Forward Collision Warning, 'Forward Collision Assist blocked', or just an FCA warning on your Hyundai? The most common trigger we see is bumper work that didn't get the follow-up ADAS calibration. Common on the IONIQ, Kona and Tucson. Here's what's actually happening, why the body shop probably can't fix it, and what the calibration costs.
You can drive the car. Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Smart Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Assist are offline while the warning's showing. The system won't intervene if traffic stops sharply ahead. Normal brakes, steering and conventional cruise all still work. Leave more following distance until it's sorted.
Hyundai mounts the forward radar behind the front emblem and the supporting camera at the top of the windscreen. FCA reads from both, with Smart Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Assist sharing the same inputs. Here's what we see disturbing them in real enquiries.
The trigger we see most often. A repaired or replaced bumper, a new grille, even a minor knock that took the bumper off briefly. The body shop does the panels and paint perfectly, but ADAS calibration is a separate job and it's the step that gets missed. The FCA warning can appear days or weeks later when the system runs a more thorough self-check.
Underneath any of these triggers is the same mechanism: the radar's aim is now off by a fraction of a degree. The hardware's fine. The aim isn't. The car can't trust the readings, so it flags FCA blocked rather than running the safety system on bad data.
FCA isn't radar alone. The camera at the top of the windscreen reads the road and backs up what the radar sees. Replace the windscreen without recalibrating that camera and FCA can drop out a few miles later, often alongside a Lane Keeping warning.
Hyundai's Highway Driving Assist II (HDA II) on the IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6 and newer Tucson reads from the same forward radar and camera as FCA. If the radar's aim is off, HDA II will also refuse to engage on the motorway, even if the FCA warning is the one you noticed. One calibration brings both back.
Trolley contact in a car park, a curb strike on the lower bumper trim, a hard parking sensor brush. None of those leave visible damage, but any of them can shift the radar bracket enough to throw FCA. Worth a slow walk round the bumper before booking anything.
The radar transmits through the grille area on Hyundai. A replacement grille of a slightly different design, an aftermarket badge, or paint thickness over the radar zone can scatter the signal. If FCA dropped out after a styling change, that's the first place to look.
If the bumper repair followed a real impact, the radar housing or its bracket may be cracked, not just knocked out of aim. Calibration won't hold on damaged hardware. A diagnostic scan tells you which case you're in before any work is booked.
Worth checking first: confirm the parking sensors aren't also flagging (they share the bumper area with the radar), and look along the front bumper for any uneven gaps post-repair. If FCA is still showing, the radar needs recalibrating.
On a Hyundai that means a static procedure. The workshop sets a manufacturer-spec target board at the correct distance, runs the alignment routine through HKMC-capable diagnostics, and clears the fault codes including the Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist warning.
It's a fixed £349 through our network: scan, calibration, certificate. If the scan shows the radar itself was damaged in the original impact, you'll know the cost before any work goes ahead. There's no charge for the diagnostic if you decide not to go ahead. The full procedure is in our ADAS calibration guide.
Pricing is fixed across our network. Same price wherever you are in the UK. Your tier is set by what work has been done, not by your postcode or your car's make.
All prices include the diagnostic scan, the calibration procedure (static, dynamic, or both as required), a post-calibration check, and a calibration certificate. No charge for diagnostic if you decide not to proceed.
Send your registration and a line on what's happened. We'll come back with the fixed price, the nearest accredited workshop, and the soonest available slot.
Because ADAS calibration is a separate job from the bodywork, and it's the step that often gets missed. Body shops sort the panels and paint, but the forward radar behind your bumper needs its aim recalibrating after any front-end work. The system may not flag the warning straight away.
It often appears a few days or weeks later when the car runs a more thorough self-check. The car is mechanically fixed. The calibration is the step left to do.
Radar calibration is a fixed £349 across our accredited network, the same wherever you are in the UK. That covers the diagnostic scan, the calibration itself, and a calibration certificate. One session covers up to three ADAS systems, so if Smart Cruise Control or Lane Keeping Assist have dropped out alongside FCA, they're done together.
Same hardware, different dashboard text. 'Clean Front Radar' and the FCA warning both flag when the forward radar loses its aim. Some Hyundais show one message, some show the other, some show both. Our Hyundai 'Clean Front Radar' guide covers the cleaning-doesn't-fix-it angle, which most owners try first. The calibration job is identical.
No. Any workshop with HKMC-capable diagnostic equipment and a calibration bay can do it, and our accredited network is set up for that. The dealer will charge their own labour rate for the same procedure. The certificate we issue is accepted by insurers and sits on the car's service history.
Same radar, different dashboard text. The cleaning-doesn't-fix-it angle that catches most Hyundai owners first.
Bumper work is the trigger we see most on Hyundai FCA. The cross-make guide if that's your case.