Add new comment

The International Institute for Highway Safety or IIHS is a non profit organization dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries, and property damage from motor vehicle accidents. But it is important to know that this organization was founded and is funded by insurance companies.
While both IIHS and NHTSA both perform crash test worthiness testing, in my opinion IIHS performs their research on behalf of and for the insurance companies, while NHTSA performs research along with setting and enforcing federal vehicle safety regulations, for the American people.
I recently saw a letter sent from State Farm to its direct repair providers stating they refused to pay for an OEM windshield replacement unless the repair provider could provide proof that the windshield camera calibration fails with an aftermarket windshield.
Why are aftermarket windshields a concern? This is because aftermarket windshields often cause operational issues with critical driving support and safety systems. More specifically, these brackets come secured to the windshield with adhesive. On poor quality aftermarket windshields this bracket may not be properly aligned, or in some cases even come loose from the glass. And why is this important? These cameras are used to control safety and driver assist systems like lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and automatic emergency braking.
This is such a concern that Audi, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Stellantis, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, and Volvo have all released position statements specifically warning repairers that aftermarket glass may cause safety systems to malfunction.
Around 30% of auto insurance claims are windshield related and I suspect that had something to do with why IIHS performed a study which at one point I believe was published publicly, but as of now I am only able to find remnants of the results in published articles that cite the study on Repairer Driven News.
In this article Sean O’Malley of IIHS, which is funded by State Farm, when discussing a 2016 Honda Civis that was used in the testing of aftermarket windshields, “noticed the lane-departure was way off.” And it was determined that the aftermarket windshield the IIHS purchased had a misaligned camera mount. In addition to being misaligned he noted that the camera bracket did not hold the camera snug allowing him to steer the vehicle and that he was even able to steer the car by reaching up and adjusting the camera, which was “kind of scary”.
Although the rhetoric used by O’Malley of IIHS seems to suggest a bias that this was a “fluke” and also blaming a Honda dealership for calibrating the system incorrectly.
But what is obvious to anyone who understands these systems is that a camera that is loose in the bracket of an aftermarket windshield cannot operate properly after a calibration since it will continuously shift with vibration during vehicle operation.
And this explains why many vehicle manufacturers have published statements warning repairers of this concern.
If IIHS is an organization founded by insurers like State Farm, then there should be no question that State farm is aware of the research that shows the serious dangers of using these aftermarket parts.