Saloon in a body shop with a radar calibration reflector cone in front of the bumper

Mercedes ADAS Recalibration After Collision Repair: What's Involved and What It Costs

Your Mercedes is back from the body shop, the panel work looks right, and the dash disagrees: Distronic, Active Brake Assist, Blind Spot Assist, sometimes a camera warning too. That's what a collision repair leaves behind. Every sensor the work disturbed holds its own aim, so each one needs its own calibration, and each is its own line on the quote. Here's which sensors front and rear impacts disturb, what may already be covered by the body shop's bill, and what the visit costs, from £162 inc VAT per system.

Important

Drive with care, the disturbed assists are off

You can drive the car. Whichever systems the repair disturbed stay off or limited until their sensors are recalibrated: Distronic, Active Brake Assist and the radar side of PRE-SAFE after front-end work, Blind Spot Assist after rear-end work. Normal braking and steering are untouched. Leave more following distance, check mirrors the old way, and treat the assists as not there until it's sorted.

What a collision repair disturbs on your Mercedes

A body shop returns the panels to shape; it doesn't re-aim the sensors bolted to them. Each sensor the work disturbed holds its own aim reference, each is calibrated separately, and each is its own line on the quote. Front to rear, here's where the work lands.

Front impacts almost always reach the Distronic radar, mounted directly behind the three-pointed star. A bumper off and back on, a grille replacement or a new front panel can shift its aim past tolerance, and Distronic and Active Brake Assist flag together because both read this one radar. On a scan the usual code is C10C700, front radar sensor maladjusted, sometimes with a B220600 coding fault alongside. The fix is a front radar calibration, £162 inc VAT (£135 +VAT) at a centre, with the star removed and refitted as part of the job. Our Distronic fault guide covers the front radar in depth.

If the windscreen was replaced during the repair, or cracked in the impact and changed afterwards, the multifunction camera at the top of the glass has moved with it. On cars that carry it, the camera backs up Distronic and runs the lane and traffic-sign functions, so a repair that never touched the front bumper can still leave camera warnings on the dash. Front camera calibration is £162 inc VAT (£135 +VAT) at a centre.

Rear impacts land on the two radars behind the rear bumper corners, which sit on brackets that flex during any rear-end work. A bumper off for repair or respray can leave one radar past tolerance or both, and 'Blind Spot Assist inoperative' appears within the first few drives. A scan shows which, so the quote lists exactly what your car needs: blind spot radar calibration is £162 inc VAT (£135 +VAT) per radar at a centre. The rear-end-only case is covered in depth in our blind spot guide.

The same rear bumper carries the parking sensors, and on many models a reversing camera sits above the number plate or in the boot lid trim. Either can come back from a repair reading slightly off, beeping at kerbs that aren't there or drawing guidance lines that don't match the car's path. Parking sensor calibration is £184.80 inc VAT (£154 +VAT), reversing camera calibration £206.40 inc VAT (£172 +VAT), each on the quote only if your car needs it.

Where the body shop fitted a new sensor rather than refitting the old one, the replacement has to be coded to your car before its calibration will hold. Both steps run in one visit but are quoted as two lines. The coding: front radar replaced is £232.80 inc VAT (£194 +VAT), front camera replaced £229.20 inc VAT (£191 +VAT), blind spot radar replaced £226.80 inc VAT (£189 +VAT). That sensor's calibration is then its own line, discounted as an additional system. The repair paperwork lists which parts were renewed, so ask the body shop for it.

Good body shops arrange calibration as part of the repair, and on an insurance job it usually sits inside the repair bill rather than becoming a cost left with you. Ask whether calibration was done and ask for the certificate: if the work ran, there's a certificate recording the post-job readings. If the answer's vague and warnings are still showing, a diagnostic scan settles it by showing which systems still flag, £54 inc VAT (£45 +VAT), itemised as its own line. Nobody should pay for the same calibration twice.

How we fix it

Worth doing before you book anything: get the repair list from the body shop. Which panels came off, whether the windscreen was changed, whether any sensor was replaced rather than refitted, and whether calibration was already done as part of the repair. On an insurance repair, calibration usually sits inside the body shop's repair bill, so it's worth confirming on the estimate before arranging anything yourself. That list decides everything that follows: which sensors need attention, which rates apply, and whether the job is one line or three.

Then it's a scan before any calibration. A diagnostic scan reads every module and shows which systems are still flagging, so nothing is booked on a guess and nothing is calibrated twice. A diagnostic scan, when your job needs one, is priced and itemised separately.

From there the quote is built per system, front to rear:

  1. Front impact. The radar behind the star is re-aimed to Mercedes' documented calibration procedure, star off and back on as part of the job: front radar calibration, £162 inc VAT (£135 +VAT). If the windscreen was changed, the multifunction camera is its own line: front camera calibration, £162 inc VAT (£135 +VAT).
  2. Rear impact. Each blind spot radar past tolerance is re-aimed: blind spot radar calibration, £162 inc VAT (£135 +VAT) per radar. Parking sensors and the reversing camera are separate lines only where the scan shows they need attention.
  3. Replaced parts. A sensor the body shop renewed is coded to your car at the following-replacement rate, which for a front radar is £232.80 inc VAT (£194 +VAT), and its calibration is a separate line in the same visit, discounted as an additional system.

A multi-system visit is where the pricing works in your favour. Two or more systems in one visit: the highest-priced system is full price and each additional system is 35% off at a centre. Scans aren't part of the discount. The worked two-system total is under the rate card below.

The job ends the same way every time. Certificate to manufacturer tolerances, the same standard dealers issue. Your quote is confirmed in writing before anything is booked. If only one end of the car was touched, the single-system story is in our Distronic fault and blind spot guides, and the procedure itself is in the ADAS calibration guide.

Mercedes calibration prices

A collision case is rarely one line: each disturbed sensor is priced per system, and every system after the highest-priced one is 35% off in the same visit, with the worked total under the table. Rates are the same at every service centre, per system, shown inc VAT with the net figure alongside. Your total is confirmed in writing before anything is booked.

Calibration — per system

Service At a service centre
Front camera calibration £162 inc VAT (£135 +VAT)
Front radar calibration £162 inc VAT (£135 +VAT)
Blind spot radar calibration £162 inc VAT (£135 +VAT)
360° / surround camera calibration £162 inc VAT (£135 +VAT)
Reversing camera calibration £206.40 inc VAT (£172 +VAT)
Parking sensor calibration £184.80 inc VAT (£154 +VAT)

Coding a replaced part to your vehicle

Service At a service centre
Front radar replaced £232.80 inc VAT (£194 +VAT)
Front camera replaced £229.20 inc VAT (£191 +VAT)
Blind spot radar replaced £226.80 inc VAT (£189 +VAT)
Reversing camera replaced £213.60 inc VAT (£178 +VAT)
  • When your job needs a diagnostic pre-scan, it's £54 inc VAT (£45 +VAT), itemised separately. It reads available fault information; finding the cause may require further investigation. A post-scan is a separate operation.
  • Two or more systems in one visit: the highest-priced system is full price, each additional system is 35% off at a centre. Scans aren't part of the discount. Front camera and front radar together come to £267.30 inc VAT (£222.75 +VAT).
  • Replacement configuration and calibration are different operations. The work required depends on the vehicle and what the installer has already completed. Configuration prices do not include supplying or fitting a replacement part, or an automatic calibration bundle.
  • Unsuccessful work, further investigation or a return visit may carry charges, including at a service centre. The appointment terms and written quote set out the work and applicable charges before booking.
  • Mobile calibration is available for garages and bodyshops with workshop conditions. Ask us.

Get your Mercedes' post-collision calibration booked

Send your registration and a line on what's happened. We come back with the itemised quote, the nearest of 80+ UK service centres, and the soonest slot.

  • Per-system pricing, from £162 inc VAT.
  • Your quote is confirmed in writing before anything is booked.
  • Certificate to manufacturer tolerances, the same standard dealers issue.
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Frequently asked questions

Because panel repair and sensor calibration are different jobs. The body shop returns the structure, panels and paint to shape, and that's what makes the car roadworthy again. But the radars and cameras bolted to those panels each hold their own aim reference, and a sensor that came off with a bumper, or moved with a new windscreen, keeps flagging until it's re-aimed. Many body shops arrange the calibration themselves as part of the repair, so ask them first: if it was done, there's a certificate, and if it wasn't, that's the gap this page prices.

It's priced per disturbed system, not as a package. Front radar calibration is £162 inc VAT (£135 +VAT), front camera and blind spot radar are the same rate, with the full rate card on this page. Two or more systems in one visit: the highest-priced system is full price and each additional system is 35% off at a centre. Scans aren't part of the discount, and the worked two-system total is under the rate card. A diagnostic scan, when your job needs one, is priced and itemised separately. Your quote is confirmed in writing before anything is booked.

It's normally part of the repair itself: where a body shop repairs a Mercedes after an accident on an insurance claim, calibration usually sits inside the repair bill rather than arriving as a separate cost for you. It's worth confirming on the repair estimate, because practice varies between shops and between claims. If calibration wasn't included and you're arranging it yourself, the pricing on this page applies per system, and your quote is confirmed in writing before anything is booked, so you have a figure to put in front of the body shop or your claims handler.

Two sources. The body shop's repair list shows which panels came off and which parts were renewed, and that maps to the sensors: front bumper work points at the Distronic radar, a windscreen change at the multifunction camera, rear bumper work at the blind spot radars and parking sensors. Then a diagnostic scan reads every module and shows which systems are still flagging, £54 inc VAT (£45 +VAT), itemised as its own line. The quote is built from what the scan shows, so you pay per system your car actually needs.

Yes, because a renewed sensor needs coding to your car as well as calibrating. Both run in one visit, quoted as two lines: the following-replacement coding for the part, then its calibration, discounted as an additional system. The coding lines: front radar replaced is £232.80 inc VAT (£194 +VAT), front camera replaced £229.20 inc VAT (£191 +VAT), blind spot radar replaced £226.80 inc VAT (£189 +VAT). Each renewed sensor's calibration is its own line too, discounted as an additional system in the visit. The repair invoice lists which parts were renewed; send it with your enquiry and the quote comes back itemised against it.

No. Each system is calibrated to Mercedes' documented procedure, the front radar against its target board with the star off, the rear radars and cameras each to their own spec, and that takes a measured calibration bay rather than a franchise. Calibration runs to full manufacturer specification. Certificate to manufacturer tolerances, the same standard dealers issue. Dealer quotes for ADAS work run £300 to £900 in quotes customers have shown us.

Other Mercedes ADAS warnings we cover

A collision case often narrows down to one end of the car. If your repair only touched one bumper or the glass, these single-system guides go deeper.

  • Distronic fault

    The radar behind the star that runs Distronic and Active Brake Assist. If only the front took the hit, one calibration may be the whole job.

  • Blind spot fault

    The two radars in the rear bumper corners, each its own calibration line. The rear-end-only case in depth.

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