mine and have had them aligned probably 5 times no issues. Crooked dealer if its off that much its a warranty issue or something hit it.


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

sayemthree said:


> He also says if you change out the front windshield due to broken glass crack rock chip then the front assist needs to be calibrated. He says this is just the price of owning a car with leading edge technology… Has anyone else experienced this? Is this true? Or is this BS?





2018 SoCal Atlas Owner said:


> Yep . . . within the first week after upgrading(?) from a 2018 to a 2019 Atlas a truck passing the other direction on a two lane highway tossed up a small rock that struck the very edge of the left side of the windshield. Didn't realize it had happened as nothing was visible 'til we opened and then shut the front door after driving up the hill and stopping to check the mailbox and the pressure from inside the car caused a 9" crack in the glass right where the rock hit. (Couldn't find it until that happened.) Had everything done at the dealership and the re-calibration charges came to $750.00 on top of the price for the new windshield, camera, etc. Everything was covered by the insurance 'cept for the $250.00 deductible.


I had the windshield replaced with OEM VW glass last June and the front camera did not need re-calibration. No error messages. The glass shop I used said this is a very controversial issue right now, but it comes down to the optical quality and fit of the glass, with OEM being generally better than off-brand or aftermarket glass.


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

shijmus said:


> I’m about to do a wheel alignment, my car is pulling to one side after tire change
> So it can only be done at dealership otherwise if they mess up the front assist sensors, you have to pay extra for realignment?


Let us know what happens according to my dealer you will have to take it to the dealer after the alignment to get the Front assist calibrated

The 575 I paid it was supposedly for a four wheel alignment plus the calibration


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

vbrad26 said:


> Sort of seems like BS to me.
> Not arguing that these systems require extra work from time to time but that seems like quite a lot of $.
> But I'm also not surprised that the warranty does not cover it.


The warranty will never cover this kind of thing with any brand.

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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

If your lane keep assist camera is out due to your alignment being too far out, then yes you will be charged. Now, it’s good practice to have your alignment done once a year (that’s even before all the technology available these days). I did my alignment after the first year, and camera did not need recalibration. I did need my windshield replaced after a large crack, and insurance covered the OEM glass and recalibration of the camera. I know someone mentioned a deductible, but here in VA it’s covered by insurance since it’s a safety issue. Then earlier this year I threw out the rear alignment on my Tiguan, didn’t know I had at the time, only thing was an error that Lane Keep Assist was not available. That set me back ~680 (rear alignment/alignment and recalibration of LKA camera). Cost of ownership and last one was all my own fault. 


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## Watchie (Oct 13, 2019)

Just a general comment, but damn that seems like a lot of money for Joe Average to have to spend to keep a safety system intact. Put another way, as these systems become "standard" equipment on all cars who will be able to afford to keep them working????


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Watchie said:


> Just a general comment, but damn that seems like a lot of money for Joe Average to have to spend to keep a safety system intact. Put another way, as these systems become "standard" equipment on all cars who will be able to afford to keep them working????


As these systems become more available, that should drive down cost. Plus the systems to perform calibration are sensitive and I’m sure costly. Calibrations need to be performed on a level surface. I can only speculate you need and want someone who understands the sensitivity of the systems, and how to properly adjust. If not I can only imagine the potential risk involved of sending a car out that isn’t properly calibrated. 


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## Watchie (Oct 13, 2019)

I agree, as they become more common the initial cost will be less (if indeed not baked into the base cost of the car). It's the cost of maintaining them, apparently outside of warranty coverage, that concerns me. Adding $700 to the cost of an alignment, or windshield replacement, or whatever, is a heck of an expense for a lot of people. Indeed, it would be more than the monthly lease/financing cost of the car. And that would apply whether an upscale ride or not.


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Watchie said:


> I agree, as they become more common the initial cost will be less (if indeed not baked into the base cost of the car). It's the cost of maintaining them, apparently outside of warranty coverage, that concerns me. Adding $700 to the cost of an alignment, or windshield replacement, or whatever, is a heck of an expense for a lot of people. Indeed, it would be more than the monthly lease/financing cost of the car. And that would apply whether an upscale ride or not.


True, if money is an issue you could get the alignment and manually turn off the lane keep assist camera. If not already turned off by the system itself due to the error of the camera being out of alignment. Also depends on the error, on-line error is self adjustment during use. If it’s not the on-line error the camera is faulty and then that’s a warranty issue. 


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Watchie said:


> Just a general comment, but damn that seems like a lot of money for Joe Average to have to spend to keep a safety system intact. Put another way, as these systems become "standard" equipment on all cars who will be able to afford to keep them working????


Maybe folks that can't afford a vehicle should be using public transit.


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

Reihenmotor5 said:


> True, if money is an issue you could get the alignment and manually turn off the lane keep assist camera. If not already turned off by the system itself due to the error of the camera being out of alignment. Also depends on the error, on-line error is self adjustment during use. If it’s not the on-line error the camera is faulty and then that’s a warranty issue.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I am not talking about the lane assist. My lane assist worked fine my fault came from the front assist. The front assist is what keeps you from running into an object in front of you it also works with the active cruise control. When you have the front assist fault you cannot use cruise control at all in any mode


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

sayemthree said:


> I am not talking about the lane assist. My lane assist worked fine my fault came from the front assist. The front assist is what keeps you from running into an object in front of you it also works with the active cruise control. When you have the front assist fault you cannot use cruise control at all in any mode


Correct and that is includes the camera. That is what gets calibrated. When the error came up for LKA for me, ACC is no longer functional either. Sure the parking sensors still work fine, but the camera and radar behind the VW logo work in conjunction for ACC/LKA. 


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

Reihenmotor5 said:


> Correct and that is includes the camera. That is what gets calibrated. When the error came up for LKA for me, ACC is no longer functional either. Sure the parking sensors still work fine, but the camera and radar behind the VW logo work in conjunction for ACC/LKA.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


when my front assist went out the Lane assist still worked.


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

sayemthree said:


> when my front assist went out the Lane assist still worked.


Copy, I took worked as it used to work until you got the error with front assist. If it’s just front assist that’s only the radar, but still around the cost I mentioned. Do you recall anything hitting around that area, large pothole maybe, or your alignment is far out enough the radar can tell and can’t compensate for the difference? I’m sure there is some tolerance, but once outside of the accepted parameters front assist stops working requiring a recalibration. Here is what’s involved in radar calibration:

https://youtu.be/vPl_g-2x-Ls

Not including wheel alignment. 


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## Justin7983 (Nov 18, 2008)

Reihenmotor5 said:


> If your lane keep assist camera is out due to your alignment being too far out, then yes you will be charged. Now, it’s good practice to have your alignment done once a year (that’s even before all the technology available these days). I did my alignment after the first year, and camera did not need recalibration. I did need my windshield replaced after a large crack, and insurance covered the OEM glass and recalibration of the camera. I know someone mentioned a deductible, but here in VA it’s covered by insurance since it’s a safety issue. Then earlier this year I threw out the rear alignment on my Tiguan, didn’t know I had at the time, only thing was an error that Lane Keep Assist was not available. That set me back ~680 (rear alignment/alignment and recalibration of LKA camera). Cost of ownership and last one was all my own fault.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Getting a wheel alignment done every year? Why? Seems like overkill. 


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

Reihenmotor5 said:


> Copy, I took worked as it used to work until you got the error with front assist. If it’s just front assist that’s only the radar, but still around the cost I mentioned. Do you recall anything hitting around that area, large pothole maybe, or your alignment is far out enough the radar can tell and can’t compensate for the difference? I’m sure there is some tolerance, but once outside of the accepted parameters front assist stops working requiring a recalibration. Here is what’s involved in radar calibration:
> 
> https://youtu.be/vPl_g-2x-Ls
> 
> ...


car did not pull and there is no wear on the tires. never hit anything bad.

interesting the vid says nothing about having to do it after an alignment or windshield replacement


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

sayemthree said:


> car did not pull and there is no wear on the tires. never hit anything bad.
> 
> interesting the vid says nothing about having to do it after an alignment or windshield replacement


That’s just the one specific function of ADAS. For camera calibration after windshield replacement there’s a large dot matrix reflector used that’s not show in this video. 


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Justin7983 said:


> Getting a wheel alignment done every year? Why? Seems like overkill.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Surprisingly it’s considered annual maintenance since you’re keeping the suspension in-line, most manufacturers recommend 10K miles or every 12 months. I drive close to 20K a year. You’ve never hit a pot hole hard ever during the course of a year? Hit one hard enough or holes repeatedly and you’re suspension is out. May not pull hard but it’s good practice. 


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Justin7983 said:


> Getting a wheel alignment done every year? Why? Seems like overkill....


Absolutely. I owned a Mk4 GTI for 13 years, no alignment, Mk6 for 4 years, no alignment, and a Mk7 for 3 1/2 years with no alignment.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Reihenmotor5 said:


> Surprisingly it’s considered annual maintenance since you’re keeping the suspension in-line, most manufacturers recommend 10K miles or every 12 months. I drive close to 20K a year. You’ve never hit a pot hole hard ever during the course of a year? Hit one hard enough or holes repeatedly and you’re suspension is out. May not pull hard but it’s good practice.....


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

I rarely ever get wheel alignment unless my tires are wearing unevenly or the car is pulling. My 2004 x3 has almost 140,000 miles I have had one wheel alignment.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

sayemthree said:


> I rarely ever get wheel alignment unless my tires are wearing unevenly or the car is pulling. My 2004 x3 has almost 140,000 miles I have had one wheel alignment.


:thumbup::thumbup: Some folks just like to spend unnecessary money just to tell their friends.


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## Chris4789 (Nov 29, 2017)

Here is my Atlas on the alignment and calibration rack at the dealer following a windshield replacement. 
The instructions from the manufacturer of the alignment equipment (below) recommends a full fuel tank along with engine oil and coolant at recommended levels.


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

Chris4789 said:


> Here is my Atlas on the alignment and calibration rack at the dealer following a windshield replacement.
> The instructions from the manufacturer of the alignment equipment (below) recommends a full fuel tank along with engine oil and coolant at recommended levels.


interesting that the "necessary when" says nothing about wheel alignment or windshield replacement. seems like they are charging us $575 to reset a service light.


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Price seems to be pretty standard, and not just for VW for advance driver safety systems. If you feel that’s all they’re doing, then don’t have it done just yet. Try using VCDS or OBD11 to see if you can clear the error (odds are it won’t) first. If it clears you saved money, if it doesn’t then I guess decide if it’s worth the cost. 


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

Basically a 500$ alignment. Cost $89 on my gti


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## Tdawgydog (Oct 15, 2020)

Sitting at my VW service area now and was just given this same line of crap about alignment not being covered under BUMPER TO BUMPER warranty. 2019 VW Atlas SE, wife had 20k service done at dealership including wheel alignment and 1 week later, a few hundred miles into a cross country trip, the front sensor gave an error which left us unable to use cruise control for the 4k+ miles we drove. VW service leaves a lot to be desired and is exactly why I haven't bought a VW in nearly 20 years. I will say that they did quote me a price lower than what has been mentioned in this thread, I think they said $375 to recalibrate if it is not a faulty sensor. Seems like an over finicky sensor should certainly be covered under their warranty, but oh well. I'm not paying whatever it is that they try to charge, I guess we'll just live with out cruise control.


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## sidewinder1 (May 12, 2020)

got front assist not available while towing a travel trailer and was not able to use adaptive cruise. dealer said alignment was out and wanted to charge $500+ for calibration and alignment which felt like a ripoff. in all fairness they said it is an involved procedure that takes like 3-4 hours. ended up going to a tire shop and they confirmed alignment was out pretty bad in the rear. after alignment, they were dumbfounded that they could not clear the error. called multiple repair shops including those that specialize on european cars and no one could do the calibration. broke down and made an appt few days later to pay the ransom but it magically went away on the way to the dealer. service advisor said she has never seen it go away on its own. not sure if it took few days for car to realize the alignment was corrected. its been over 4 months and it hasn't come back and acc works fine. just sharing my experience before someone decides to spend $500 on calibration.


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## achefadam (Sep 28, 2021)

sayemthree said:


> So we are on a 500 mile trip this weekend and got stuck in some very slow moving traffic after about 3 miles the front assist not available warning lights come on. The atlas has 25,000 miles on it… We have never hit any road hazard and the tires and wheels are in good shape . It has has never had a wheel alignment. It was not pulling bad and tires were not wearing.
> 
> 
> The dealer charged us $579 to align all four wheels and re-calibrate the front assist . Not covered by warranty. He says that even if we did not have the warning light and you take the vehicle to the wheel alignment shop and have the wheels aligned you will get a warning light have to pay them to do calibrations. He also says if you change out the front windshield due to broken glass crack rock chip then the front assist needs to be calibrated. He says this is just the price of owning a car with leading edge technology… Has anyone else experienced this? Is this true? Or is this BS?


I Was told 4 hours worth of labor for the recalibration and alignment. My dealership wants $440.00 still ridiculous! Car is not pulling so I am not getting this done until I actually need an alignment then will have sensors recalibrated.


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

Did you tell the dealer to do an allignent? Did you even bring it up?

Is it all fixed now?


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## dand. (Sep 1, 2015)

First post here on this forum. Following Atlas as we really considering ))

A few years ago I had to replace my Mercedes ML windshield due to a crack, censors and camera must be re-calibrated. 

My steps were:
File a claim with insurance
Install new windshield paid $500 deductible
Took car for calibration paid $160
File reimbursement 
Got my $160 back from insurance

Im not sure hows alignment can required recalibration, alignment keeps car straight,
camera watching if car moves left or right close to sides. 

How is it related if car goes straight? 


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## Tim K (Jan 31, 2001)

sidewinder1 said:


> got front assist not available while towing a travel trailer and was not able to use adaptive cruise. dealer said alignment was out and wanted to charge $500+ for calibration and alignment which felt like a ripoff. in all fairness they said it is an involved procedure that takes like 3-4 hours. ended up going to a tire shop and they confirmed alignment was out pretty bad in the rear. after alignment, they were dumbfounded that they could not clear the error. called multiple repair shops including those that specialize on european cars and no one could do the calibration. broke down and made an appt few days later to pay the ransom but it magically went away on the way to the dealer. service advisor said she has never seen it go away on its own. not sure if it took few days for car to realize the alignment was corrected. its been over 4 months and it hasn't come back and acc works fine. just sharing my experience before someone decides to spend $500 on calibration.


Same thing happened to me. Driving in the rain, no bumps or potholes and front assist goes out. Had to drive the rest of the 4 hours with no cruise control and another 8hrs home too. Dealer claimed alignment went out and the systems communicate with each other. I called bull****. No systems can detect an alignment issue, at most they can detect that the sensors are off or out of whack. I wasn't paying $700 for an alignment and recalibration when I knew I didn't need it and it was probably a loose connection. Drove for another month and it magically cleared and front assist is now working. I'm replacing my tires this week and will get an alignment done at that time. I'll be using a different dealer going forward.


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## InfiniteEnd (Dec 29, 2020)

Tim K said:


> Same thing happened to me. Driving in the rain, no bumps or potholes and front assist goes out. Had to drive the rest of the 4 hours with no cruise control and another 8hrs home too. Dealer claimed alignment went out and the systems communicate with each other. I called bull****. No systems can detect an alignment issue, at most they can detect that the sensors are off or out of whack. I wasn't paying $700 for an alignment and recalibration when I knew I didn't need it and it was probably a loose connection. Drove for another month and it magically cleared and front assist is now working. I'm replacing my tires this week and will get an alignment done at that time. I'll be using a different dealer going forward.


this is happening to me right now - i was driving in the snow and the same thing happened. They told me my front acc sensor (im guessing the one behind the badge) was misaligned and i need to align it. they want $700 for the realignment. Now im thinking i might just run with out it and pray that the same thing happens to me - and that it goes away. if not, i'll get an indie shop 4 wheel alignment and hope that the car will notice everything's ok and i'd be good to go...

did you also just pay the dealer diag fee and forget about it


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## techlogik (Feb 9, 2004)

I have too much experience with this issue on my 2019 Jetta Premium SEL. Front bumper needed repair from fender bender. Grill needing replacing, sensor needed replacing, body shop didn't know anything about the car. Fiasco...was lucky, body shop ate the cost of the alignment of sensors. I had to pay for the grill and VW then comped another calibration that was covered already by having them install the grill I bought.

Next time, the sensor just went out of alignment, lane keep/ACC malfunction warning. No way to clear it. Went to dealer, they ended up actually getting VW to pay for the calibration and didn't cost me anything. Was lucky again. They couldn't find any reason for the malfunction they said to VW, no sensor errors, alignment was fine etc...so they fixed that one.

Also, multiple times was told as soon as you do an alignment, it has to be done every time with new tires/alignment. Tires need replacing and going to buy some cheapo S.Korean brand tires, have the local tire kingdom install/mount and do an alignment and pray the cameras/laser sensor does't go out. If so, well, saved money on the tires, will have to eat the alignment that is $400 from my dealer.

Jut my two cents, this is a complete joke what VW has created. But per that image someone posted (thanks for that!) it never mentions anything about a wheel alignment and needing to do this calibration per that document. Service people at two different dealers have said the same thing, it is required/often needed on a tire change/alignment. So, a slight adjust of camber/caster/toe whatever is needed, that should hopefully NOT throw this thing off the other sensor alignment. Pray for me. Ridiculous that it would cost $1000 to put new tires on a car depending on the brand. Even cheap tires and this sensor alignment will end up costing you $900+...absurd.

For those that did a tire change or alignment, would like to know your success/failure and needing the sensor alignment done, or if it had no effect?

Thx


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## InfiniteEnd (Dec 29, 2020)

i've done a tire change, multiple times now, i ditched the original tires/wheels, summer/winter all new but have never done an alignment - no issues until recently ... BUUUT

UPDATE:

The carfixed itself. i aint even gonna question it


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

Put a set of new Vredestein Quatrac Pro tires a couple months ago without issue. No alignment done.


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## Tim K (Jan 31, 2001)

FYI I had new tires put in in December. Full alignment. Didn't affect the system at all.


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## rul8agn (May 7, 2014)

I work at an auto glass shop. Last year we finally invested in the Autel recalibration system. Our bottom line was a nearly $20k investment with a $1300/year update. Every vehicle with ADAS is required to be recalibrated upon windshield installation. The camera has to be dismounted for the windshield replacement. That alone will send your camera out of spec. Every major insurance company considers it part of the glass replacement and will pay in full minus your deductible. Insurance gets billed $300-500 depending if a dynamic, static, or both recalibration is required. BUT... If "Joe Blow" walks in and asks for just a recalibration, we charge $179 flat. I am understanding that an ADAS recalibration is needed after wheel alignments as well because of the thrust angle alignment. Just because your new alignment was corrected doesn't mean your camera is looking straight. The recal system goes directly into the thrust angle alignment and straightens it out to spec.

All that to say, DO NOT go to a dealer for an ADAS recalibration unless you have money to burn. Contact your local auto glass shop and see if they do ADAS recalibrations. I guarantee it's much cheaper and I promise you it's the same system with the same results.

I can provide ADAS info links if anyone is interested.


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

Put a set of new Vredestein tires a couple month ago without issue. No alignment done.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

A few months ago they had to replace injector #3. It was a front end disassembly they did the work plus realignment plus by the sensor with no cost for me. In the winter I had the issue of assist being non functional during snow driving. All I had to do is clear the front emblem from snow and dirt and it came back to normal 


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## Gogoc154 (8 mo ago)

My 2020 Jetta which I bought new and now has a little over 3600 miles had the service light come on. Thinking I had to get my oil changed it turns out that it needed an ACC calibration of all the sensors and alignment with 3000 miles only! So you read about the fees for this and not covered under the warranty. Picked up my car the next day and drove home once I parked in front of my home the light came back on, what the hell! Taking it back tomorrow to get checked. Uuuhgg!


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## herkypilot130 (7 mo ago)

mhjett said:


> I had the windshield replaced with OEM VW glass last June and the front camera did not need re-calibration. No error messages. The glass shop I used said this is a very controversial issue right now, but it comes down to the optical quality and fit of the glass, with OEM being generally better than off-brand or aftermarket glass.


Same for me on a 2018. Caught a rock after about 3 wks ownership. Safelite replaced with VW windshield. No additional calibration needed.


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

Ive been told countless times by the dealer you MUST get calibration after alignment or windshield. On my CPO 2019 Atlas I purchased in 2020, it needed an alignment when I bought it. Dealer tried to charge me $600 but I got it covered as 1 time courtesy after calling VW.

Since then I have gathered that it is only recommended to get it calibrated. If it were me (and in the future) I will NOT get recalibration. I will simply see how it performs after the alignment. If it is off or something, THEN I will get it calibrated. There is no discount to getting it done at the same time. I have heard, anecdotally, that 9 times out of 10 you are fine, at least good enough to not notice it.

ALSO, I have been told by a local firestone that they have updated software to calibrate in-house and it is VASTLY cheaper. No idea how true this is....


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