What’s in a name? Advanced Driver Assistance Systems terminology

Driver Assistance Systems

In August of 2022, six leading organizations that are committed to consumer safety and education came together to develop the standardized naming conventions for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) technologies. That’s a parking assistance symbol to the right.

The recommended naming conventions are simple, specific, and based on system functionality. We have advocated for these changes for years and welcome them. And this was two and a half years ago.

There is little evidence that anything has changed. And unfortunately the absolutely outlandish number of indicators used were not addressed at all! The list continues to grow. We passed 1,000 total symbols hosted on this site a year ago. And we have no reason to believe anything will change, ever.

In fact, the growing use of white and gray-scale indicators generally noting that a system is on but inactive has exacerbated the situation. More often then not, they are gray-scale copies of a symbol already shown essentially growing the already-too-long-list by 25%!

Of course, the organizations — AAA, Consumer Reports, J.D. Power, National Safety Council, PAVE, and SAE — were only asking automakers to adopt the standardized terminology. There’s no teeth in the recommendation at all, but we continue to believe it would go a long way in reducing consumer confusion about the intent and functionality of these systems.

If only they’d do it…

We will continue to do our best to help here, but its a daunting task. Only a quick look at the page where we noted the news (here) will prove that.

In any case the driving public deserves better, so DashboardSymbols.com will stay on point.

Cars are changing, and among those changes is the growing number of symbols and indicators that will invariably show up on your dashboard or instrument panel. Every year, new features are added to vehicles, each of which is accompanied by a new symbol or symbols and likely a new abbreviation or acronym.

At DashboardSymbols.com, our aim is to help you understand what is happening to your vehicle at the first sign of trouble — a new warning light illuminated on your instrument panel. Its all here on this website. Our first intention is to bring the latest technologies down to earth and understandable for everyday drivers.

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The material on these pages is provided for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.

Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.

Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.

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