A recent wrongful-death lawsuit involving a vehicle modified beyond factory specifications is drawing attention to an important issue for every driver: the engineering built into your vehicle matters when an accident happens.
When your vehicle is repaired after a collision, it’s natural to focus on what you can see. Does the paint match? Are the body panels straight? Does the vehicle look like it did before the accident? But some of the most important parts of a collision repair are things you may never see. Modern vehicles are engineered as complete systems. Structural components, advanced materials, airbags, sensors, cameras, radar and other safety technology are designed to work together to help protect you and your family during a collision.
That’s why following the vehicle manufacturer’s repair procedures is so important.
A Recent Lawsuit Highlights the Importance of Vehicle Engineering
A wrongful-death lawsuit recently reported by Repairer Driven News involves a Ford F-150 that had been modified with an aftermarket suspension lift kit that raised the truck approximately six inches. According to allegations in the lawsuit, the modification changed the truck’s ride height, suspension geometry, frame rails and crash structures from their original factory specifications. The lawsuit alleges that during a head-on collision with a Toyota Tundra, the elevated structures of the modified F-150 bypassed portions of the Tundra’s engineered crash-protection systems and contributed to intrusion into the occupant compartment. The lawsuit further alleges that the modification interfered with crash-avoidance and collision-mitigation systems on the F-150. These remain allegations in an ongoing legal case, but the case has brought renewed attention to the importance of the engineering behind today’s vehicles.
Click here to read the original Repairer Driven News article
What Does This Have to Do With Collision Repair?
Quite a lot. When a vehicle is involved in an accident, repairing the visible damage is only part of the job. Vehicle manufacturers develop specific procedures explaining how damaged components should be inspected, repaired or replaced. Depending on the vehicle and damage, those procedures can address structural repair methods, welding and joining techniques, measurements, diagnostic scanning, advanced driver-assistance systems and calibrations.
Major automaker trade associations have stated that post-collision repairs should follow the OEM procedures specific to the vehicle’s year, make and model. Those procedures are developed using engineering practices that can include crash simulation, physical crash testing and real-world validation. In other words, how a vehicle is repaired can matter just as much as how the finished repair looks.
OEM Parts and Procedures Aren’t Just About Fit and Finish
The same principle extends to the parts and materials specified for a repair. An original equipment manufacturer designed the vehicle as a system. Depending on the manufacturer and the particular repair, OEM procedures and position statements may specify particular replacement parts, materials and repair methods. For example, General Motors publishes collision-repair position statements addressing aftermarket parts, diagnostic scanning, ADAS components, supplemental restraint systems, wheel repairs and other safety-related operations. Ford likewise publishes requirements concerning OEM procedures, scanning and parts for collision repairs. GM Parts
At Body Works Plus, the question isn’t simply: “Can this part be made to fit?”
The more important question is: “What does the manufacturer require to repair this vehicle properly?”
Your Vehicle Is Designed to Protect the People Inside
This is where collision repair becomes personal. A vehicle may carry you to work every morning. Tomorrow it may be carrying your spouse, your children or your grandchildren. Hopefully, that vehicle is never involved in another serious collision. But if it is, you want the structural and safety systems surrounding your family to perform as the vehicle manufacturer intended. That’s why a proper collision repair isn’t simply about returning a vehicle that looks good. It’s about doing everything possible to preserve the safety engineering that was designed into the vehicle in the first place.
Your Insurance Company Doesn’t Build Your Vehicle
Following an accident, your insurance company plays an important role in handling the claim. But the repair requirements for your vehicle ultimately come from the company that engineered and manufactured it. That’s an important distinction.
At Body Works Plus, we research manufacturer repair information and follow vehicle-specific OEM procedures as part of our repair planning process. If an insurance estimate and an OEM-required repair procedure don’t initially align, that doesn’t make the manufacturer’s procedure unnecessary. It means the repair needs to be properly documented and addressed as part of the claims and repair process.
You Have a Choice After an Accident
After an accident, you may receive recommendations about where to have your vehicle repaired. But choosing a collision repair facility is an important decision. Ask questions…
Does the shop research OEM repair procedures?
Does it have manufacturer-specific training and certifications?
Does it understand today’s advanced safety systems?
Is it prepared to document the procedures necessary to properly repair your particular vehicle?
Most importantly, ask whether the repair plan is being developed around what your vehicle actually requires.
Because the People Inside Matter Most
At Body Works Plus, collision repair is about more than restoring sheet metal and paint. It’s about the people who will get back into that vehicle when the repair is complete. If you’ve been involved in an accident in Charlotte, NC, contact Body Works Plus to learn more about our OEM-focused collision repair process and manufacturer certifications. Your vehicle was engineered with your safety in mind. We believe it should be repaired with that same priority.
