When it comes to repair information, vehicle makers use a wide variety of terminology for replacement parts. All of the different names can be confusing, especially when repairing a variety of vehicle makes and models.

During routine reseacher, we noticed that the Mazda website was missing body repair manuals on there website. After contacting Mazda, they quickly updated their collision repair information website so all the manuals are back online. The updated site includes easier navigation to access the body repair manuals.

I-CAR^®, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, announced today that 51 collision repair instruction sheets, just released by Ford for the now launching 2015 Ford F-150, are now available on the I‑CAR Repairability Technical Support (RTS) Portal. The 2015 Ford F-150 collision repair instruction sheets provide important detailed instructions on part removal and installation procedures for front rail (apron tube) installation, pillars and rocker panel installation, roof and roof rail installation, and more.

Mercedes-Benz is revising the vehicle model naming in 2015. For those that are unfamiliar with the different vehicle names this might be a bit confusing. In a recent press release Mercedes-Benz details some of these changes, so lets take a look at the SUVs.

by Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS)

Prosser, Washington, November 12, 2014 - The Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) continues to promote the launch of its Repairability Technical Support (RTS) Portal, an extensive collection of resources available to help provide repair industry members with valuable information, technical support and repair solutions. Located at http://www.i-car.com/rts, the Portal offers real-time OEM information and announcements, collision repair articles, technical questions and answers and much, much more.

On the BMW i3 with the carbon fiber passenger cell, the question is often asked, how do we repair damage to the carbon fiber? For that answer BMW presented an overview of the repairs at the 2014 SEMA show. The simple answer is that you cannot repair the passenger cell the way that you would repair a sheet molded compound (SMC) part.

Nov. 6, 2014—I-CAR has begun an initiative in which it is using real-time information from current technicians in order to provide rigorous, efficient, role-based training that makes sense for today's specialized repair professional, according to an announcement from the Society of Collision Repair Specialists.

When it comes to repair information, vehicle makers use a wide variety of terminology for replacement parts. All of the different names can be confusing, especially when repairing a variety of vehicle makes and models.

This article originally appeared in the November 2014 edition of ABRN.

When friends and family think about the vehicles of yesteryear they often say to me "they don't build them like they used to." I tell them, you have no idea how right you are. Cars today are light years ahead of where they were just a few short years ago. It is no longer vehicles of the future we are discussing, but current vehicles on the road today, and some are being repaired like nothing has changed. With the major changes in vehicle construction, the collision repair industry will need to learn some advanced attachment methods and a new way of thinking. Lets take a look at some advanced attachment methods necessary for repair on vehicles that are on the road today.

When it comes to repair information, vehicle makers use a wide variety of terminology for replacement parts. All of the different names can be confusing, especially when repairing a variety of vehicle makes and models.

FAQ: What tools and equipment do I need to repair the new Ford F-150?

ANSWER: There are a wide variety of options available and you need to asses what will work for your shop.

Recently, I-CAR CEO & President, John Van Alstyne, caught up with John McElroy on Autoline to discuss vehicle light weighting and the "Technical Tsunami" that is happening in automotive industry. The entire episode can be seen on I-CAR's YouTube channel.

Here are a few excerpts from that interview.

In previous I-CAR Collision Repair News articles, we announced the availability of comprehensive collision repair information from Kia.

This is a question that is often asked and it is sometimes difficult to find the answer unless you know where to look. The answer on Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo vehicles is "yes" but it depends on a few factors. The biggest limitation is that, the repair has to be on the main harness side, not a pigtail. The pigtails are wires that come directly out of a part like an airbag module, a clock spring, or a seat belt pretensioner.

We've added the Service Bulletin from Nissan North America that addresses caring for and repairing matte paint finish.