There is no reason to drive it to re-calibrate unless they had to go to a different shop

Edit -Perhaps some Safelites are different but mine in Phoenix did it in their shop without needing to drive it

 

Ther is no reason to drive it to re-calibrate unless they had to go to different shop

There is, the one in the shop is called static recalibration, then there’s dynamic recalibration that is done on the road for lane, etc. I read up on that before, and Subaru does it as well. Good thing insurance covers all but 100!

 

No issue with time, if there was 25 or so miles, but 150 miles would suggest over 2 hours driving for a dynamic calibration.

 

So the real question is "does eyesight lane centering now work perfectly with no ping ponging at all?" or did all the extra driving not make any improvement on how it works?

 

Did you ask them why?

 

I would call the Safelite franchise and ask them to cover the deductible for you and whatever a full tank of gas costs for you. If I didn’t get what I wanted with the franchise, then call corporate. When I drop my car off for service I enable boundary and speed limits in my Subaru app so I can see when it’s going (and how fast)

 

I'd have never thought of this, thanks for the idea.

 

Of course. The manager said it was difficult, basically. An answer that was not satisfactory.

 

What do you want the manager to do?

 

Something kind of similar happened to me:

My Forester needed the head gaskets done so I dropped it at the dealer and about 2 weeks later they called to say it was done. I got in and was adjusting my seat when I found a parking sticker on my windshield for a festival that was taking place about an hour and a half away. Then I found a packet of papers with directions and ticket stubs to the festival. I asked the service manager what the deal was and said they must have been there before I dropped it off. Funny thing is the festival only took place while they had my car in their possession.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a standard test drive after a head gasket job but I doubt that includes taking it to a festival for the weekend.

Also, on my way home from the shop after picking up the Forester the head was still leaking oil. Made a u turn and took it right back to the dealer where it sat for another 3 weeks while they “figured it out”. So even if they really needed to take it to the festival as a test, they weren’t paying attention.

Moral of the story, check your mileage before dropping off for service. If they hadn’t left some really obvious evidence in / on the car I never would have known.

 

It absolutely does happen in the best of stores. I have fired more than one technician for being off proscribed test route with a customer's car. It doesn't happen often considering there are millions of service events every month but protecting the customer's assets should be the number one priority. It is good advice to be aware of mileage in and out.

 

I take a picture of the dash when I drop my vehicles off for any service. I include mileage and fuel level at the least.

Jack

 

Dashcam footage is always worth a view (just in case they forgot to unplug it)

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No

Dashcam footage is always worth a view (just in case they forgot to unplug it)

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No dashcam, I should get one of those..

 

When the dealer recalibrated my windshield on my 2015 OB, they never left the parking lot. Interestingly Safelite was unable to calibrate it and they couldn't explain why.

 

I got my windshield changed too from Safelite. No more tiny specks or dots in new windshield during sun rise and sunset. Happy.
Yes they do both calibration. For road they drive like about 20 minutes. Highway miles.

 

When I owned my 2019 Jetta GLI and took it in for a warranty repair that took weeks, I actually saw the car parked in a driveway 45 minutes away from the dealer ! It is not a common car so the GLI stands out... I was pretty upset- I called the dealer and VW, they gave me a tank of gas and a three year pre paid maintenance package for my troubles. I got lucky as the dealer guy lived on the same street as my buddy

 

There is no reason the Eyesight needs to be calibrated for a simple windshield replacement. If you get in an accident serious enough to put the lenses out of alignment then you would need one. A new windshield installed correctly due to a crack is not going to change a thing. It's a ripoff to pay for a "calibration", Plain and simple.

Eyesight works in rain, snow, night, day, sun glare, headlight glare, bug splatters, dust. Any tiny difference in the glass is irrelevant compared to working in the rain. If there ever is an issue Eyesight just won't work and will display an error message.

Have had two windshields replaced so far by dealership. On a 2016 and our new 2020. No calibration ever done. The GM is a friend and just laughed when I asked if it was really necessary after Safelite wanted to charge $250 for it.

 

Agree to disagree. Yes, eyesight will work at a certain level without calibration, but for it to be at the best possible level of performance it does need to be calibrated for the piece of glass it’s looking through. My car performed better than new after Safelite’s dynamic calibration. Insurance pays for it anyway, so why not?

 

As a retired auto dealer and someone who has been both a GM and an owner, I can assure you we don't have all the answers nor are we never wrong! If you call Subaru, I think you will get the same answer many have that re-calibration at windshield replacement should be done. They will also tell you eyesight can operate at a diminished capacity without turning off.

If you Google the problem, you will find a number of answers. Many of the those who advocate 20,000 mile oil changes and never changing the transmission fluid will tell you calibration is a farce and a fraud. The one thing though that to me stands out, insurance companies readily pay for re-calibration at windshield replacement time. Insurance companies most often have the resources to know more about what they are paying for than random folks on the internet. They also really really hate to waste money using their profits to pay for unnecessary repairs. Good enough for me!

 

I am somewhat certain the assembly line does not need to drive it 150 mile to calibrate. Someone took advantage of you. Report it to your state board that over sees the auto repair business. Or contact the business and ask for $0.60 per mile it was driven.

 

They sent me 50$. 150 is a bit much..

 

Tracked Safelite tech driving my Outback 250 miles to calibrate eyesight after replacing the windshield. He said it took them over 5 hours

 

Unacceptable. I went along for the ride when safelite calibrated mine, took less than 15 minutes. The instructions for the process specify types of roads and turns, and an easy drive for a few blocks in the local area is all it took.