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Consumer Protection Department meeting: board discusses education for licensees on windshield calibration, apprenticeship hours
Summary
At the Consumer Protection Department meeting, members discussed developing educational materials for licensees about windshield calibration and licensing procedures, noting the federal 144-hour apprenticeship minimum and that many shops refer calibration work elsewhere to ensure vehicle safety.
Members of the Consumer Protection Department met on Feb. 20 to review ongoing efforts to develop educational materials for licensed auto-glass practitioners, with a focus on windshield calibration and meeting apprenticeship requirements.
The discussion, introduced as new business and requested by John Mesner, centered on consumer safety and how licensees should inform customers when a windshield replacement requires camera recalibration. “They need to educate those consumers that the vehicle does need to be calibrated before it's, deemed safe to drive,” said Speaker 4, summarizing industry and staff guidance on the issue.
Why it matters: modern vehicles increasingly rely on camera systems and driver-assistance sensors that may require recalibration after windshield work. Board members said many shops do not perform calibrations and that incomplete recalibration can leave safety systems disabled or trigger dashboard warnings.
What was discussed: Speaker 4 described ongoing work to put together a “bona fide program” for licensees and said John is reviewing applications for that program. The transcript records this regulatory target as tied to apprenticeship standards: “the 144 that's required … it's the federal minimum for an apprenticeship,” Speaker 4 said, noting the program would need to meet that threshold for AG-2 classification. Participants discussed issuing an informational notice or “blast” to licensees to explain when calibration is required and to promote consumer safety.
Several practitioners explained how they handle the issue in practice. Speaker 3 said her shop does not perform recalibration and referred customers to other shops that do to avoid returning a vehicle to an owner without required recalibration: “If somebody come… that needs calibration, I refer them to a different shop,” she said, adding that split billing between glass installers and calibrators can be cumbersome for customers.
Board members also noted industry changes: some manufacturers have moved cameras to locations that reduce the need for glass-based calibrations, but others still require specialized recalibration services.
No formal policy action or vote to adopt a training program is recorded in the transcript. Next steps mentioned in the meeting: staff and John will continue developing the educational materials and review apprenticeship applications; the board indicated support for producing guidance for licensees.
The meeting adjourned later in the session; the next meeting date was announced as May 21.
