Passengers and Pedestrians Archives

Todays vehicles are the safest to date

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Todays vehicles are the safest to date for operators, passengers, and pedestrians. The technology used in braking, suspension and accident avoidance is awesome. If you are operating a vehicle that is more than 10 years old on a daily bases you are missing out on some awesome technology. These vehicles require some special repair and maintenance handling by the repairer. Some even require specialized alignment equipment and procedures to restore the vehicle to its design operation.
If your vehicle is equipped with drive by wire (DBW), steer by wire (SBW), Vehicle Skid Control (VDC), Anti-lock Brakes (ABS) you have a vehicle that needs extra procedures during a wheel alignment. These vehicles use steering wheel angle sensors that detect and report steering wheel position to the computer system. They also use sensors that detect pitch and yaw of the vehicle. This is the feeling you get when you apply the brakes and feel the vehicle come upward from the rear and watch the front move downward. The system gets input from an accelerator sensor which indicates the speed of acceleration. What you need to know is after any repair to the steering or suspension that needs an alignment to complete the repair, will need these sensors to be reset by the repairer once all factory alignment setting have been made. This may require the alignment shop or person to connect a scan tool programmed to reset these sensors to the proper values for your vehicle system to perform properly. Some newer alignment equipment has this capability built into their alignment system. All computer system sensors must be set in accordance to manufacturers’ recommended procedures and values.
In summary if you need to have a wheel alignment done for any reason always make sure the shop has access to the proper repair and alignment information. Also make sure the shop has the proper equipment and software to reset any of the electronic sensors that make your vehicle operate safely and correctly. Enjoy the ride!