ARE YOU EDUCATING YOUR CUSTOMERS ON ADAS?

Consumers are very confused when it comes to this important technology

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) help drivers avoid road collisions by supporting drivers to make safe choices, alerting drivers to potential hazards, and intervening to avoid accidents.
ADAS systems are progressively being included in new models (currently up to 60 percent) and ADAS now incorporate systems ranging from Adaptive Cruise Control to Forward Collision Warnings.
Furthermore, we expect this trend to increase over the next two years as we see the effect of Australia’s adoption of Autonomous Emergency Braking and Lane Departure warning as a mandatory requirement (ADR) for new car models.
However, consumers do not appear to have followed suit.
Research data shows that many do not appear to fully understand capabilities or how and when to use ADAS, and even if their vehicle is equipped with some of the features.
Of course, none of this will be news to you as an aftermarket and repair professional.
As ADAS features improved in a relatively short time frame, a number of major, worrying trends were brought to the fore, including consumer confusion.
Research from 2020 onwards shows that while consumers show a preference for vehicle models with ADAS, many are unsure about all the features and how this system impacts the everyday driving experience.
And the fact that car companies use different proprietary names for similar systems adds to the confusion.
Consumers can see its safety benefits, but international studies show that car owners are not very familiar with the capabilities of these systems (70 percent) and the constant beeping can lead to neglect and abuse.
We know the average new vehicle handover can take less than 30 minutes and what is evident is that consumers leave the showroom with a new car without a full understanding of the vehicle’s capabilities.
To be fair, loading up the new car handover process with more detail is likely to lead to information overload and interestingly, this gap in consumer understanding is an opportunity the aftermarket could fill.
Many commentators have pointed to the need for the auto industry to better educate and engage consumers on how to incorporate ADAS technology into the everyday driving experience.
Perhaps this is a role we can play – for example, as we service these new vehicle logbooks, there is an opportunity to educate consumers about the features and deliberately work into the conversation about ADAS.

Options for messaging here include reminding the consumer about their system.
For example, “your car has a lane departure warning, how did you find the lane keeping assist system, do you use the system, and did you find the warning sound annoying or helpful?”
This can lead to valuable discussions and opportunities to educate consumers about recalibration.
Independent repair and service shops are investing more and more in ADAS training and equipment, and the logical next step was for us to tell our customers why their repair option was the best choice to check their safety systems were in proper working order.
Of course, we also need to invest in the necessary training and equipment to ensure that these statements are true.
While the ADAS features as a whole are far from new – ESC and traction control were introduced last century – the system has evolved.
Automakers put out vehicles equipped with an increasingly varied range of advanced technologies and their prevalence can be expected to increase as more innovations in technology are discovered.
As such, this is the right time for independent aftermarkets to work together to support consumers’ awareness that we have the training and technology to ensure their ADAS technology continues to operate within the required operating parameters.
There are also other worrying trends that we can see, and the early signs are already here.
The concern is that we are experiencing some subtle public messages from the auto industry implying that you can only trust an authorized repair shop to repair an ADAS equipped vehicle.
This is clearly not true as the Australian Motor Vehicle Information Sharing Act mandates the sharing of repair information, but consumers may not know this.
The good news is that our perception of ability is largely in our own hands.
A clean workshop, knowledgeable staff, state-of-the-art equipment and constant updates on repair progress can all influence the perception of ability.
Likewise, engaging in ADAS conversations, ‘pulling back the curtain’ and educating them to do similar work.
It reinforces the message that our industry is ahead of the curve, supporting consumer choice and playing a critical role in keeping customers and their families safe while enhancing their experience of driving high-end computers on wheels.