When Even the Autopilot Is Only Guessing

When Even the Autopilot Is Only Guessing

The risks of windscreen replacement: why ADAS calibration cannot be skipped

An increasing number of vehicles are equipped with driver assistance systems, collectively known as ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), which use cameras and other sensors to monitor the vehicle’s surroundings. Examples include automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition and adaptive cruise control. Some of these sensors are typically mounted on or immediately adjacent to the windscreen, meaning that replacing the windscreen, however professionally the replacement itself is carried out, inevitably alters the sensor’s precise position. It is therefore both expected and required that, following windscreen replacement, the camera or sensor be recalibrated to ensure that it continues to operate with the same factory-level accuracy as when originally installed.

Market experience nevertheless suggests that some repair workshops omit this calibration step to save time and money and instead, they ask customers to sign a declaration waiving calibration or acknowledging that the service constitutes proper contractual performance even without it. It is worth considering, however, the risks this practice entails, not only from a technical perspective but also from a legal one.

Why is skipping calibration not a “minor issue”?

The most obvious consequence of skipping calibration is that the driver assistance functions concerned may no longer operate with the accuracy designed and expected by the manufacturer. In practice, this may mean that the emergency braking system fails to intervene or does so at the wrong time, that the lane departure warning system gives no warning or an incorrect one, or that adaptive cruise control measures the following distance inaccurately. These faults directly increase the risk of accidents, not only for the vehicle’s driver and passengers but also for other road users.

Accordingly, calibration cannot be regarded as an optional, additional service; it is an essential precondition for the proper operation of the safety systems concerned. Windscreen replacement can therefore be considered complete and professionally performed only if the associated calibration has also been carried out.

Defective performance that cannot be validly waived

“If calibration is omitted, windscreen replacement will typically constitute defective performance from a legal perspective, as the service then fails to meet either general quality expectations or the applicable professional standards,” points out dr. Attila Brózmann, attorney-at-law at act legal Hungary. Having the customer sign a declaration expressly waiving calibration or accepting its omission does not resolve the issue: legally, such a declaration could, at most, be regarded as a technically improper instruction, which the workshop should refuse to carry out under the applicable legal requirements, as doing so would endanger the safety of both the customer and others.

Furthermore, such a waiver, or a contractual term containing it, is itself invalid because it circumvents mandatory rules that must be applied. In consumer contracts, there is an additional, independent ground of invalidity: under Hungarian civil law, a consumer’s advance waiver of statutory rights is also invalid. A workshop therefore cannot successfully rely on such declarations to exclude its liability.

Not merely a matter of civil law

The legal risks of omitting calibration extend well beyond defective performance. From a road safety perspective, both vehicle operators and repair workshops are subject to statutory obligations to maintain the vehicle’s safety systems in their factory condition. Given their public-law nature, these obligations cannot be transferred or excluded by a private-law declaration between the parties.

From a consumer protection perspective, failure to inform the customer of the need for calibration may in itself raise concerns about an unfair commercial practice that distorts consumer decision-making, because without this material information, consumers cannot make an informed decision about whether to have calibration carried out, as the need for it is not common knowledge.
From a competition law perspective, a workshop that gains an unjustified cost advantage by systematically omitting calibration may be engaging in unfair market conduct contrary to the requirements of fair business practice, as compared with competitors that comply with the rules.

Finally, it is worth bearing in mind that, in the event of an accident, failure to calibrate may also have adverse consequences under the relevant insurance arrangements, if a causal link with the accident can be established, the comprehensive motor insurer may be partially or fully released from its obligation to provide cover, while the compulsory motor third-party liability insurer may have a right of recourse against the vehicle operator or the workshop responsible for the defective performance.

What does this mean for repair workshops?

The risk does not fall solely on the vehicle operator: the workshop itself may also face consequences, and a declaration signed by the customer offers no protection. Under the rules governing contracts for services, if a customer’s request would breach the law or endanger the safety of others, the contractor must refuse to carry it out, merely warning the customer is not enough, and obtaining a signed declaration is certainly insufficient. As calibration is necessary, mandatory and legally required, a customer’s declaration waiving it constitutes precisely such an unlawful request, which the workshop should reject. A workshop that nevertheless replaces the windscreen without calibration exposes itself not only to liability for defective performance but also to certification and regulatory risks. If a causal link with an accident can be proven, it will not be released from liability for damages either, as the declaration provides no exemption.

What can vehicle operators do?

In light of the above, it is clear that omitting calibration during windscreen replacement cannot be regarded as a harmless cost-saving decision, on the contrary, it is a practice that may breach the law in several areas simultaneously, with the vehicle operator ultimately bearing the risk. Vehicle operators should therefore make a conscious effort to insist that, when a windscreen is replaced, the workshop actually performs the necessary calibration and provides documentary confirmation that it has done so. Refusing to sign such a declaration and expressly requesting calibration is not merely a matter of legal protection but also a fundamental road safety concern, as the safety of everyone using the roads is ultimately at stake.