🚫📡#404 Radar Not Found - Radar Calibration Support

Modern vehicles are equipped with new advanced systems which are capable of detecting potentially dangerous situations while driving. The so-called ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistant Systems) were were developed to enhance safety on the road and avoid potential accidents due to the driver's potential mistakes while at the steering wheel.

While the market had already offered some level of assistance to the drivers, with the ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) and ESP (Electronic Stability Program) , nowadays the required level of safety has challenged most OEMs to adapt and develop new enhanced levels of ADAS in order to detect the following dangers on the road:

• Change of speed of the vehicle in front

• Driver attention monitoring

• Road line detection

• Speed limit detection

• Obstacle detection

• Pedestrian detection

Any of the levels above require specific equipment on the vehicles, which are mainly of two kinds, Radars and Cameras.

This article will mainly focus on the Radar functionalities and its potential diagnostic problems with the service offered in order to solve them.

📡 Flat Panel vs. Spherical Lens Automotive Radars

Vehicles on the market are offered with two main Radar Sensor technologies, depending on the availability of them based on the model year and the premium level of the car.

1. Flat Panel Radar

This type of Radar is the oldest and most common type of sensor installed in modern vehicles. Its robust and fairly flat design offers different possibilities of installation, making it a preferred technology for most OEMs.

• Design:

  • A thin, rectangular module with a flat surface.

  • Works like a “patch antenna array” printed on a circuit board.

• Operating principle:

  • Emits a narrow, forward-directed beam.

  • Optimized for long-range detection in a straight line.

• Advantages:

  • Slim, easy to integrate behind bumpers.

  • Lower cost, less complex.

• Limitations:

  • Narrower field of view.

  • Less efficient when wide coverage is needed.

• Typical uses:

  • Forward Collision Warning.

  • ACC: Adaptive Cruise Control (basic versions).

2. Spherical (Dome) Lens Radar

This second type of Radar is the most modern and advanced sensor technology available on the market for OEMs. Mostly used by premium brands, offering greater performance and precision, essential for advanced ADAS technologies.

• Design:

  • Recognizable by its convex, “eye-like” lens.

  • Uses a dielectric lens to focus and shape radar beams more flexibly.

• Operating principle:

  • Produces a wider field of view and better beam control.

  • Supports multi-mode scanning: long range + medium range simultaneously.

• Advantages:

  • Better accuracy in object tracking.

  • Can cover a broader area without multiple modules.

  • Essential for advanced ADAS and semi-autonomous functions.

• Limitations:

  • Bulkier than flat panels.

  • More expensive, more sensitive to calibration errors.

• Typical uses:

  • Adaptive Cruise Control (premium versions).

  • Forward Collision Warning.

  • Active Brake Assist, collision prevention integrated with ESP System.

  • Integrated in premium ADAS packages with cameras.

⚠️ Issues to Consider

These two technologies, although widely and robustly available on the market for some years now, sometimes face certain issues, which can make them unavailable for the vehicle, triggering a diagnostic problem reported as DTCs by the Stability Control Unit.

Of course the physical replacement is one of the most common causes of Radar unavailability, but also some driving situations can create a stress on the sensor or more specifically to the installation layout which can lead to the deviation from the factory positioning. Both situations are basically equivalent from the vehicle and passenger perspective, because both of them lead to the sensor unavailability.

When the sensor is not available the car loses the capabilities of detecting objects, leading to a degraded condition of operability and making certain functions unavailable, even basic ones like cruise control.

🔧 How to Restore Radar Functionality

For the most severe conditions, the Radar sensor in a degraded condition or after its replacement requires a precise physical adjustment or alignment within the vehicle's layout, which can be tuned or regulated with adjustment screws on the sensor frame. Such situations require specific equipment to align the radar beam and project it as a red dot on a panel positioned evenly in front of the car. The visible red mark allows a mechanic to physically recalibrate the sensor to center the wave of the beam.

In most cases instead, require only a recalibration of the radar by a adaptation procedure easily performed with a proper diagnostic tool following a strict driving protocol procedure of an expert on the subject.

After reading the DTCs our expert is capable of discerning between the two instances and advice the proper method to re-establish a proper functioning.

📞 Get in Touch for a Recalibration

If you're facing issues with your Radar System, Contact Us. We’ll help you understand if mechanical assistance or recalibration is the best option — and provide you with a professional, reliable, and transparent solution.