Which Cars Need Windscreen Recalibration in Adelaide?

The quickest way to know whether your car needs recalibration is to look at the top of the windscreen, behind the rear-view mirror. If there is a camera module there (a black housing with 1 or 2 lenses pointing forward), your car has ADAS and will need calibration after a windscreen replacement. The badge on the bonnet matters far less than the model year and whether that camera is present.

The common Adelaide makes and their systems

Toyota: the most common car in Adelaide

Toyota is the most common make on Adelaide roads, so Toyota Safety Sense is the system we field the most questions about. From around 2018, most Corolla, RAV4 and Camry models carry the camera, and recent HiLux and LandCruiser grades do too. A pre-2018 Corolla usually has no camera and needs no calibration; the same model from 2019 does. The year is the deciding factor.

Subaru: calibration for longer than most

Subaru’s EyeSight uses a twin-camera setup mounted either side of the mirror, and it has needed calibration on windscreen replacement since around 2015, earlier than most brands. Adelaide has a strong Subaru following in the hills and outer suburbs, so if you drive an Outback, Forester or XV, assume calibration applies and budget for it.

European cars: camera plus complexity

Recent Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and Audi models not only have the camera but often require the more involved static calibration and OEM glass. In Adelaide’s eastern suburbs (Burnside, Unley, Norwood), where European cars are concentrated, this is the norm rather than the exception, and the fitter needs to be equipped for it.

What about older cars?

If your car is pre-2017 and has no camera behind the mirror, there is usually nothing to calibrate, and a windscreen replacement is a simpler, cheaper glass-only job. Rain and light sensors still need to be transferred and reconnected, but that is not the same as ADAS calibration. The dividing line, in practice, is the forward-facing camera.