Forward Collision Warning on the dashboard of your Qashqai or Juke, often with Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) going offline at the same moment? They share the same forward radar, so they go down together. Here's what's actually triggering it, the Nissan quirk that catches fast-fit garages out, and what the calibration costs.
You can drive the car. Forward Collision Warning, Intelligent Cruise Control and the wider Nissan ProPILOT suite stay offline until the radar is recalibrated. Normal brakes, steering and conventional cruise all still work. Leave more following distance and treat the assists as not there until it's sorted.
Nissan mounts the forward radar behind the front badge and a supporting camera at the top of the windscreen. Forward Collision Warning, Intelligent Cruise Control and emergency braking all read from the same pair. Here's what we see disturbing them.
The radar sits behind the front badge on a Qashqai, Juke or X-Trail. A repaired or refitted bumper, a new grille, or a knock that took the bumper off briefly is the trigger we see most often. The FCW warning may not appear straight after, sometimes weeks later when the system runs a more thorough self-check.
The Intelligent Cruise Control radar and the FCW radar are the same hardware. When the radar's aim is off, both systems flag the loss of confidence at the same moment. It looks like two faults on the dash but it's one cause, and a single calibration brings both back. You're not paying twice.
The forward camera at the top of the windscreen backs up what the radar sees. A new windscreen moves the camera, and FCW can drop out a few miles later, often paired with a Lane Departure warning. The fitter rarely does the calibration step.
The Nissan quirk that catches fast-fit chains out. The radar sits directly behind the front badge, and the badge has to be removed to recalibrate it. Most fast-fit setups can't or won't do that. Our Nissan bumper-repair guide covers the access angle in full.
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 FCW. Worth a slow walk round before booking anything.
Nissan's own guidance warns the battery must not drop during ADAS work. If it did, the assist modules can lose their stored settings, and FCW, Lane Departure and emergency braking can flag together. A scan and recalibration restores them.
If the trigger was a real impact rather than a minor knock, the radar housing or its bracket may be cracked. 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: ask the body shop whether every sensor connector behind the bumper went back on, and look for an uneven gap along the bumper line that signals a shifted carrier. If FCW is still showing, the radar needs recalibrating.
On a Nissan that means removing the front badge to reach the sensor, and on 2022-on Qashqai and Pathfinder variants, a workshop with Nissan Consult 4 access (the popular aftermarket tools are locked out on the newest cars). The radar calibration runs as a dynamic drive procedure.
It's a fixed £349 through our network: scan, calibration, badge refit and certificate, all included. If the scan shows the radar was damaged in the 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.
Almost always one. Forward Collision Warning and Intelligent Cruise Control on a Nissan read from the same front radar. When the radar loses its aim, both systems flag the loss of confidence at the same moment.
It looks like two warnings on the dash but it's one underlying cause. A single calibration visit usually clears both, and you only pay the one fixed fee.
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, the badge removal and refit (which most fast-fit places can't do), and a calibration certificate. If the scan shows a sensor was damaged and needs replacing, you'll know that cost before any work goes ahead.
It happens. The car can flag the warning when the radar's aim is at the edge of its tolerance window, without storing a hard fault code. A pre-scan that shows clear codes doesn't mean there's no calibration job to do. A proper alignment check against the target board confirms whether the aim is in tolerance or not.
No. What the job needs is a workshop set up for Nissan: the right targets, badge removal, and on 2022-on cars the Nissan-capable diagnostic equipment. That's what our accredited network gives you, at a fixed price, without the dealer labour rate. The certificate we issue is accepted by insurers and sits on the car's service history.
Bumper work is the top trigger for FCW on Nissan. The dedicated guide if that's your case.
The front camera that backs up the radar. Often needs realignment after the same trigger event.