Scheduled Maintenance

The site may be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance from Friday July 19th, starting at 6:30 PM - Sunday July 21st at 10:00 PM CDT.
During this time, the website may not be available. If you experience issues, please check back later.
Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

Collision Repair News

Your job requires that you keep on top of the latest in vehicle, tool, and equipment technology – I-CAR is committed to helping you do so in one convenient place. We regularly publish new articles highlighting the latest and greatest collision repair information.

So check back often and follow us on Twitter @Ask_ICAR to ensure you’re equipped with the most up-to-date collision repair technical information available in the industry.



Fuel Economy Technology Systems: Automatic Transmission

Traditional transmissions have two major categories, manual(standard) and automatic. Manual transmissions have the driver change the gears, whereas automatics shift on their own without driver input. Manual transmissions have always been known for their faster acceleration and better fuel economy. Well to much surprise, today's automatic transmission outperforms the manual transmission on almost all fronts. It gets consistently better fuel economy, has faster acceleration, and even smoother shifts than ever before. If that’s not enough, many automatic transmissions can also be manually shifted if you want to reminisce about the good old days every now and then. For this reason, you may have noticed the decline in manual transmissions. With the new high-tech automatics there can be special considerations for repairers.

Continue Reading...







Bumper Cover Repair With ADAS: Mazda

A simple bumper repair on a modern vehicle may not be as simple as it seems. New technologies like blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, and other advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) utilize sensors behind the bumper covers. The ability for these sensors to be able to see clearly, normally requires special caution when considering a bumper repair. Many OEMs have different levels of warnings when it comes to repairing bumper covers with ADAS. So, what does Mazda say on the subject?

Continue Reading...


Hidden Storage Compartments Could Mean Hidden Hazards

It seems in this life, you can never have too much space for storage. Whether that be in your home, place of work, or your vehicle. Consumers are looking for more and more storage on their vehicles, driving OEMs to get creative with creating this storage space. To meet consumer demand, OEMs have been taking almost every empty space on vehicles and created a storage compartment out of it. While some of these spaces are obvious, others may be harder to see or even disguised in an effort to create a secret storage compartment. So, how do these additional storage spaces affect the collision repair industry.

Continue Reading...


Repairer Driven News: Material Usage on 2020 Ford Escape

Ford’s redesigned 2020 Escape utilizes much more boron steel in the structure, it has been described as a "plentiful" amount. In addition to the boron usage, a long martensitic ultra-high strength steel tube goes from the A-pillar to the C-pillar. An article published by Repairer Driven News (RDN) goes into more detail.

Continue Reading...



Repairer Driven News: Recycling Bumper Fascias

Repairer Driven News (RDN) recently released an article on how the plastics industry has an interest in the discarded bumper fascias from body shops. The idea isn’t to refurbish the damaged fascias, but rather to use the thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) from the bumpers.

Continue Reading...


OEM Linking Pin: 2016 Kia Optima JF/JFA

As part of the I-CAR Repairability Technical Support (RTS) OEM linking pin activity, we are helping to connect the collision repair industry to the vehicle makers. Recently, we had a technical inquiry that asked for clarification on the difference between the 2016-present Kia Optima JF and the Optima JFA.

Continue Reading...



OEM Linking Pin: 2018 Acura MDX Side Curtain Airbag Bolts

As part of the I-CAR Repairability Technical Support (RTS) OEM linking pin activity, we are helping to connect the collision repair industry to the vehicle makers. Recently, we had a technical inquiry that asked for clarification on the bolt part number for the side curtain airbag on a 2018 Acura MDX.

Continue Reading...


Repairer Driven News: 2012-15 Honda Civic Trunk Floor Serviceability

Part availability can play a major role in the repair plan for collision damaged vehicles. This is especially true when the way a part is serviced changes. Honda issued a Body Repair News publication reminding the collision industry that the trunk floor for the 2012-15 Honda Civic is not a single part anymore. Rather, it consists of four separate components.

Continue Reading...