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Ask I-CAR receives many technical inquiries referring to sectioning. The collision repair industry wants to know where can you section, does the OEM have a sectioning procedure, and where can I find the sectioning procedure? Most OEMs allow sectioning to outer body panels and the front and rear rails. Sectioning reinforcements is not as common, as most reinforcements are replaced at factory seams.
Parts are made from various materials including HSS, UHSS, aluminum, and carbon fiber. These parts also have complex designs to collapse or transfer collision forces in a specific manner. Introducing a sectioning joint to many of these parts alters how the part reacts to those collision forces. For this reason, sectioning a part is only allowed if supported by vehicle maker repair information. Let’s see what Nissan/INFINITI says about structural sectioning.
Vehicle-specific Nissan/INFINITI body repair manuals offer procedures for sectioning of various structural parts. It is important to take time to read through the Precautions for Body Repair section of the body repair manual. This section will provide descriptions of the various symbols and codes located throughout a procedure.
Nissan also has a "Body Repair Manual - Fundamentals - 2015 Edition" that contains general information necessary to perform frame and body repairs on their vehicles. To find this document:
- Go to www.nissan-techinfo.com
- Click United States/Canada on map
- Enter username and password (bottom left of webpage)
- Click Submit
- Click View Nissan Publications (top left of webpage)
- Select Body Repair Manual from For This Publication Type dropdown
- Click Search
- Click Eye icon by Body Repair Manual – Fundamentals - 2015 Edition
This edition is applicable to all models. (Note: Per our contacts at Nissan/INFINITI, the 2015 Nissan Fundamentals is to be used for INFINITI vehicles.)
Nissan and INFINITI each have a position statement pertaining to structural sectioning that you should be aware of. Nissan Unibody/Structural Repairs and INFINITI Structural Repairs both have several key points to be aware of:
- “The repair of reinforcements (such as side members) by heating is not recommended since it may weaken the component.”
- “Using adhesives in place of welding for component replacement is not an authorized Nissan North America repair method.”
- “Clipping”, which refers to cutting two damaged vehicles through the windshield pillars, the rocker panels, and across the floor pan and joining the undamaged portions from these vehicles to make the repair, is strictly prohibited by Nissan North America.”
The vehicle-specific body repair manual is used to determine the required type of welding and sectioning joint for the repair being performed. Failure to follow OEM procedures sacrifices the safety and quality of the repair.
Nissan vehicle-specific body repair manuals can be found at: www.nissan-techinfo.com
INFINITI vehicle-specific body repair manuals can be found at: www.infiniti-techinfo.com
For additional Nissan/INFINITI information, check out the following pages:
Nissan OEM Information
INFINITI OEM Information
Additional I-CAR Collision Repair News you may find helpful:
- Step-By-Step: Accessing INFINITI Repair Information
- Step-By-Step: Accessing Nissan Repair Information
Related I-CAR Courses
Article validated in 2025