If you are currently seeking repair on your Subaru or you recently had your car repaired, you may not be aware of the latest repair requirements for Subaru vehicles. This past November, Subaru wholesale parts specialist Nicole Reidel confirmed, “ALL repairs must undergo the Post Repair Safety Inspection, regardless of severity.”
Now, you might be thinking this is a bit extreme, especially if a car only had it’s side-view mirror clipped off or was in a minor fender bender during rush hour. However, there are reasons why Subaru (along with other car manufacturers) release these strict demands when it comes to repairing their vehicles. Unfortunately, most technicians will get right to work on a repair, ignoring whatever the manufacturer says. They feel their years of experience is enough to get the job done, not realizing that these repair procedures are released for a specific reason. If an experienced technician chooses to ignore what Subaru says, it could mean your car wouldn’t be able to provide you with the level of safety it was designed to do.
Post repair requirements for Subaru:
When it comes to repairing any Subaru vehicle, they created what is known as the “Post Repair Safety Inspection” for repairers. This is a post-collision repair inspection to ensure everything is working the way it needs to, and nothing is missed. The steering column will also be part of the inspection, regardless of the airbag being deployed or the size of the accident. The steering column is a complex and integral part of your car, which is why it has its own required inspection. You wouldn’t want to drive a car where the steering is compromised, and Subaru knows this.
In fact, a Subaru representative stated the following in regards to inspection of the steering column:
“It is also important to note that part of checking the steering system also involved checking the deflection of front and rear, upward and downward directions, and mounting condition to vehicle body of the column assembly – steering.”
Here’s where a possible problem might happen: your insurance company might push back on paying for a steering column inspection. To them, they would look at your car and say there’s nothing wrong with the steering, so there’s no need for a steering column inspection. However, we all know looks can be deceiving and just because it’s not necessarily an issue you can “see,” it’s essential to the overall safety of your car. The steering column is full of different electrical components that work together along with the rest of your car to keep you safe the way the car was designed to. There’s no shortcut way to repair it, which is why Subaru requires an inspection of the steering column to inspect any damage that may not be noticeable just by looking at the car like an insurance agent would.
If your insurance company doesn’t want to pay for this repair, it might require calling them and letting them know what Subaru says about this repair. If they still refuse to pay, you might have to pay out of pocket for this repair, which would be the next best thing to do, along with taking your car to a Subaru OEM certified repair shop in New Jersey. These are the best auto body shops you can take your car too.
Additional reasons why a Post Repair Safety Inspection is necessary:
Perhaps you got rear-ended from behind, there might be additional damage to the car that may not be visible. It could be as simple as a camera sensor knocked out alignment, which is a significant problem in modern vehicles.
The advanced safety technology built into cars, commonly known as ADAS, is a combination of camera, radar, and ultrasonic sensors. Even if your vehicle was slightly tapped in the parking lot, it would still require the post-repair inspection (including calibration), per Subaru’s demands. A camera that’s off by one degree can mean complete failure in the ADAS systems.
This is just one of the most important reasons why Subaru stressed whatever needs to be repaired or the severity of the damage, “ALL repairs must undergo the Post Repair Safety Inspection.”
Where you take your car to be repaired matters:
Here in New Jersey, technicians aren’t legally required to have a license to work on your car. This means they can ignore the Post Repair Safety Inspection and give you a car that may appear fixed but is nowhere near the safe repair you need. As you read above, a sensor that’s off by one degree can mean total failure in your safety systems. Since this can’t be seen without scanning, calibration, or any post-repair inspections, it can be neglected entirely by a body shop that doesn’t follow what Subaru (or any manufacturer for that matter) says.
Why trust us with your Subaru repair needs:
Here at Autotech Collision Service, we have dedicated ourselves to becoming experts in all things regarding Subaru repair that we are a Subaru OEM certified autobody repair shop. Since January 2019, over a thousand body shops have strived to achieve this certification. We feel very lucky to have ours so we can help New Jersey drivers with all of their repair needs.
It’s critical you take your Subaru to be repaired somewhere that knows how to repair your car the right way and follows the latest requirements that put your safety at the top priority. We feel quite confident we can provide you with the repair that you need.
We have been proudly serving Southern New Jersey for nearly 30 years and aren’t stopping anytime soon because our customers are our number one priority. We pride ourselves in providing Southern New Jersey drivers with the highest quality OEM repairs because that’s what you deserve out of an auto body repair shop.
If you’d like to schedule an appointment or to get an online quote, click any of the buttons below! Or, feel free to give us a call at (856)-232-1833. We look forward to hearing from you!
