OEM Position Statements on ADAS Calibration: Toyota, Honda, Ford and BMW
OEM position statements are the formal documents automakers publish to tell collision repairers what a correct repair requires, and on scanning and ADAS calibration they are more consistent than most people expect. Toyota, Honda, Ford and BMW have each put their position in writing. Read side by side, they make the same core point: a quiet dashboard does not prove a vehicle’s cameras and radar are aimed correctly after a repair. This guide summarizes what each manufacturer says, where the statements agree, and how to find the current version before you write an estimate or close out a job.
What an OEM Position Statement Is
A position statement is a manufacturer’s declared stance on a repair practice — scanning, glass replacement, parts, sectioning, or calibration. It is not the repair procedure itself. The statement says that something is required; the service information says how to do it on a specific model and year.
That distinction matters in practice. An estimator uses a position statement to justify a line item. A technician uses the service information to perform it. An insurer, in turn, reads the statement to understand why the line item is on the estimate at all. Because of this, the statements have become the common reference point between the shop, the carrier and the vehicle owner.
Statements are also revised. Honda updated its scanning statement in 2024, and Ford reissued its entire collision suite in 2025. Therefore, a printout from three years ago may no longer reflect what the manufacturer requires today.
Toyota and Lexus Position Statements
Toyota published its position statement on pre- and post-repair system scanning for Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles in July 2016. It has since added repair information that bears directly on ADAS work.
- Glass replacement. Toyota’s glass replacement requirements describe the windshield as a component that contributes to the strength of the roof and A-pillars and that has become an integral part of several advanced safety systems. In other words, the glass is part of the camera system, not just a window.
- Additional calibration requirements. Toyota documents calibration requirements for systems including adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and collision braking — the features drivers notice first when an aim is wrong.
- Radar and bumper precautions. Toyota has issued repair precautions for bumpers in front of its millimeter-wave radar and for rear bumpers on vehicles with blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. Paint thickness and repair method near a radar sensor can affect how it performs.
For a Toyota or Lexus, then, a windshield, a front bumper cover or a rear bumper repair is a calibration question as much as a body question.
Honda and Acura Position Statements
Honda’s position statement on pre- and post-repair system scanning, most recently updated in March 2024, applies to vehicles involved in a collision beyond minor cosmetic damage. It calls for a preliminary diagnostic scan during the estimate, a post-repair scan to confirm no diagnostic trouble codes remain, and a post-repair scan after any repair that disconnects electrical components or replaces body parts.
The most important line for ADAS work is Honda’s note that driver-assistive systems often will not display trouble codes during a scan unless the system itself is damaged. As a result, a clean scan does not rule out calibration. Aiming or calibration may still be required, and Honda directs technicians to the published aiming procedures in its service information.
Honda’s guidance on aiming also calls for a four-wheel alignment check before a camera or radar is aimed after a collision, with any out-of-spec alignment corrected first. We explain why that order matters in our guide to static and dynamic calibration.
Ford and Lincoln Position Statements
Ford updated its full set of collision position statements on October 1, 2025. On scanning, the position is direct: all Ford Motor Company vehicles from model year 2010 forward that are involved in a collision require a pre-repair diagnostic scan during the estimating phase, so that every required repair is identified. A post-repair scan then verifies that no new codes were introduced and that the systems were restored.
The 2025 statements also address parts. Ford states that aftermarket, recycled, salvaged and reconditioned parts — including cameras and sensors — have not been validated by Ford. That is directly relevant to calibration, because a sensor the manufacturer has not validated gives the calibration procedure a reference it was never designed around.
BMW Position Statements
BMW’s position statement on pre- and post-repair system scanning, released in April 2020, applies to its vehicles equipped with on-board diagnostics II. BMW explains that its vehicles can carry numerous control modules, sensors and cameras, and that a collision can damage them in ways that are not visually evident. Consequently, those systems have to be evaluated so the vehicle is repaired in compliance with BMW’s repair standards.
BMW adds that scanning is already built into its repair procedures. For a BMW, therefore, following the repair procedure and performing the scans are the same obligation, not two separate ones.
What the Statements Agree On
The wording differs from brand to brand, but five points come up again and again.
- Scan before and after. A pre-scan finds what the collision did; a post-scan proves what the repair restored.
- No warning light is not the same as no problem. Honda says so explicitly, and BMW’s point about damage that is not visually evident makes the same argument.
- The procedure comes from the manufacturer. Neither the shop nor the calibration provider chooses between static and dynamic calibration; the vehicle’s service information does.
- Geometry comes before aim. Alignment problems have to be corrected before a camera or radar is calibrated, or the sensor stores a wrong reference very precisely.
- Parts affect calibration. Glass, brackets and sensors that the manufacturer has not validated can prevent a calibration from producing a correct result.
If you are unsure which sensors a particular repair affects, our guide to ADAS recalibration and which sensors need it walks through the five sensor groups and the repairs that disturb each one.
How to Find the Current Version
Always work from the manufacturer’s current statement rather than a copy saved on a shop computer. I-CAR’s Repairability Technical Support portal collects OEM position statements alongside an OEM calibration requirements search by make, model and year, and it notes when a statement has been updated. Manufacturers also publish their statements through their own collision and service information sites.
When a statement and the service information appear to disagree, the service information for that specific vehicle governs the procedure. This article is a general summary of public statements, not a substitute for either.
How We Apply OEM Position Statements
At Car Buddy Calibration, every calibration follows the factory-prescribed procedure for that make, model and year. We use OEM-grade diagnostic tools and factory-level software, and our technicians hold dual certifications in collision repair and ADAS technologies. Every job includes pre-scan and post-scan documentation formatted for insurers, so the record shows which procedure ran and that the module reported a successful result.
Much of our work is for collision centers, glass installers and dealerships that do not keep calibration equipment in house. We handle the calibration step so the repair can be closed out properly, and we can set up a trade account for shops that send vehicles regularly. After windshield replacement, see our windshield calibration page; for everything else, browse our ADAS calibration services.
Car Buddy Calibration is at 126-19b 20th Ave, College Point, NY 11356. To book a vehicle or set up a trade account, contact us or call (347) 551-2632 with the year, make and model and the repair that was done.