When a car's paint is scratched or dented, a trip to the body shop can mean several hours of being without your vehicle. Some cars now have advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) including lane departure warning and assisted parking features, which means that scratches or minor dents in the car could put these expensive components at risk. However, many Advanced Driver Assistance Systems require only very slight damage to be visible before they stop working properly.
The damage does not have to be major and the scratches do not have to be deep for this to happen. Minor dents and scratches can cause enough of a change in how light is reflected from the car, which causes problems with these systems. The sensors used for those features are now everywhere from bumpers all the way up to windshields, as well as under the side mirrors. So minor paintwork repairs could make your ADAS stop working properly, which is why some automakers recommend paintless dent repair instead of taking your car to a traditional body shop. Another reason they recommend paintless dent repairs is that they are concerned about the warranty on your car, and most auto warranties will not cover even minor scratches.
One of the primary advantages of using paintless dent removal is that there isn't any fear of accidentally damaging more expensive parts that are required for ADAS features like collision warning systems, rearview camera, or sensors for parking assistance.
With all this said there is still hope for you if your car has ADAS features and you need to get minor dents repaired. As mentioned before these systems track reflections so any damage to the paintwork needs to be fixed so it is smooth again by using paintless dent repair techniques. Thankfully this can now be done without having an expert come to you as many companies do mobile repairs that will take care of your car at your home or work during off-peak hours when most people aren't driving their cars. If not they can also go directly to where your car is parked at your home or work.
However, paintless dent repair is not a perfect solution. If the dents in question are very small and their depth can't be felt with a fingernail, paintless dent removal may not do much good. Also if the car in question has complex curves it may be easier to use traditional bodywork rather than paintless dent repair techniques when repairing ADAS vehicles which would prevent them from working properly again since these systems need to track reflections off flat panels that do not have any complicated curves on them. Always speak with an expert about whether paintless repair will meet your needs before making a decision .
Another consideration is whether or not your car is custom. Sometimes custom cars will be
painted with special colors that need to be removed during the traditional bodywork process and matching paint may be nearly impossible and expensive.
Contact Dent Erasers today to find out if paintless dent repair will be good for your ADAS vehicle.