How to Get Reimbursed for ADAS Test Drives

In this blog post I want share my thoughts on what repairers should do to improve their chances to get reimbursed for post-repair/calibration test drives on ADAS equipped vehicles.

 Let me start by saying, the decision to properly perform and document a post-repair/calibration test drive on ADAS equipped vehicles SHOULD NOT be driven by reimbursement ONLY! The decision should be based on delivering a safe and properly repaired vehicle back to the vehicle owner by ensuring that the vehicle’s ADAS systems operate as designed BEFORE returning the vehicle back to the owner

 There are 3 key components of a test drive reimbursement strategy

• Education…
• Creating a Detailed Estimate or Repair Plan…
• Generating and Sharing Detailed Documentation

 EDUCATION

 When it comes to education there are 4 constituents that need to be educated

1. The owner of the business
2. The employees
3. The customer
4. And if you are a collision repairer, Insurers

 OWNER OF THE BUSINESS

 The first person that needs to understand the importance of post-repair/calibration test drives is the owner of the business. If the business owner does not understand or believe in post-repair/calibration test drives, this critical process will never get implemented in the business

 If you are an owner of a business and you want to understand the importance of test drives,

• Study OEM repair procedures,
• Visit our test drive copilot website at testdrivecopilot.com
• Take I-CAR’s Post Repair ADAS testing class

 THE EMPLOYEES

 The 2^nd group that needs to understand the importance of post-repair/calibration test drives on ADAS equipped vehicles are the employees. Again, if they don’t understand and agree with the importance as well as how to properly perform post-repair/calibration ADAS test drives, it will be difficult to successfully implement the test drive process into the business

 If you are an owner of a business and you want to help your employees understand the importance of test drives have them…

• Study OEM test drive procedures,
• Visit our test drive copilot website at testdrivecopilot.com
• Have them take I-CAR’s Post Repair ADAS testing class

 THE CUSTOMER

 The 3^rd constituent is the consumer. The consumer needs to understand why a detailed test drive is required and why there will be a line-item charge on their repair order.

To educate the consumer you and your employees should take the time to identify the ADAS technology on every vehicle that you appraise or estimate and then explain how important it is to their safety and your liability that you properly perform, document and charge for a test drive

THE INSURER

Finally, the 4^th constituent that needs to be educated are the insurers. To do this, the business owner and employees must take the time to present the different OEM based ADAS test drive requirements to insurance representatives and management

Use OEM, ICAR and other ADAS repair/test drive procedures to educate insurance personnel

Suggest to the insurers they take I-CAR’s Post Repair ADAS testing class

Creating a Detailed Estimate or Repair Plan

Below are a couple of estimate / repair plan line items ideas you may want to incorporate into your estimating / repair planning process.

• Post-Repair/Calibration ADAS Test Drive (Dynamic Systems Validation) X or $XX.00 (See attached report and invoice) 
• ADAS systems verification test drive (Dynamic Systems Validation) X or $XX.00 (See attached report and Invoice)

Some other ideas: Copy and paste the OEM based test drive procedures from the OEM repair procedures, OEM user manuals or from the The Drive CoPilot™ OEM based repair procedures...Here are some examples for Honda ADAS test drive procedure line items

 Blind Spot Information System (BSI):

• Verified radar sensors under rear bumper corners not damaged
• Drove vehicle at required speeds of AT LEAST 20 MPH (32 km/h)
• Verified warning light came on the outside mirror showing which side the vehicle is being detected.
• Verified when turn signal used when changing lanes, warning signal blinked and then generated audible alert.

 Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS):

• Verified camera behind rear view mirror was not damaged, dirty or obstructed
• Verified radar sensor at the lower part of the front bumper not damaged or obstructed
• Drove vehicle at speed greater than 3MPH/5km/h
• Verified system provided three (3) stages of visual, audible and haptic warnings when test vehicle detected a collision/object when moving forward.

 Low Speed Braking Control System

• Verified sonar sensors located in the front and rear bumpers are not damaged
• Drove vehicle at required speeds between 1 and 6MPH / 2 and 10km/h
• Verified system provided visual and audible alerts when system detected obstacle or wall

 Road Departure Mitigation System (RDM)

• Verified camera behind rear view mirror not damaged, dirty or obstructed
• Drove vehicle at required speeds between 45 and 90 MPH (72 and 144k m/h)
• Verified system provided visual alerts in dashboard when system detected vehicle crossing lane markings or leaving the roadway
• Verified system applied steering torque and rapid steering wheel vibrations vehicle unintentionally crossed lane markings or left the roadway

 Generate and Share Detailed Documentation: The final component of a successful ADAS test drive reimbursement strategy is proper and detailed documentation to support each test drive you expect reimbursement for.

A detailed ADAS test drive report should include

• Repair Order/estimate #
• Vehicle and insurance info
• Who performed the test drive?
• Time, speed and mileage details from the test drive
• Access to video and audio documentation
• A detailed map of where the vehicle was test driven
• A detailed listing of ADAS systems that were tested and the results of those tests

 The second documentation component is an invoice from a 3^rd party service like our test Drive CoPilot™ platform. 

 To learn more about properly performing, managing, documenting and getting reimbursed for post repair/calibration test drives visit our website at www.testdrivecopilot.com.

 Our patent-pending Test Drive CoPilot™ is the world’s best way to properly perform, manage, and document post repair/calibration test drives. It is….

• Easy to use
• Provides detailed OEM based test drive procedures and videos
• Records video and audio evidence of test drives
• Generates a detailed report and invoice
• Improves quality
• Reduces liability
• Improves the opportunity to get reimbursed
• Can help you sleep better at night